The under-20s competition was ushered in with much fanfare in 2008, spruiked as a means to showcase and prepare the best young talent in the game. But as revealed by Fairfax Media a year ago, the Holden Cup will be scrapped at the end of the current broadcast deal.

The governing body is mulling over what should be installed in its place for youngsters as they make the transition from SG Ball into the NSW and Queensland Cup competitions. There was some thought of allowing teenagers to finish their apprenticeship in the state-based competitions, but the step up from under-18s level is believed to be too big a leap.

The NRL's head of strategy and game development, Shane Richardson, is poised to address this and other issues by the end of the year as part of his much-vaunted 'whole of game' white paper. It's understood one idea he is considering is a truncated NYC tournament which would run parallel with the Harold Matthews and SG Ball competitions along state-based lines.

Those competitions currently run from mid-February to early May, although that period includes a finals series and a grand final. Richardson, who is scheduled to meet with NSWRL officials this week to thrash out the issues, believes the NYC could be run along similar lines. The NSWRL will likely have different views about the pathways process, believing a short tournament won't adequately fill the void left by the abolition of the Holden Cup.

The implications of any change will be widespread given Richardson has abandoned his long-held desire to implement a rookie draft. A draft was viewed as a means of equally spreading talent throughout the league but legal and contractual impediments were viewed as insurmountable. There were also concerns about the consequences of forcing teens away from their families and home bases, particularly given the prevalence of depression and suicide in the playing ranks.

The clubs will be monitoring any changes to the pathways with interest, given some invest significant funds in identifying and nurturing talent. Those that do will be looking for either compensation, salary cap exemptions or retention advantages to ensure they are not simply grooming youngsters to be picked off by rival clubs.

The NRL is keen to elevate the status of the NSW Cup and Queensland Cup and recently arranged for the winners of each competition to square off in a decider on grand final day. The governing body is currently negotiating the next television deal with broadcasters, but it remains to be seen whether there will be an appetite to televise competition round fixtures.

The NYC has proven to be a costly competition to run and has not been as successful in preparing players for the rigours of first-grade as first hoped. Many coaches send prospective NRL players to the Cup competitions before blooding them in first-grade, believing they will be better off for facing up to seasoned players as part of their footballing education.

Another concern is players who don't immediately make the jump from NYC to NRL become disenchanted playing in small suburban venues and leave the game in the belief their chance has passed them by.