NRL expansion: Australian government to provide $600 million in funding for PNG bid

The Dolphins joined the big league as the NRL’s 17th team in 2023, but more expansion is coming. Australian PM Anthony Albanese is ready to fund the biggest expansion project in NRL history.

The ARL Commission and the Australian Government are in talks on the richest expansion project in rugby league’s 115-year history – $600 million for a new NRL franchise to win over the Pacific.

In a landmark moment for the sport, ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has begun due diligence to introduce an 18th club to the NRL by 2027.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would not comment on the specific financial commitment, saying it was too early to discuss figures, but declared his strong support for the project which would deliver infrastructure and an NRL team to represent Papua New Guinea.

A proposed PNG franchise will have the financial and political support of Mr Albanese – and now US president Joe Biden – following the Australian Prime Minister’s trip to the White House.

It is understood the Federal government is prepared to bankroll a $600m expansion package — $60m injected annually for at least 10 years for sporting and economic development in PNG via the NRL’s overseas push into the Pacific.

“We are absolutely expanding the competition to 18 teams,” V’landys said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) is ready to bankroll the NRL’s 18th team and has a strong political ally in US president Joe Biden.

Albanese is a key ally in the NRL’s growth strategy.

A passionate South Sydney supporter, Albanese believes Papua New Guinea can be an NRL powerhouse and confirmed he is in negotiations with V’landys for a historic 18th franchise with Pacific links.

“I am very supportive of an 18th NRL team in PNG,” Albanese told News Corp on Saturday following his return from the White House.

“This is a game changer for the relationship with Papua New Guinea.

“We’re definitely behind the NRL bid and, importantly, Prime Minister (James) Murape in PNG is very much behind an NRL team.

“This is a country that will celebrate its 50th year of independence in a couple of years (2025).

“Having PNG participate in the NRL, I can’t think of any better way to get that ongoing relationship and engagement between our two countries.”

Under V’landys’ plans for an 18-team Telstra Premiership, super coach Wayne Bennett has been identified as the potential face of the richest expansion project since the birth of the code in Australia in 1908.

Bennett is currently in charge of the Dolphins, but he will stand down as head coach when his contract expires at the end of next season — making him an open target for a new 18th NRL club.

With the NRL having locked in their historic double header to launch the 2024 premiership in Las Vegas next March, V’landys confirmed his next mission — fresh NRL expansion — is underway.

“Yes, we’re having expansion talks right now,” V’landys said.

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys confirmed he is in talks on expansion with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“We’re analysing the data as we speak and we’re working on the strategy for an 18th team in the NRL.

“We’re looking at 2027, but possibly earlier in 2026, if we can put the pathways in and implement the necessary programs with the support of the government.

“Anthony Albanese is a great man and a great supporter of rugby league.

“I won’t speak about figures, but the Prime Minister is a big supporter of expansion, he is a driving force behind it.

“Now that we’re committed to playing games in Vegas, we’ve begun talks with the government on expansion.”

V’landys has spent recent days in Washington DC, where, as a guest of Albanese, he met US president Biden at a state dinner at the White House.

Albanese believes an 18th PNG franchise can have educational benefits for the region, bolstered by the use of ‘soft diplomacy’ via a government-financed sporting team to keep China at bay in the Pacific.

Albanese has a powerful ally in US president Biden and the Federal government’s support for a new NRL franchise has huge ramifications for rugby league’s wealth.

It is understood the estimated $600m investment is not solely for a new NRL team, but part of a wider social, economic and educational blueprint to strengthen a nation of 10 million where rugby league is the No.1 sport.

There is growing momentum for an NRL expansion team with links to Papua New Guinea.

“I was in PNG in January and you see kids and adults all wearing State of Origin jumpers and jumpers of NRL clubs. The support there is fanatical,” Albanese said.

“Samoa made the World Cup final last year. If you develop a pathway for young people to come through, Papua New Guinea is a potential powerhouse in global rugby league.

“We haven’t landed on exact figures. It’s a bit premature. That’s a matter for discussions, which are taking place at the moment.

“We put $7 million into the recent Pacific Championships and we are prepared to have talks with the NRL on funding.

“The aim would be for any government funding to be aimed at economic development in schools. It’s not just for the NRL team and to pay Alex Johnston (Souths winger) to play for PNG.

“To have a PNG NRL team, we would need to get the pathway and infrastructure right.

“It’s an important part of economic development and getting young people engaged in PNG.

“This is not just about sport in itself, it’s building people-to-people relations and economic development for PNG.

“That’s the way the government sees it.”

Not only will the code enjoy rivers of government gold by creating an 18th club, but the extra game per round will give the NRL more bargaining power when V’landys thrashes out the code’s next TV rights deals for 2028 and beyond.

A nine-game NRL round could be worth in excess of $2 billion in broadcasting value over a five-year period — not bad for a code on the brink of bankruptcy during the Covid crisis three years ago.

The ARL Commission’s next task is deciding the location and headquarters of an 18th NRL team.

There has been speculation surrounding the North Sydney Bears joining forces with a Pasifika franchise with links to Tonga and Samoa, but Albanese is keen for the 18th NRL licence to be spearheaded by PNG.

V’landys stressed other bid consortiums from Perth and the Brisbane Tigers have not been dismissed, with the NRL open to expanding to a 20-team competition by the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

“The Prime Minister has a vision for soft diplomacy and what a new NRL team can achieve with the support of the government,” V’landys said from America.

“I totally support that stance.

“I can’t say right now the 18th team is 100 per cent going to be a PNG team, because we are going through all the figures.

“There’s negotiations to go through with the government and there’s a lot of hard work to be done.

“Eventually we want to get to 20 teams, so there’s a long-term strategy in place and Anthony (Albanese) and the government are playing a key role in it.”

The Federal government is keen to use ‘soft diplomacy’ by bankrolling an NRL team to safeguard the Pacific.

Should a PNG-branded team win the next NRL licence, as anticipated, the government-backed operation will have a permanent base on Australian soil.

V’landys is exploring a number of potential sites but the most feasible logistic option is a headquarters in far north Queensland, where charter flights to PNG would take around 90 minutes.

It is understood NRL and government officials have discussed an 18th franchise being based full-time in Cairns. The region’s major venue, Barlow Park, has a capacity of 18,000 and will receive a $40 million upgrade ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

Home games could be split between Barlow Park and PNG’s 15,000-capacity National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.

Aside from the broadcast benefits of tapping into a second overseas market — the NRL has a footprint in New Zealand via the Warriors — V’landys believes an 18th team can be a political and educational weapon for PNG.

“We have a multifaceted plan. This is not just a benefit for the NRL,” V’landys said.

V’landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo (right) played key roles in adding the Dolphins as the NRL’s 17th team this season.

“The investment from the government will encompass not only the NRL team, but funding competitions in Papua New Guinea, having ex-rugby league players working as development people.

“As Phil Gould (Bulldogs football boss) told me, one of the reasons they are so keen on it is because a lot of kids in PNG don’t go to school, but if they have rugby league to play at school, they will turn up.

“Anthony Albanese sees the benefits and it’s only going to be as successful as the manner in which it’s executed and implemented.”

Asked about fears the Federal government would abandon the NRL if Albanese was dethroned, V‘landys said: “It doesn’t matter who is in power. Our relationship with our Pacific neighbours is crucial to national security.

“The government will be committed to this for a decade and beyond.

“The team would not be full of just PNG players. It will be an 18th franchise with a mix of players just like any of the existing 17 teams.

“Naturally, you could have an Australian coach.”

Super coach Wayne Bennett helped set up the Dolphins and has been identified as the man to build an 18th franchise in the Pacific.

And that man could be Bennett, rugby league’s greatest coach who has an intimate understanding of setting up clubs after building the Broncos in 1988 and the Dolphins last year.

Bennett, who turns 74 in January, confirmed earlier this season he is open to offers when his assistant, Kristian Woolf, succeeds him at the Dolphins in 2025.

“We absolutely would want Wayne involved in the new franchise if he is available,” V’landys said.

“He has done an incredible job with the Dolphins this season, they were very unlucky not to make the top eight and it was quite remarkable what the Dolphins achieved in their first seasons.

“Wayne is one of rugby league’s greatest assets and why wouldn’t you use him?

“There’s no point leaving him in the garage.

“Wayne Bennett is a genius. He has 40 or 50 years of rugby league knowledge and he would be the perfect person to have involved in setting up an 18th team.”