NRL expansion: Which QLD team should join the competition in 2023?
It’s happening. The NRL will expand the competition in 2023, and it will likely be another SEQ team. But which team should it be? Vote and have your say here.
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The long awaited expansion of the NRL is going to happen, and 2023 looks set to be the year that we go to 17 teams.
On top of that, the inside mail says the league will ignore a push for Perth to get a new team with southeast Queensland – and in particular Brisbane – leading the pack to provide the Broncos with a true local rival.
But which team should be inducted into the NRL? Check out the candidates below, vote in the poll, and have your say in the comments.
BRISBANE BOMBERS
WHEN one of the greatest coaches in NRL history backs you in, you know you must be doing something right.
Melbourne Storm legend Craig Bellamy has been meeting with the franchise owners since 2012, with their most recent catch-up happening over Christmas as the Bombers look to secure the master coach as their football boss.
They have the funds, they have the name and the logo, and they’d be based at Suncorp Stadium giving them an established central location for fans – but do they have the soul to be a success?
The big question that hangs over the franchise is whether enough fans would back them in as a new team essentially in spite of the Broncos.
Are there enough Brisbane people who don’t want to back the Broncos and also don’t have an existing NRL allegiance that the franchise could be a success? That’s the question the NRL will have to consider.
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS
AN established team with more than 70 years of history, the Dolphins have the bankroll and the resources to make a push into the NRL.
And crucially, they have proven themselves on the field with eight grand finals in the past 19 years of the Queensland Cup.
The knock on them is that they’re too far away from the metro market to succeed as a financial force against the might of the Broncos.
Would fans be willing to travel 40km north of the city to watch games consistently, and is there enough of a population up there to sustain the team?
The Brisbane Roar’s push into Dolphin Stadium has proven a success for the A-League with the atmosphere pumping, but the NRL will need more convincing that crowds will not only be sustainable after initial entry into the league, but will grow significantly over the preceeding seasons.
WESTERN CORRIDOR
THE Western Corridor bid – which is very closely related to the Ipswich Jets – was formed in 2010 in a proposal that the growing population in the region would be perfect for an NRL expansion.
Like Redcliffe, the bid comes with an established club history and the common belief that the region is the “heartland” of rugby league in SEQ.
And unlike the Bombers, the new team would be a community-owned project similar to that of the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, offering greater incentive for Toowoomba, Ipswich and Logan locals to get behind them.
Where they fall behind Redcliffe is that the Jets’ home turf – North Ipswich Reserve – is not at the same level as Dolphin Stadium, and early reports suggest they would have to play out of Suncorp Stadium until a new arena is built at either Ripley Valley or Springfield.
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND
LAUNCHED in 2009, the Central Queensland bid is based out of Rockhampton and looks to unite the region from Bundaberg in the south and all the way up to Mackay.
The region is currently represented by the Capras in the Intrust Super Cup, but their on-field success – or lack of it – may work against them having never played in a grand final since 1996 while taking home three wooden spoons.
Population wise the support is there, but whether locals would be willing to turn away from established NRL allegiances is yet to be seen.
Again, they fall behind Redcliffe with their facilities and are unlikely to be on the same level as the Bombers for corporate backing.
SUNSHINE COAST
THE Sunshine Coast council has committed $17 million to an expansion of Kawana Stadium in a bid to increase the ground’s capacity to 16,618.
It’s a strong step in the right direction for a region that has the population to support a new team, with the Sunshine Coast Falcons their current representatives in the Intrust Super Cup.
On paper the idea looks good, but the parochial support of the CQ, Redcliffe and Western Corridor bids probably sees the Sunny Coast fourth in the line to the throne for established teams.
NORTH SYDNEY BEARS
CONSIDERED everyone’s second favourite team – probably because they’ve been missing for so long that people have forgotten any grudges they have against them – a proposal has been made to resurrect them in Queensland.
But what the proposal fails to consider is just how much Queenslanders hate anything to do with New South Wales, even if it is the cuddly Bears.
And would we really be silly enough to bring back a “Brisbane Bears” franchise that’s already been destroyed by the AFL?
Even columnist Mike Colman – the biggest North Sydney fan to ever exist – says it’s a bad idea.
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