NRL State of the Game: Peter V’landys on fifth Queensland team, AFL threat, trade window
In PART TWO of our State of the Game analysis, Peter V’landys reveals Queensland could have a fifth NRL club to counter the AFL’s ruthless raid on rugby league in Brisbane’s western corridor.
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ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys has revealed Queensland could have a fifth NRL club to support the Broncos and Dolphins to counter the AFL’s ruthless raid on rugby league in Brisbane’s western corridor.
In part two of our state-of-the-game analysis, V’landys unveiled his cross-code battleplan, hitting back at AFL CEO Gill McLaughlin’s claim that Australian Rules is on the verge of dethroning the NRL as the No.1 code in Queensland.
V’landys also detailed his push for a player-trade window and outlined the code’s version of ‘NRL Monopoly’ - an asset investment plan that could see the code amass a real-estate empire in excess of $250 million.
THE AFL THREAT
At his address to launch the AFL’s 2023 season, McLaughlin lobbed a grenade at the NRL, warning rugby league is about to be overtaken by Aussie Rules in the Sunshine State.
By 2025, McLaughlin believes the AFL will be the sporting kings in Queensland.
“We are seeing (participation) numbers lifting above pre-Covid levels, particularly in Queensland where AFL – within a year or two - is on the brink of being the biggest code in the state,” McLaughlin said.
“That’s something unthinkable a decade ago.”
But V’landys scoffed at suggestions the NRL is drowning under the torrent of development officers being employed by the AFL.
The NRL is flogging the AFL in TV ratings in Queensland. The inaugural Broncos-Dolphins derby in round 4 had 246,000 viewers in Brisbane - more than four times the 59,000 that watched the AFL’s Melbourne-Lions clash on the same night.
“The AFL is doing a great job, no doubt, and I take my hat off to them,” V’landys said.
“But competition lifts all ships and their competition has lifted us.
“We now have the momentum in Queensland. We have reversed the momentum.
“The reason we brought in the Dolphins was to combat the AFL and our strategy to stop the AFL has achieved.
“We wanted to take back Brisbane ... and we have.”
THE FAB FIVE
The NRL introduced a fourth Queensland club, the Dolphins, this season. Now, a fifth Queensland club is on the horizon.
The ARL Commission believes the competition can grow to 20 teams by the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
A proposed Pasifika franchise, with a headquarters in north Queensland, would be bankrolled by the Australian government, but the NRL is also mindful of the AFL’s strategic plan to take over Brisbane’s western corridor.
The area is Brisbane’s equivalent of Penrith’s massive nursery in western Sydney.
The Brisbane Jets lost out to the Dolphins in the NRL’s expansion battle two years ago, but V’landys says the western corridor is under the microscope as the code looks to combat the AFL - and generate more value in the sport’s next TV rights deal.
“I will never rule out a fifth team in Queensland,” V’landys said.
“The western corridor of Brisbane is a genuine consideration. We will look at the data and where the participation levels are. If there is a demand, we will supply it. There has to be a demand. The western corridor has not been forgotten.
“There is an argument for another team in Queensland, no doubt.
“It’s important we keep investing in participation because Queensland is our second biggest market and an area of huge importance to the NRL.”
THE DANGER ZONE
While there is a push for the NRL to hand an 18th licence to a Pasifika club, based full-time in Cairns, V’landys has been warned to ignore Brisbane’s western corridor at his peril.
The region will be Brisbane’s biggest growth area ahead of the 2032 Olympics and beyond and Jets chief executive Nick Livermore says the NRL must ‘go west’ to launch a fifth team in Queensland.
“If the NRL is serious about expansion, then the western corridor must get the next licence,” Livermore said.
“To be honest, the AFL is decimating rugby league. They are the No.1 sport in the country. They are destroying rugby league in Auskick numbers and junior participation.
“Rugby league is under attack in western Brisbane.
“The Lions have based themselves out at Springfield and this (having an NRL presence in Brisbane’s west) was all part of what we spent the better part of a decade working towards.”
V’landys said he is mindful of a Cairns-based NRL club cannibalising the Cowboys in the north Queensland region.
“We have done no analysis on Cairns so far,” he said. “The chairman of the Cowboys, Lewis Ramsay, is a fantastic operator and we want to support the Cowboys as much as we can.
“They have done a mammoth job in North Queensland so whatever we do with expansion, we will do it in close consultation with the Cowboys.”
TRADE WINDOW FURY
Despite opposition from the Rugby League Players Association, V’landys is determined to explore an NRL trade window.
The issue reached a flashpoint last week with the outrage over Canberra star Jack Wighton’s decision to defect to Souths next season.
“We’re in negotiations with the RLPA on this issue,” V’landys said.
“It’s a point the players feel strongly about (being able to move clubs), but our job is to balance the interest of the players and the fans and the game as a whole.
“We have to find the right balance. We don’t want to ruin it for players, but at the same time we have to make sure the fans are also happy with the system.
“At the moment, if you are a Canberra fan, and this is no disrespect to Jack Wighton, all of a sudden he is going to South Sydney next year, so for the rest of the year he has to play for Canberra.
“Well, if you are a fan, you aren’t happy about that. I’m not bagging Jack Wighton. He is entitled to do what he’s done under the rules, so that’s why we are looking at a transfer window.”
NRL MONOPOLY
The NRL has come under fire for purchasing Gambaros hotel and restaurant on Caxton Street adjacent to Suncorp Stadium.
It is understood the property deal cost $25 million, but V’landys says the investment has paid dividends.
Now the ARL Commission is on the hunt for more revenue-generating assets in a Monopoly-style plan to build a property empire.
V’landys, however, says the NRL has no interest in emulating the AFL by owning stadiums.
“We won’t be buying stadiums,” he said.
“If you get a natural disaster like Covid again, having a stadium won’t help you. It would be closed down so you don’t have any revenue streams. You need something that is bulletproof in an emergency situation.
“Gambaros is actually returning more than we expected. It has grown in value and we will be looking to buy another 10 Gambaros over the next decade.
“It is a success story.”
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