NRL funding deal avoids legal stoush with NSWRL and QRL over expansion plans

There is peace at last in rugby league, after Peter V’landys and the ARL Commission brokered a $200 million funding deal which will guarantee the code’s expansion plans can proceed.

The ARL Commission has avoided the biggest legal battle in 30 years as part of a $200 million-plus funding coup that will see the NRL unveil a 19-team competition by 2028.

This masthead can reveal the war is over, with ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys broking four-year deals with the Queensland and NSW Rugby Leagues - ending a planned legal showdown in the NSW Supreme Court.

V’landys confirmed the messy dispute has been settled before reaching the courtroom, with the ARL Commission’s funding commitment to the state bodies to exceed more than $200 million until the end of 2027.

The parties were at loggerheads for more than a year and a listing for a Supreme Court hearing had been set for September 13, but the legal stoush has been averted.

Now the NRL is pressing forward with a funding and expansion masterplan that will see the Western Bears and Papua New Guinea added to the Telstra Premiership in 2027-28.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JUNE 14, 2024: ARL Chairman Peter V'landys speaks at a press conference at Leichhardt Oval. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Minister for Sport Steve Kamper and Mayor of Inner west Darcy Byrne announce a joint $40 million funding package to redevelop and thereby save, Leichhardt Oval. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

As revealed last week by this masthead, the NRL has reached an in-principle agreement with the Federal government, who will provide $600m in funding to a PNG operation.

Well-placed sources say the ARL Commission will make a formal announcement on expansion after the NRL grand final on Sunday week - pending discussions with the 17 clubs to outline the code’s growth project.

The Western Bears will join the NRL as the 18th club in 2027, followed by Papua New Guinea the following season.

No decision has been made at this stage on when a 20th team will enter the premiership.

The ARLC’s funding spat with the NSWRL and QRL was one major headache, but that political hurdle has now been cleared as the code marches towards the biggest expansion drive in three decades.

“The funding issue has all been resolved,” V’landys said.

“Both parties acted in good faith and found a resolution.

“The two chairs were fantastic, Paul Conlon (NSWRL) and Bruce Hatcher (QRL).

“We had a number of meetings and they were very pleasant discussions.

Papua New Guinea is now in the mix to join the NRL in 2028. Picture NRL photos

“There was never one argument. Bruce has always been a warrior for Queensland rugby league but he always does it in a polite, friendly and passionate manner. His efforts and those of Paul Conlon were extraordinary.

“I was always confident there wouldn’t be a court case.

“We all had people with the right intentions.

“I knew we could resolve the issue.”

V’landys confirmed a News Corp report that the Federal Government has come to the party on the PNG expansion project.

The NRL’s 19th team will receive $290 million in funding over 10 years - $29m a season to the football club - with the Federal government to deliver another $250m to infrastructure as part of a ‘soft-diplomacy’ strategy in the Pacific.

V’landys would not comment on specific time frames but confirmed PNG is now in the expansion mix.

“We had a minimum proposal with the (Federal) government on money they had to put in and the Government has agreed to that,” he said.

“It’s now up to the Commission (to make a decision on adding PNG to the NRL).

“The government has played its role.

“We had a meeting at Magic Round and I told them at that meeting they had to go away and come back with some funding that would meet the minimum requirement for them to have a bid.

“They have come back with the minimum requirements, they have done very well actually.

“Now, it (the PNG bid) goes in with the other proposals and we will make a final determination on who comes in when.”

It is expected the PNG government will be asked to build an NRL compound as a requirement of the Pacific side’s entry in 2028.

V’landys said that project has not been finalised, but confirmed tax incentives will be on the table, as well as a plan for state-of-the-art accommodation for players and staff involved with a proposed PNG club.

“There will be housing built but it won’t be a compound as such. That’s all to be discussed in the planning process, nothing is finalised,” he said.

“There will be a precinct, that is part of the deal.

“Not all the money is going to the football team, the majority of money is heavily on the pathways to develop the structures needed for a PNG team to succeed.

“They have 18 million people in PNG ... imagine the nursery of players that will come from that.”

QRL boss Ben Ikin welcomed the record funding deal, with the Queensland Rugby League set to receive an estimated $100m over the next four years.

“Now that the chairs have locked in a deal until 2027, the singular focus will be making our game stronger at every level,” he said.