NRL expansion: Existing clubs set out demands before 18th team joins competition

Rugby league has always been seen as supporting Australia’s national interests in the Pacific region. So does possible further expansion in the region curb China’s growing influence?

Where will the next expansion team be based?

The game’s existing clubs want the power to put the kibosh on expansion in an extraordinary top-secret document sent to the NRL.

News Corp has obtained the memo which was sent to former Nine Network boss Hugh Marks – brought in by the NRL late last year to help finalise negotiations with players and clubs – last September outlining club demands as part of talks over new license agreements.

Under the headline ‘Further Expansion of NRL??’, the document reads: “We understand the ARLC is meeting potential bidders and discussing a timetable to expansion”.

It goes on to add that the ARLC should provide full transparency on the process to date, expected revenues and costs from an 18th team, and confirmation of consultation or veto rights for existing clubs.

The NRL’s existing license agreements with the clubs come to an end after this season. As it stands, none of the game’s 17 clubs have signed up to play in the competition next year and it is fast becoming clear they want more influence as part of their new deals.

Papua New Guinea would bring a fanatical fan base to the NRL. Picture: Getty Images

That includes helping make decisions on the size of the competition as the game looks to expand to 18 teams in coming years and then potentially 20 teams after that. It would leave the clubs with the capacity to blow up expansion talk unless they see clear evidence that it will not come at a cost to them.

Those demands are likely to strengthen the push to have a team in the Pasifika given there have been top-level discussions about a potential 10-year commitment from the federal government to help financially support a team representing Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region.

North Sydney Bears have made it clear they are willing to link with any region provided they keep their name, colours and play two games a season at North Sydney Oval.

News Corp understands there is support from the NRL hierarchy given the Bears’ rusted-on fan base and the romance associated with reviving North Sydney.

However, there is no clear plan on how a team from the region would operate as yet amid talk that it could be based in Cairns and play games out of several regions.

The NRL’s former head of strategy Shane Richardson, who has also been involved in the Firehawks bid for a licence insisted Cairns wouldn’t be able to support an NRL franchise.

“Queensland can have a fifth team, no question, but it can‘t be in Cairns,” Richardson said.

“There is not the commercial backing, there is not the stadium, there‘s not the set up and I’m sure the Cowboys wouldn’t enjoy another NRL team being in Cairns.

“If you were going to put a team anywhere, it has to be based in Brisbane.”

While there is an understanding that the NRL will eventually expand to 18 teams, there is also a push to add three more teams at some stage.

A second team in New Zealand — or a combined New Zealand/Pasifika — would be the frontrunner for inclusion as the 19th team.

There have also been talks around a return to Western Australia and the prospect of adding a second team in Melbourne so the Victorian capital has rugby league every weekend in a bid to take on AFL.

The Storm don’t want to share Melbourne’s fans or corporate dollars. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

Melbourne Storm owner and chair Matt Tripp warned his club would fight to ensure they remained the only team in Victoria, insisting the state was not ready yet to house two sides.

“I think we could present a very strong case that that would be fraught with danger,” Tripp said.

“It would be a crazy move. It wouldn‘t matter if it was 50 years — we know the challenges we have faced in building the Melbourne Storm into the club it is today and we have had a lot of things go our way in having three potential future immortals, arguably the greatest coach the game has ever seen.

“Being a successful club has helped us in Melbourne no end. We have a very loyal fan base. But the simple fact is there isn’t room for two clubs in Melbourne.

“If down the track they were to look at it, we would have to have a conversation.”

The more immediate priority is likely to be the Pacific region. The NRL’s push for government support for a team in the area dates back to the 2019 election.

Then opposition leader Bill Shorten gave his support so too did prime minister Scott Morrison but nothing eventuated.

The Bears are hoping for a return to the NRL with at least two games per season at the North Sydney Oval.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government has given a commitment to back plans for the NRL to commit to the Pasifika.

Rugby league is seen as a tool to erode China’s growing influence in the region and has bilateral support. Rugby league is seen as supporting Australia’s national interest in the region.

The fear of China could mean the game goes beyond its original plan of expanding just in PNG with Fiji, Samoa and Tonga now in line for NRL matches.

The NRL wants to use government assistance to have rugby league played in schools across the Pacific.

Richardson said the Firehawks were still considering their position.

“The Bears are saying they are in Cairns and Perth, when we come out, we will come out with a detailed plan and presentation about what we want to do,” Richardson said.

“We are certainly interested, but we are working on our plans at the moment. ”

20 TEAMS, NFL-STYLE CONFERENCES COULD DETHRONE AFL

The NRL’s former strategy boss has backed plans for a 20-team competition and believes an NFL-style conference system is the key to rugby league dethroning the AFL as Australia’s No. 1 football code.

Shane Richardson, who presided over the NRL’s strategic plan for expansion in 2016, has proposed a split conference system that could see the Telstra Premiership grow to 20 teams by the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

As exclusively revealed by News Corp last week, the NRL has hatched plans for a 20-team league, with the Australian government prepared to help bankroll a possible Pasifika Bears joint bid for the code’s 18th licence.

Richardson spearheaded the Brisbane Firehawks’ quest to become the NRL’s 17th team — they ultimately lost out to the Dolphins in 2021 — and he says the code is ready for more clubs, starting in 2026.

“The NRL can certainly sustain 20 teams,” said Richardson, the ex-Penrith and Souths premiership-winning CEO.

“I think we could have an 18th team as soon as possible, I think 2026 is achievable, and then another two teams can be phased in over a period of time.

The lightning start by the Dolphins is an encouraging sign for further expansion of the NRL.

“I’m not saying bring all three teams in over the next two years. We have to map out a plan over the next 10 years heading to the Olympics and I think the game is more than capable of having 20 teams by 2032.

“Redcliffe (Dolphins) have done a great job building with one year to prepare, but I’m sure they would have appreciated a two-year runway to come into the NRL.

“I would look to bring in a team every three years which gives you time to call for tenders and give them time to get ready for the NRL.

“I have no doubt more expansion would be good for the game and growing the game has to be a strategic objective.”

Richardson believes further expansion of the league could be bolstered by a conference system that is a feature of American sports competitions including the NFL, NBA and NHL.

One suggestion is a 20-team NRL split into two conferences of 10 — one largely filled by the nine Sydney teams and the other dominated by Queensland clubs to maximise money-spinning derby clashes.

“If the game expands to 20 teams, what you can do is to have conferences, have local derbies, improve the television exposure,” Richardson said.

“If you play a conference system, you can build a derby mentality.

Adam Reynolds and his Broncos teammates could find themselves coming up against the North Queensland Cowboys more often under a possible conference system.

“You can have the Sydney teams in one conference and then another conference with, for example, the Queensland teams so you have more derbies with the Broncos and Dolphins and Cowboys.

“It’s not impossible to work out a conference system. All it enables you to do is to play more games against people in your group, which creates bigger numbers for crowds and television ratings.

“With 20 teams you could have two groups of 10 or four groups of five. You play more games against teams in your conference then, like the NFL, you can rotate and play teams outside your conference.”

Richardson scoffed at suggestions the NRL lacks the player depth for a 20-team competition.

“The argument is there is not enough players and that’s just rubbish,” he said.

“At the end of the day, to give players opportunities … I love watching the start of the season when guys play in a trial and no one has heard of them and they become stars of the NRL. Look at Isaiya Katoa at the Dolphins.

“You don’t want to kill the golden goose of the NRL, so you need to get the pathways right to develop more players.

“I have no doubt 20 teams would be a massive revenue driver for the game. But the game has to work out a 10-year plan.”

Originally published as NRL expansion: Existing clubs set out demands before 18th team joins competition