NRL 2020: Peter V’landys, QRL at odds over expansion, second Brisbane team
Queensland powerbrokers have urged ARLC boss Peter V’landys to reconsider expansion plans, with the QRL calling for a Sydney team to move to the sunshine state instead of creating a new franchise.
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Queensland powerbrokers have urged the NRL to relocate Cronulla or Manly rather than risk financial peril by starting a second Brisbane team.
QRL chairman Bruce Hatcher has revealed his preferred expansion road map after ARL commission boss Peter V’landys told News Corp his intention is to push through with plans for a second Brisbane team despite the COVID crisis.
Under the V’landys model, the new team would be a fresh franchise or one backed by a Queensland club like Redlciffe or Easts to make a 17-team competition in 2022 or 2023.
The cost of a 17th team – which would not provide an extra game – would be around $13 million.
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Hatcher believes if rugby league wants an extra side in Brisbane it should make the more cost-friendly choice of relocating a cash-strapped Sydney team, a move V’landys has never been in favour of.
“I am yet to be convinced a brand new team would create enough revenue to support it,’’ Hatcher told News Corp.
“I thought given the financials of the game at the moment the fourth Queensland team might be off the table and it worries me that money put into it could deprive the QRL of important funding in our areas of responsibility.
“I am an advocate of moving at least one of the Sydney teams. Financially the obvious ones are Cronulla and Manly and finances are the first thing you look at.
“You start anything from scratch and there is a hell of a lot of expense in trying to get it up. You are a mile in front if you already have a team.
“That gives you a bigger opportunity because it straddles two decent markets and you are using the available talent to maintain a strong competition.
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“I would need to be fully convinced that a new team is going to be financially viable for the game.
“All the NRL clubs got a 30% increase in funding and 12 of them have managed to lose 36 million so if you can tell me that is a sensible direction I can’t see it.’’
The second Brisbane team has been in the pipeline for more than a decade with the Brisbane Bombers and Ipswich franchises showing admirable patience and commitment to stay the journey.
Redcliffe have also shown interest while the Easts Tigers bid is gaining momentum.
One worry about the inclusion of an extra Queensland team is that it could prove a talent drain on Queensland’s already stretched talent pool which in which the Broncos, Cowboys and Titans have all been struggling near the bottom of the ladder.
‘I WANT A SECOND TEAM IN BRISBANE’: EXPANSION PLANS STILL ALIVE
—Peter Badel, Travis Meyn
ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys says the COVID crisis will not derail his expansion plans as the NRL looks to combat the AFL’s threat to dominate Queensland by launching a second team in Brisbane.
V’landys is pushing on with plans to introduce a 17th team with the ARL Commission to begin due diligence in December on the viability of a fourth Queensland club to join the Broncos, Titans and Cowboys.
There is a view expansion is dead — yet again — given the COVID pandemic that has cost the NRL millions and convinced Sydney-based teams the code cannot afford another $13m in funding for a second Brisbane side.
That stance comes at a time when the AFL is planning to hijack the NRL in Queensland, with the historic AFL grand-final at the Gabba on October 24 to be used as a vehicle to steal an army of league fans.
V’landys couldn’t care less about the AFL’s ambitions, but he remains committed to the birth of a second Brisbane team for either 2022 or 2023, pending the outcome of a feasibility study.
“I want a second team (in Brisbane) and I will give it my full attention at the end of the year,” he said.
“We are not dithering on expansion, but we are doing things in a responsible, process-driven way.
“We have to concentrate on getting the competition finished this year but I am committed to having a second team in Brisbane.
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“I still have the appetite for expansion and I believe there is a need for another team in Brisbane.
“We have plenty of time to achieve this and to formulate business plans. There are bid teams out there working hard on their submissions so no time is being lost through this COVID period.”
Another perceived impediment to NRL expansion is the woeful performance of Queensland‘s three teams this season, but V’landys believes a second Brisbane club can elevate the Broncos.
“I will not expand the game if another team will cannibalise the existing Queensland sides, but I am confident that will not happen,” he said.
“We have our Queensland partners up there so the last thing we want to do is hurt the Broncos and the Titans.
“The business case has to stack up.
“To be fair, all three clubs have worked with us on the matter, so they aren’t opposing expansion, that’s the beauty of this, it shows you how professional the Broncos, Titans and Cowboys are.”
In the past, the powerful Sydney bloc of clubs have resisted expansion, but V’landys says factual data - not politics - will determine whether the game grows.
“I understand the concerns of the Sydney clubs,” he said.
“It’s natural for people to have gut feelings and concerns, but you need a factual analysis. We will base expansion on facts and figures and genuine analysis, not people’s feelings or grievances.
“If the proper data is there to expand, we will.
“The people against expansion haven’t got any data, they haven’t got any evidence, it’s just off-the-hip comment.
“I haven’t seen one iota of evidence so far to back up their case that the game isn’t ready for expansion.
“In business, competition brings excellence. The Broncos are not concerned about expansion. I believe a second Brisbane team would elevate everyone in the game, not just the Broncos.”
Titans culture boss Mal Meninga said the NRL should not be worried about an attack from the AFL enemy.
“AFL can only concentrate on AFL and we can only control what we can control. We’re doing a terrific job from a rugby league point of view,” he said.
“We can only keep doing what we’re doing. We’ve got to be mindful of it (the AFL‘s incursion into Queensland) but we’re not overly concerned.”
Originally published as NRL 2020: Peter V’landys, QRL at odds over expansion, second Brisbane team