Why a 20-team NRL competition solves rugby league’s biggest problems

An endless maelstrom of exclusive stories, breaking news and bombshell revelations is rapidly making NRL expansion the most tedious topic in the rugby league rinse cycle – even though it’s the most important.

Like Cameron Smith’s retirement, Wayne Bennett’s next club, and the Wests Tigers getting their shit together, we’ve reached the point where we’re now only interested when a decision is made.

We’ve been told Papua New Guinea, with its “Forbidden City” compound and tax-free contracts for players, will be the next team in – then it’s not.

We’ve been told the Perth Bears or Perth Jets or the Perth Jet Bears will come in from 2027 — then they are not.

We’ve been told the NRL hopes to be a 20-team competition before 2032 — then it’s 2030.

We’ve been told the NRL would unveil its expansion strategy in late June — then it was late July.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and ARLC chairman Peter V’landys.Credit: Dean Sewell

2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham last week told his listeners we could expect some news in August, revealing the Australian and PNG governments have fast-tracked an announcement about $600 million of taxpayer money funding a new franchise and pathways in the region.

The report blindsided NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo, who had to tell club bosses at a meeting that morning that no deal had been struck.

Meanwhile, on Triple M, comedian and North Sydney tragic Jim Jefferies was telling Mark Geyer and Mick Molloy that a deal between Perth and the Bears was imminent.

“I reckon we’re 80 per cent there now,” Jefferies said. “I’ll talk to you off-air about a few things that I can’t mention. I reckon we’re good to go.”

“You can be the Bears’ Russell Crowe,” Molloy suggested.

“I’m trying to literally buy three per cent,” Jefferies laughed. “I’m the only celebrity chipping in some money so I might as well take all the glory. It’s all me, everyone! You’re welcome, people of Sydney and Perth! We’re back, baby!”

Rugby league needs Jim Jefferies. He’s our kinda guy. Alas, his representative didn’t respond to an approach for comment.

The NRL insists no decisions about what the competition will look like from 2027 onwards have been made.

It has called for expressions of interest, several consortiums have fallen out of the race as expected, and the business cases of those still in the hunt are being pieced together.

Clearly, though, PNG and a Perth consortium in partnership with the Bears are the Bonecrusher and Our Waverley Star (1986 Cox Plate) as we enter the home straight for entry into the NRL.

The ARL Commission can’t ignore the money on the table from the Albanese government for PNG, even if both the Australian and PNG administrations seem more concerned about announcing the new franchise than detailing what it will look like.

The ARLC also seems caught up in the romance of the Bears being thawed from their cryogenic slumber and playing before heaving crowds of 15,000 people at North Sydney Oval twice a year while trying to regain a foothold in AFL-obsessed Perth.

That leaves one spot left in the NRL’s magical 20-team premiership. Brisbane Easts and the Wellington Orcas are pushing hard, but don’t dismiss a second Auckland franchise emerging from the shadows.

The NRL likes the idea a local derby following the success of the Dolphins and their intense rivalry with the Broncos. (Yes, Redcliffe is directly north of Brisbane, not part of Brisbane, but the sides share Suncorp Stadium and already developed a healthy dislike for each other. You get the gist).

Regardless of which bids are successful, a sustainable 20-team competition has enormous appeal because it solves some of rugby league’s biggest problems.

The beauty of having more teams is it allows the NRL to play fewer matches, freeing up time for other content.

The premiership can be contested over a proper home-and-away draw, with all teams playing each other once. Add a Magic Round and you have a 20-round premiership.

That is preferable to the 27-round monster we have now. Introduce conferences or relegation if you like, but a simpler, shorter draw is a must.

The Dolphins have been a raging success as the NRL’s 17th team – particularly their derby against Brisbane.Credit: Getty

With each passing year, it becomes clear the NRL season is too long. It starts in the first week of March and ends in the first week of October. The post-Origin flat spot is a grind. Players, coaches, officials and fans are fatigued.

Is too much rugby league barely enough? No. It’s more than enough.

Consider the players. The training is getting tougher because the opposition is getting faster and stronger. If they don’t beat you, an injury probably will.

The physical toll on the player has never been so great. Something needs to give, other than an elite player’s hamstrings.

The NRL craves what the NFL has: a compact, 18-round season loaded with blockbusters and short on blowouts.

Fewer premiership matches allows the NRL to either pause mid-season or wait until the end to play Origin matches, internationals and women’s fixtures.

Of course, the game can only expand if it gets serious about grassroots football. That starts and ends with a better relationship with the NSWRL and QRL and the clubs.

Last week, a high-placed NRL source told me there had been discussions about introducing a 20-team competition in 2028, when the next broadcast deal will kick in. Again, it’s only a thought. Nothing’s set in stone.

The NRL won’t be rushed into making a call on which franchises are given a golden ticket to Peter V’landys’ Chocolate Factory.

But even the ARL Commission chairman, known for his crash-or-crash-through ethic, is said to be taking things slowly and carefully on expansion. He doesn’t want to get it wrong.

So, stay tuned!

We can exclusively reveal there’s nothing to report other than there is nothing to report — but it will be interesting when there is.

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