NRL expansion: Peter V’landys makes promise to clubs there’ll be no expulsion of teams

Expansion is firmly back on the NRL’s agenda, but Peter V’landys has made a promise to fans in the wake of calls for a Sydney team to be shut down.

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has declared no current club will ever suffer the fate of South Sydney and be killed off as part of plans to grant updated NRL licences.

News Corp can reveal the ARL Commission is set to begin talks on the code’s participation agreement to ensure the existing 17 teams have their licences extended - safeguarding their NRL futures.

Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher recently expressed concerns over long-term plans for a 20-team competition, claiming a Sydney club should be shut down and relocated to Perth in a bid to deliver a truly national footprint for the NRL.

The Sydney market is saturated with nine teams.

Thousands of protesting Souths fans turned out in support of South Sydney's readmission to NRL competition in 2000. Picture: Mick Tsikas

Hatcher urged V’landys to move one of those clubs to Western Australia, while introducing another Queensland franchise in Brisbane’s western corridor.

“There are too many teams in Sydney, but if you take one team out of Sydney and move it to Perth, we will have a better-balanced competition with a national footprint,” Hatcher said.

“The intermediate problem is getting a team to Perth. I still think the best solution is to take a team from Sydney to Western Australia and if you include a fifth Queensland team, that’s an 18-team competition.

“We need a truly national footprint.”

V’landys, however, is adamant there will be no repeat of the culling process that saw South Sydney sensationally axed from the NRL for the 2000 season.

QRL chairman Bruce Hatcher has called for a Sydney teamt o be relocated. Picture: QRL

The Rabbitohs returned to the league two years later after successfully winning their legal battle with the NRL.

The participation agreement between the NRL and the game’s existing 17 clubs expires at the end of this season.

V’landys confirmed talks would soon begin over extending the licences of all clubs, including expansion newcomers the Dolphins _ guaranteeing their futures in the premiership.

The new licences would protect the 17 franchises from being relocated unless they went broke, a scenario that is highly unlikely given the ARL Commission’s individual club-funding grants well and truly exceed the salary cap.

Almost every NRL outfit has turned a profit in recent seasons, reducing their reliance on leagues-club funding to make ends meet. The likelihood is that the grants from head office will continue to go up, not down.

Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter Vlandys Picture NRL Photos

Asked about the club licences, V’landys said: “That is tied up in the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) process.

“There is no rush.

“We’re all pretty united. We are not losing any club. We’re not going through that ever again, while I am here anyway.

“Whoever takes over from me might have different views but I gave a commitment to all our clubs.

“We give enough money to them all now to be viable.

“One of the objectives the Commission had was to increase the distribution - which we have by 70 or 80 percent - to ensure the clubs stay viable.”

‘NRL SUICIDE’: LATEST BLOW TO EXPANSION SAGA

By David Riccio and Michael Carayannis

The NRL’s push to expand the competition into New Zealand has hit a major hurdle with Warriors owner Mark Robinson labelling the proposal as “suicide’’.

News Corp revealed last month the NRL’s long-term hopes of adding three more teams to the competition.

The 18th team is likely to either come from PNG or a combined PNG/ Pasifika venture by 2026 with plans gaining momentum to add a historic team from the region.

However, there is also support to eventually expand the NRL to 20 teams which would see another team added from New Zealand and either a second Melbourne team or a side from Perth.

NRL clubs want a say in any proposed expansion and Robinson has already indicated he would not support any plans to add another team into the Warriors heartland.

“It’s a 100 per cent no from me,” Robinson said.

The Warriors don’t want another NRL team in New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images

“The only place you’d send it would be the South Island, but even then the South Island is rugby territory.

“At the end of the day, when the Warriors are at their best, we get 20,000 to a game.

“When it’s raining and cold, we get 13,000. So there’s no way it’s financially viable.

“It would be suicide for someone to start another club in New Zealand.”

The Warriors are only just starting to find their feet again having spent two years away from New Zealand because of Covid-19.

The ramifications have been severe with the Warriors virtually having to start again with reconnecting with fans, sponsors and rugby league at grassroots level.

Rugby league was a near nonentity in New Zealand during their time away.

Andrew Abdo the Chief Executive Officer of the National Rugby League and Peter V'landys the Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission have been offered plenty of expansion advice. Picture: Getty Images

“They would never make any money because you’ve got to have an entire junior pathways structure for that new team,” Robinson said.

“It’s not just about the NRL. You can’t survive only with an NRL team, it’s about the entire foundation of the club from the grassroots upwards.

“You’re not going to get the players. You’re going to have to buy all the players from Australia and pay top dollar to get them to move over.

“It’s a waste of money going to New Zealand unless they’re (NRL) are going to prop it up.

“I firmly believe Perth should be the location for expansion. They were doing well before they exited the comp last time.”

A PNG contingent travelled to Australia last month and toured Penrith’s facilities and met with NRL and government officials as they push ahead with plans to become the NRL’s newest team.