Ben Ikin and Wayne Bennett back a fifth Queensland NRL team with the Bears branding

QRL boss Ben Ikin has called on ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys to give Queensland a fifth NRL club in 2027 amid fears the Perth Bears bid is on the brink of collapse.

QRL boss Ben Ikin has called on ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys to give Queensland a fifth NRL club in 2027 amid fears the Perth Bears bid is on the brink of collapse.

Ikin’s ‘Strive for Five’ expansion push came as the NRL prepares for D-Day, with the ARL Commission hoping to make a definitive call on a West Australian team by the end of April.

The Western Bears’ bid to become the NRL’s 18th team is on life support, with the WA government having rejected a funding proposal to inject $120 million into rugby league over the next decade.

The NRL and WA government are around $65 million apart, prompting ARLC boss Peter V’landys to hold fresh talks with WA premier Roger Cook in the hope of a resolution.

But Ikin says there is already a better option on the table for the NRL – a western-corridor bid that could join forces with the Broncos to wipe out the AFL in the fastest growing region of Brisbane.

QRL boss Ben Ikin wants a Queensland team.

Far from cannibalising the Broncos, Ikin says a fifth Queensland team would give the NRL crucial territorial domination over the AFL, which is threatening rugby league in Brisbane’s sprawling western corridor.

South Sydney supercoach Wayne Bennett has described the region as Queensland’s equivalent of the Penrith region that boasts the biggest nursery in the code.

Ikin played 87 games for the Bears and would celebrate the North Sydney brand being resurrected as part of a joint-venture with the WA government.

But if the Perth bid fails to materialise, Ikin implored the NRL to expand to Brisbane’s western corridor, a franchise that would have the support of the Queensland Rugby League.

“I have no doubt a Brisbane western-corridor team would be ready for 2027, absolutely,” Ikin told this masthead.

“This area can’t be ignored by the NRL. The western corridor is set up for success now.

“If the NRL is looking at operational readiness, that’s the next choice for the game.

“I understand there is a masterplan to take the game to PNG (which enters the NRL in 2028) and to make it truly national, you need to look at a team in Perth.

“I’m an old Bear so I would love to see the Bears back in the comp, but you could turn on a team in the western corridor tomorrow and it would work.”

The Dolphins have been a big success so far. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

V’landys is determined to revive the Bears as a big-league brand after 25 years in the NRL wilderness.

Should the Perth bid not proceed, it doesn’t necessarily mean the death of the Bears as an NRL entity, with V’landys open to rebranding opportunities with other franchises.

The NRL is exploring a second team in New Zealand, while V’landys has not ruled aligning the Bears with a fifth NRL franchise in Queensland.

“If the Perth bid goes ahead, the Bears are front and centre of it,” V’landys said.

“If it doesn’t work with Perth, we would look at other options for them.

“The Bears brand has great history and a huge supporter base and we want them involved with expansion, absolutely.

“I would love to see the Bears back in the NRL.”

Bennett hails from Brisbane’s western corridor and still owns a farm at Warwick in the region.

When the NRL introduced the Dolphins as the 17th team in 2021, V’landys made it clear Bennett had to be the club’s foundation coach.

The 75-year-old Bennett is adamant an Ipswich team could work from 2027.

“The NRL has to look at that region,” Bennett told this masthead.

“The only place not shored up in Queensland is that western corridor. It has to be done.

“That western corridor is Queensland’s equivalent of Penrith in Sydney.

“We can’t afford to lose that region to the AFL.”

The Dolphins inaugural coach Wayne Bennett says the area is ripe for another NRL team.

Queensland, Federal and local governments have committed $40 million to the proposed $220m redevelopment of a North Ipswich sport and entertainment precinct ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

A fifth Queensland team would also give the NRL another crucial negotiating tool in TV rights negotiations in their march toward a 20-team competition.

“It’s a legitimate option now,” Ikin said.

“There is already a bid in from the western corridor.

“Our Queensland Cup clubs already function as academies.

“You would have the Brisbane Tigers, Ipswich Jets and Western Clydesdales that run three male teams and three female teams, so that’s six sides times three clubs in that region.

“An Ipswich team would be based in the third fastest growing region in Australia that is rugby league heartland – and they could play out of Suncorp Stadium.

“The pathway is set. It would all feed directly into one NRL side.”

Originally published as Ben Ikin and Wayne Bennett back a fifth Queensland NRL team with the Bears branding