NRL expansion: Shane Richardson says second Brisbane team is the story that league needs right now
A rugby league heavyweight behind the Brisbane Firehawks’ bid for the NRL’s expansion licence has put forward his case on why the competition must act now.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Shane Richardson has come out swinging on the expansion debate, adamant the NRL can’t afford to sit back and allow Covid to stop rugby league from growing in Queensland.
Just days after Wayne Bennett fired up about why now was exactly the right time to push forward with a second Brisbane team to coincide with the next TV contract, one of the game’s longest serving and most successful administrators has had his say.
And the man who helped build three clubs from bottom-of-the-table teams into premiership heavyweights has issued his own warning.
“At the end of the day if we knock it back now we are going to look back and say we should have done it,” Richardson, who is spearheading the Brisbane Firehawks bid team, told News Corp.
Watch new FOX SPORTS Original Production ‘Wild Wests: Tales from Tiger Town’ four-part docu-series on Kayo >
Along with the Jets and Dolphins, the Firehawks will get the chance to put their case to the NRL executive team led by chairman Peter V’landys in the coming weeks.
And while existing NRL clubs continue to talk down the merits of expansion in the current Covid climate, Richardson reckons the game would be missing an opportunity.
Richardson is adamant not only is his team is ready to make a strong case.
But the bigger picture is what a second Brisbane team would mean for the people of Queensland from the grassroots up.
With experience and success that has stretched three decades, few in the game are better equipped to comment on the topic of building a formidable rugby league club.
Back in the 1990s Richardson along with Johnny Lang took Cronulla from receivership all the way to the 1997 Super League grand final.
Then at Penrith they went from the wooden spoon to the 2003 title, while at South Sydney it was a similar story on the way to that historic drought-breaking triumph in 2014.
As for the argument there is just not enough talent to carry a new NRL team, Richardson countered: “I have always been in clubs where we have been on the bottom of the ladder and I have had to bring in players who needed the opportunity to go forward.
“And in every single case they have become successful.
“When I went to Cronulla no one had heard of Paul Green or Craig Greenhill. All of a sudden we made top six.
“When I was at Penrith nobody had heard of some of the players we brought in.
“And there is a lot of players out there who just need an opportunity. And most importantly there is a lot of Queensland players who need an opportunity.
“And the best opportunity for them to be able to advance is in their own state.
“And the final piece of the puzzle is I think rugby league needs an injection.
“It needs an injection of enthusiasm.
“It needs an injection of opportunity.
“It just needs a good news story because it is in a rut at the moment and it will get itself out of the rut if it appoints a 17th team I believe.”
Asked if it would make life even more difficult for the struggling Broncos, Richardson questioned: “Why do Holden dealerships buy franchises next to Ford dealerships and Toyota dealerships?
“Because they are not afraid of the competition.
“They back themselves that the more people that come to those areas the more chance they are likely to sell a car.
“So the more people that come into rugby league the more likely we are to expand the game.
“Funnily enough I don’t see the Broncos whingeing at all about this.
“I know the Titans have been jumping up and down and everything else.
“But the Broncos they don’t whinge at all about this.
“I haven’t heard them whinge anyway.
The NRL is hoping to make its final decision in the coming months.
“I just think there is a huge opportunity,” Richardson added.
“And the television (contract) will pay for it.”
Richardson is convinced the Firehawks would be a success if they end up getting the call up.
“We have obviously got the finances,” he added.
“We have a really good board.
“Our business plan is outstanding.
“It is based on facts and figures that obviously I can provide over the last 20 years of what a club has to do.
“And I think we have done it in a really modern digital way at looking at things which will attract sponsors that are totally different to the sponsors that are currently involved with the NRL.”
‘Expand quickly’: Bennett’s plea to NRL boss
– Paul Crawley
A fired up Wayne Bennett has urged Peter V’landys not to bow to “vested interests” from existing NRL clubs and push forward with plans to launch a second Brisbane team in 2023.
Speaking ahead of South Sydney’s clash against the Gold Coast on Saturday, the soon to be off contract coach took aim at clubs who he said were only looking after their own backyards by arguing the Covid pandemic should put expansion on the backburner for now.
And he was adamant it would be a mistake not to try and use the recent announcement that Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympic Games as a springboard to grow rugby league.
“I think it is even more important now that we expand and we expand quickly, in the next two years,” Bennett warned.
“You have got no idea of the growth areas in places like Springfield, going down towards Toowoomba, Ipswich and beyond.
“It is a huge growth area.
“Incredible.
“And it is going to be double what it is now in 10 years’ time.”
It comes after ARLC chairman V’landys revealed in recent days that the three bidding teams – the Firehawks, Jets and Dolphins – would be interviewed in the coming weeks.
But while broadcasters are keen on exploring the option to bring in a new Brisbane team to coincide with the next TV contract, even Bennett’s own chief executive at South Sydney, Blake Solly, is among those who has had his say on why the NRL should shelve expansion plans at this point.
Solly was quoted on Friday saying it was “extremely surprising” that the NRL was again talking about expansion given there has been no significant improvement to the Covid situation across most of the nation.
But Bennett, who has made no secret of the fact he will be moving back to Brisbane at the end of the year and wants to continue coaching, said: “If we listen to the other clubs we never would have had expansion.
“We certainly would never have had State of Origin.
“We probably wouldn’t have Test football.
“There is always the vested interests party out there and that’s the other clubs.
“At the moment they are having a tough time because they have lost a fair bit of revenue.
“So they like to think there is more revenue coming their way if there is less teams.
“But I think Melbourne was the last expansion team (in 1998).
“Anyone who runs a successful business will tell you that you either get bigger or stronger, or you try to sit at the same level and you won’t improve and you won’t get better.
“The NRL has to embrace change and obviously that is what they are thinking about doing in terms of another team.”
Bennett also took another swipe at those suggesting there is not enough player talent to support another NRL team.
“I don’t have concerns about the player talent because I know the player talent,” he said.
“And I know what is out there and I know what is under performing and I know what guys are not getting opportunities.
“And the good clubs help players develop their talent.
“I said some months ago now clubs are a major part of the problem.
“I am honestly confident enough that if I had the opportunity to coach that team if it did happen that I could put a pretty successful team together pretty quickly with a bit of help from other people.
“But the players are out there.
“The problem is a lot of the coaches aren’t getting the best out of the players they have got.
“I don’t fear any of that at all.”
He also said expansion would give the game an “injection” of hope at a time when everybody needs a lift.
V’landys has given no guarantees that a new team will be introduced but says the merits of expansion need to be investigated thoroughly.
“We downed tools to concentrate on the pandemic again but we will pick the tools up again in the next couple of weeks,” V’landys told News Corp earlier this week.
“All the work has been done. It is a matter of sitting down and interviewing the potential bidders.”
NRL’s plan to reveal Brisbane’s next team
The ARL Commission will hold formal meetings with the NRL’s three expansion hopefuls over the next fortnight with a view to unveiling Brisbane’s second team to rival the Broncos by October.
ARLC boss Peter V’landys has confirmed expansion is officially back on the agenda amid the Covid crisis with the NRL to advise the existing clubs in the next 24 hours of plans to investigate a 17th team for 2023 or 2024.
Prospective NRL franchises the Dolphins, Jets and Firehawks were originally due to meet with the ARL Commission in June, only for the latest Covid outbreak to scupper the presentations at the eleventh hour.
But V’landys’ expansion push to combat the AFL has been reactivated with the Jets, Firehawks and Dolphins to formally outline their bids to ARLC delegates within 14 days.
It is understood broadcasters are supportive of a second Brisbane team, with the monetary value for the Telstra Premiership to be determined, and V’landys says he is ready to push on with his plan to grow the NRL in Queensland.
“Yes, the interviews with the bid teams will take place,” V’landys told News Corp.
“We were focused on the Covid situation and now we are turning our attention to expansion.
“We have all the documentation from the bid teams, so now it’s a matter of speaking to them and we will do that in the next week or two.
“We will be contacting the bid teams to arrange a time (for formal presentations).”
News Corp understands the winning bid could be announced as early as late September or after the NRL grand final in October. It is possible the ARL Commission could award the 17th licence this year, but delay the installation of a second Brisbane team until the 2024 season.
Asked if the ARLC would announce Brisbane’s new team later this year, V’landys said: “I’m not sure on the final timeline. I need to speak to the 16 clubs.”
Firehawks bid chief Shane Richardson assured the NRL the Brisbane Tigers-backed consortium could be operational and field a competitive side in a 17-team league for the 2023 season.
“It is definitely achievable for the Firehawks to be up and running for the 2023 season, no question,” said Richardson, the former South Sydney football boss.
“If the Commission wants to hold interviews, we are ready to go.
“Unfortunately, the process was delayed by the Covid issue earlier this year, but we’ve been patient and we’re very confident in the bid we have put forward.
“I know there is talk about delaying expansion until 2024 but honestly we can easily be ready for a 2023 time frame.
“We would announce our coach, we have a player list already drawn up, we have $25 million in the bank, we would go in straight away and sign players to contracts.
“We have a plan already in place of what our top 30 should look like and what sort of money we should be paying at the different levels.
“We could push the button on our operations tomorrow.
Brisbane Jets official Nick Livermore believes 12 months is an ample runway for the western-corridor bid to be alive and kicking in 2023.
“We were ready back in June when we were going to host the presentations, so we look forward to the Commission’s next step,” he said.
“We have been patient for 11 years and if they decide that they are ready to kick-off formal presentations, we are ready to go. We have presented our documentation to the NRL so hopefully they have had some time to go through our bid.
“Twelve months is ample time for a new NRL team to put in structures and begin signing players to field a competitive roster.
“It’s definitely achievable to have a 17th team up and running for 2023 and if the Commission makes a call in September or October, we would have no issue having the Brisbane Jets operational.”
COUP WHICH COULD DECIDE EXPANSION BATTLE
The Brisbane Firehawks have fired a formidable shot in the expansion battle by brokering a deal with the Queensland footballing nursery that produced NRL champion Cameron Munster.
The NRL’s prospective 17th licence have struck a five-year agreement with the Central Queensland Capras in the Firehawks’ quest to become Brisbane’s second team under the code’s expansion plans for 2023 or 2024.
Munster made his Intrust Super Cup debut with the Capras as a 17-year-old before being snapped up by the Melbourne Storm.
Watch new FOX SPORTS Original Production ‘Wild Wests: Tales from Tiger Town’ four-part docu-series on Kayo >
The deal is contingent on the Firehawks formally clinching an NRL licence, which would see the Capras supply a production line of talent as the feeder club of the Easts Tigers-backed operation.
The Central Queensland catchment is ranked No. 1 by the Queensland Rugby League with more than 8000 registered players, making the region a grassroots powerhouse alongside Sydney‘s Penrith Panthers, who boast around 9000 juniors in their development area.
It is a major coup for the Firehawks as they vie for an NRL licence with rival bid consortia the Brisbane Jets and the Redcliffe-backed Dolphins.
As part of the alliance, the Firehawks will look to stage NRL premiership games and trials in the Central Queensland region and construct two rugby league Academies in the region.
“It’s great to establish links with the Capras,” Richardson said.
“Central Queensland has a massive catchment, they are up there in terms of playing numbers with Penrith, there is so much untapped talent in that region.
“Obviously the arrangement is contingent upon us getting an NRL licence, but we are already building Academies in Rockhampton and Gladstone.
“There is a lot of the stuff we are doing to support rugby league in Central Queensland, regardless of the NRL bid.”
Central Queensland was part of the NRL‘s expansion push in 2015 but former construction tycoon Geoff Murphy failed in his big-money bid to enter the big league.
Richardson said the size of the Central Queensland catchment is evidence the NRL has the talent pool to sustain 17 teams and a second Brisbane club.
“It’s nonsense to say there isn’t enough talent for 17 teams,” he said.
“Central Queensland is proof there is plenty of talent to sustain a 17th NRL team. They are a huge strength for rugby league.
“It‘s a goldmine for the NRL and the local council is really supportive. They are looking to turn Browne Park in Rockhampton to make it into a 15,000-seat stadium.
“There are young kids who want to stay in Queensland and play NRL.
“It‘s a no-brainer for the NRL to expand, it’s not just about having another team for television, it’s about the growth of rugby league in Queensland and attacking the AFL in the west of Brisbane.”
More Coverage
Originally published as NRL expansion: Shane Richardson says second Brisbane team is the story that league needs right now
Gus’ ‘doctored’ claim ignites NRL conspiracy
The NRL Grand Final’s controversial no try scandal has taken a wild turn despite the game releasing the angle the decision was based on.
Kangaroos selection shocks: NRL legends’ Test careers appear over
Mal Meninga has dropped a major selection bombshell by overlooking both James Tedesco and Kalyn Ponga for Kangaroos selection, with the list of surprise omissions and debutants not ending there. See the full squad.