Ben Ikin fires back at Gillon McLachlan’s claims of AFL Queensland takeover

Ben Ikin has fired a fresh shot in the Queensland turf war, declaring NRL is “far and away in front” after bold claims from AFL boss Gillon McLachlan about the sport’s growth in the state.

Ben Ikin has hit back at Gillon McLachlan.

QRL boss Ben Ikin has a challenge for Gill McLachlan if he truly believes Queensland will become an AFL state within the next decade.

“I’d like to see him walk down Caxton Street on State of Origin night and say what he said,” Ikin said.

“Rugby league is still the premier code in Queensland and it isn’t even close. I don’t know what Gill McLachlan is looking at, what he is counting or who provides his information.

“I can guarantee you rugby league is far and away in front of AFL in every metric in Queensland. Not that I waste my time counting how many people play AFL, but our participation for men and women is well up on previous years.

“The game is as popular as it has ever been. Our pathways are singing, our Queensland Hostplus Cup has clubs banging down the door, our NRL sides are flying.”

Billy Slater chats to Ben Ikin after a State of Origin match. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

“I understand Gil’s time at the AFL is coming to an end. Perhaps he is concerned about his legacy given the amount of money the AFL has spent trying to take on rugby league in a state where our code dominates.”

McLachlan ignited a fresh turf war between the country’s two biggest football codes on Friday when he appeared on radio in Melbourne and claimed that AFL would take over Queensland in the next five to 10 years.

McLachlan was talking about developments at the Gold Coast

The comments stunned Queensland officials, who accused McLachlan of basing his claims on equal parts rubbery figures and delusions of grandeur.

Gillon McLachlan made the bold claim AFL would become Queensland’s No. 1 sport. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images.

“The growth in the football in Queensland has been dramatic, on the Gold Coast particularly,” McLachlan said in an interview with Melbourne radio station 3AW.

“We’ll have more participants this year in Queensland than the NRL – first time we’ll break that record. The ratings are comparable to South Australia, we will be the biggest sport in that market in Queensland in five to 10 years across most metrics.

“It is changing. Queensland is pumping and becoming an AFL state and the Gold Coast has done their bit.”

While Ikin insisted rugby league was still king in Queensland, other rugby league identities are on guard. Tigers bid chief Shane Richardson has warned the NRL is under attack from the AFL in a Queensland turf war, having described rugby league’s development plan in Brisbane’s western corridor as”horrendous”.

The NRL is represented by the Broncos, Titans and Dolphins along the coast of south-east Queensland, but Brisbane’s western corridor remains vacant and the AFL has begun their aggressive march into rugby league heartland.

Richardson put the code on notice against the AFL’s invasion and said the inclusion of the Brisbane Tigers as the 18th club would give the NRL a crucial weapon in Brisbane’s western-corridor goldmine.

“It’s horrendous that we are ignoring the western corridor of Brisbane,” Richardson.

“The AFL is a massive threat in that region and its schools. They are taking us on. Why have they moved there (Brisbane’s west)? Because that’s the growth area for Queensland over the next 10 years.

“Why aren’t we there? League is in huge trouble if we don’t go to the western corridor. The AFL has money to spend and they have the financial wherewithal to do it, they are smart, but they don’t have the heart and soul at this stage and that’s league’s trump card.”

Originally published as Ben Ikin fires back at Gillon McLachlan’s claims of AFL Queensland takeover