Insight: The machinations behind a second Brisbane NRL team and when it could happen
ARL Commission chairman Peter Beattie uttered the words “the game must expand or die” last year - so is the NRL serious in bringing another team to Brisbane?
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“THE game needs to expand or it will die”.
Those were among the first words uttered by Peter Beattie when he first sat down in the chair as the Australian Rugby League Commission chairman last year.
With that simple statement, the murmurings of having another NRL side erupted into a national debate spanning four states, millions of dollars and more than half a dozen team ideas.
But his words were nothing new - just an echo of what many rugby league fans had been calling for over many years.
Since its formation in 1998, the NRL has introduced just two teams into what is now a 16-club competition; the reinstatement of the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2002 and creation of the Gold Coast Titans in 2007.
Now, there are fresh calls for a team to be relocated from Sydney up to Brisbane or the possibility of a brand new 17th club added to the competition by the 2023 season.
For many rugby league fans, it’s an exciting prospect, especially if it means an NRL team in their own hometown.
NSW’s central coast, Perth, New Zealand and even Adelaide have been tossed up as potential new club locations however, the most likely place for a new NRL team is right here in the Sunshine State.
The code, heavily driven by a multi-billion dollar TV deal with Channel Nine and Fox Sports, has opened up discussions recently about the next television rights deal to come into play in 2023.
Last Sunday, to the shock of many people south of the border, it was revealed that the code’s long-time free-to-air broadcaster Channel Nine wants to kill off a Sydney team to make room for a second Brisbane side.
The reason is simple.
Broadcasters believe a Brisbane Broncos inter-city rival will generate more fans, bigger crowds and even better television ratings than, say, the Cronulla Sharks.
Not to mention an NRL game played in Brisbane almost every weekend.
So, after eight years of people talking about expansion and team bids being touted about, is it actually on the cards this time or just more hearsay?
STATE OF THE GAME
Well, the short answer is yes, the code is looking at expanding the competition in the near future.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is in the process of putting together a “state of the game” report with a view of identifying potential expansion zones for the NRL.
It is likely that at the top of that report, to be tabled in December, Greenberg will list a second Brisbane team as the game’s number one target, with a push for a 17-team NRL if they baulk at killing off a Sydney club.
Once that report is tabled, and if it recommends a seventeenth club expansion plot, only then will things kick into overdrive.
The idea of another Brisbane NRL team is not all that far-fetched either.
The governing body was on the brink of announcing a brand new club - the Brisbane Bombers - in 2018 before the introduction of the $13 million grant for each club killed any chances of that happening.
Which means, instead of you sitting at home on the couch tonight watching the Broncos play the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, you could have been at Suncorp Stadium to witness the Bombers light up the stadium in the last round of the regular season.
“We met with the NRL during the course of the year in 2015 and then-CEO Dave Smith was heavily in favour of expansion, particularly in Brisbane,” Bombers shareholder Nick Livermore says.
“We presented our financial model and plan to the League and all discussions were focused towards an expansion in Brisbane in 2018.
“Todd (Greenberg) took the reins in early 2016 and our discussions (were then) pushed back due to funding requirements for the existing 16 clubs.
“When the clubs were after a 30 per cent grant above the cap, it left the NRL in a financial position to make a tough decision and again Brisbane was put to the back burner and the majority of our work had to be shelved yet again.”
NOT GIVING UP HOPE
The Bombers’ shareholders haven’t given up hope however, and this week received backing from a cashed-up consortium of five Queensland business tycoons to form an NRL super bid for a second Brisbane team by 2023.
Joining them in their hopes of another Queensland team is Redcliffe, Ipswich’s western corridor and central Queensland, who have each fought for the past eight years to clinch an NRL licence.
If relocation is on the cards, clubs such as the Cronulla Sharks, Manly Sea Eagles and Gold Coast Titans are reportedly most at risk considering their current financial situations.
But the general consensus among those involved in bringing another team to Queensland is that it should be an entirely new club and not a relocated, struggling one.
“We can’t kill off Sydney teams,” Bombers major shareholder Craig Davison says.
“We’re talking about a $2 billion TV rights deal and the NRL is quibbling about spending $13 million extra on another team.
“Surely the NRL can afford to cut their costs to fund another team in Brisbane.
“The Bombers are willing to start where the Broncos started 30 years ago with a basic training field and a small little gym.”
It’s a risky move starting from nothing to compete with the powerhouse that is the Brisbane Broncos, who have averaged close to 30,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium this year.
Another big issue raised when talking about expansion is whether or not there is the talent to create another 30-man roster.
“People question if there is enough talent for 17 teams and they point to the Titans (who are currently sitting bottom of the NRL ladder),” Davison says.
“Their issue is their players aren’t pulling their finger out - if they were playing to their abilities they would be a top eight contender.
“The talent identification streams would improve and I firmly believe there is enough talent out there for 17 or 18 teams.”
FAN POLL
Rugby league fans are crying out for another NRL team in the Sunshine State.
An exclusive couriermail.com.au poll of almost 4000 people found that 65 per cent of voters were in favour of a second Brisbane NRL team, with 71 per cent calling for a brand new side rather than a relocated Sydney club.
Redcliffe (40 per cent) was the most voted location for the new side.
It’s all well and good to have a name, a logo and a venue, but who will be the personnel involved?
Current Maroons coach Kevin Walters was the most popular choice to coach the new team just in front of former Ipswich Jets co-coaches Ben and Shane Walker.
Even former NRL players are calling for a new team in town.
“The next team has to be a second Brisbane team,” former Queensland Origin great Gary Belcher says.
“It is the biggest con job for years with the Broncos claiming there isn’t room for a second team.
“The unpalatable thing for the NRL with 17 teams is they would have to come up with another $13 million grant for the 17th team and not have any extra games.
“They have to tip more money in and not have any extra games.”
Behind closed doors, even the Broncos aren’t too fussed about the idea of a cross-city rival, with CEO Paul White conceding earlier this year that Brisbane was ready for a second NRL licence.
THE BRISBANE DOLPHINS
The most likely location for a new team seems to be cashed-up Redcliffe Rugby League Club, home of the Dolphins in the Intrust Super Cup.
NRL powerbrokers are eyeing the coastal suburb as the number one target for the next NRL club.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Redcliffe but they aren’t really beating their chests about getting in,” Belcher says.
“Maybe they are very happy with where they are at being a community club and don’t want to risk it all by stepping up to the NRL.
“I think it would be a good move to go to Redcliffe.
“They have a historic brand, a rich leagues club and could still play out of Suncorp Stadium.”
Belcher isn’t the only one who thinks this.
Redcliffe Dolphins chairman Bob Jones says they are very keen to become an NRL powerhouse but he has yet to hear anything from the NRL or Commission.
“I’m a bit perplexed by it all to tell you the truth,” Jones says.
“There’s been no blueprint issued by the NRL or the Commission about what the next move is.
“They haven’t said “get your ducks in line” or anything like that.
“We certainly have aspirations to be an NRL club. We have since forever, basically always wanted to play at the highest level.
“It’s one of the reasons why we’ve invested in the best infrastructure we can get, which we now have.”
Dolphin Oval boasts a 10,000 seat stadium with state-of-the-art facilities and if introduced into the national competition, could host NRL games which typically draw smaller crowds.
The River City rivalry with the Broncos would obviously be played at Suncorp Stadium, as would other clashes with clubs such as the Cowboys, Storm and Roosters.
NOT IF BUT WHEN
Dwelling on the bottom of the 2019 NRL premiership ladder are the Titans, raising the question as to whether there is need for another southeast Queensland side.
Gold Coast chairman Dennis Watt certainly doesn’t think they’re going anywhere.
“I can’t particularly see it being a 17-team competition,” Watt says.
“From Channel 9’s point of view, they want more Queensland teams, not less. So I don’t think we’re threatened but we do have to perform.
“We’ve got so many great things in place here but we have to win on the field.
“We’ll continue to build the rugby league footprint on the Gold Coast and in Northern NSW.”
So with expansion once again brought into the limelight ahead of the next TV rights deal, Queenslanders are getting one step ahead of the game in preparing for the most exciting NRL bid in recent history.
From central Queensland, to Ipswich and out to Redcliffe, powerbrokers are ready for the kick off whistle to blow before launching their bid for a new NRL team.
Bombers shareholder Nick Livermore says it’s not a matter of if, but when.
“Ultimately Brisbane has missed out on having league every weekend, including a good amount of daylight family-oriented games because 14 of the existing 16 clubs need financial support,” he says.
“It’s frustrating for rugby league fans and for the people who invest in their passion but eventually Brisbane will have two teams playing at Suncorp Stadium.
“Not if – but when.”
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