FORMER international Greg Dowling says rugby league needs to stop singling out players to save from leaving the sport.

Despite the increasing threat of players walking out on league for rich rugby union deals, Dowling believes measures other than rescue packages are needed to stop the exodus.

And he says player loyalty has got to be part of the
solution.

"At the end of the day, these people have got to think about what the game has done for them," he said.

"What has their club done for them, what has (playing for) Queensland, Australia done for them."

Dowling has endorsed players earning what they can during their limited athletic careers but said singling out individuals for extra salary packages from the NRL was wrong.

Melbourne Storm has approached the NRL to help retain Greg Inglis, while both Brisbane and North Queensland have said they would expect the same treatment for Karmichael Hunt and Johnathan Thurston if a deal was struck.

"It’s fraught with danger," Dowling said of possible individual deals. "Where do you stop with it?"

Dowling said the only solution was to grow the sport’s revenue.

"We’ve got to get the game bigger," he said.

In his exclusive The Cairns Post column today, Dowling suggests staging a tri series between the Australian indigenous squad, New Zealand Maori and a Polynesian or Pacific Island team.

The naming of an indigenous squad for a World Cup "welcome to country" match sparked the idea, one the former Brisbane Bronco, Queensland and Australian forward believed would have mass appeal.

"It’d be a marketing bonanza," he said.

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