The NRL and their clubs are headed for expansion showdown

The NRL and their clubs are headed for an expansion showdown on Friday morning amid revelations the game is only a fortnight away from adding a 17th team

Peter V'landys is ready to take the clubs on the expansion journey . Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The NRL and their clubs are headed for an expansion showdown on Friday morning amid revelations that the ARL Commission is a fortnight away from formally announcing a second Brisbane team to be added to the Telstra Premiership in 2023.

News Corp understands that NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo called club bosses to a meeting on Friday to discuss a range of matters, although expansion was not believed to be among them. However, the clubs have asked that expansion now be included among the discussion points as they seek some clarity around the game’s plans to add a 17th team to the competition in 2023.

It is understood the clubs have a number of concerns, chief among them how the financial landscape will change with the addition of another side. The clubs are also in dispute with the NRL over the game’s future finances as they come to terms with the debilitating impact of Covid-19 on the competition.

The clubs have been offered a $7 million compensation package by the NRL to mitigate some of the financial damage caused by the relocation of the premiership to southeast Queensland. However, some remain convinced that they are owed as much as $24 million in total on November 1, 2022.

The issue threatens to drive a wedge between the clubs and powerbrokers at Rugby League Central as they also deal with the delicate issue of expansion.

ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys has promised to take the clubs along for the ride and Brisbane chief executive Dave Donaghy confirmed they wanted more information before giving expansion their unconditional support.

“We haven’t heard from the NRL as yet,” Donaghy said.

“So it’s very hard to have an informed opinion around the business model for expansion at this stage.”

It is understood ARL Commissioners heard an analysis of expansion at a board meeting on Wednesday, conducted by both League Central and external firms, that showed the financial forecasting for a 17-team competition stacks up.

The final step involves V’landys presenting findings and funding outcomes to the existing 16 clubs, but after 11 years of expansion heartache, Brisbane will get a second team to rival the Broncos.

V’landys has taken a cautious approach — and will not rubberstamp expansion until he meets with the clubs over the next week — but the ARL Commission are unanimous in their backing for a fourth Queensland club.

The ARL Commission plans to make an expansion announcement after Sunday week’s NRL grand final. It will be the code’s first growth venture since the Gold Coast Titans were added to the NRL premiership in 2007.

It is believed the ARLC will first agree to expand the league, before then holding another round of talks with the Firehawks, Dolphins and Jets to land on the winning bid by late October.

That would give Brisbane’s successful second franchise time to begin an aggressive recruitment drive from November 1, when off-contract players can attract formal offers, in preparation for NRL entry in 2023.

There was talk of expansion being delayed until 2024 amid the Covid crisis, but the financials have been more positive than expected.

While the ARLC has the power to expand without the backing of the 16 clubs, V’landys is keen to have stakeholder support for one of the most significant strategic moves in the NRL’s history.

The NRL is locked in a sporting turf war with the AFL in Queensland and a second Brisbane club will give rugby league more ammunition to win a new generation of fans and participants.

The decision will send some of the game’s most powerful clubs into a mad scramble over the next six weeks as they look to lock away their biggest stars. The Dolphins are the prohibitive favourites to win the 17th licence and three names are believed to be prominent on their list of targets - Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Kalyn Ponga.

Among the players who enter the final year of their deals on November 1 are Melbourne stars Christian Welch and Brandon Smith, Parramatta pair Reed Mahoney and Junior Paulo, and Gold Coast and Queensland forward Tino Fa’asuamaleau.

Storm chairman Matt Tripp threw his support behind the ARL Commission, saying a second Brisbane team is a “no-brainer”.

“Absolutely there is room for a second Brisbane team,” Tripp said.

“If I wasn’t chairman of the Melbourne Storm and I was Matt Tripp the rugby league fan and someone said to me should there be a second club in Brisbane, I would say yes, 100 per cent.

“Of course those comments might be to the short-term detriment of the Storm but taking a long-term view, I don’t think it will be detrimental at all.

“Expansion will be great for the game. While the talent pool will be thin for a period, as long as the game continues to evolve and improve and stay an elite sport in this country, it will then warrant better broadcast deals, better sponsorship, all the things that can drive revenue and bring people to the game.

“The salary cap will increase and more people will want to play the game. There will be a knock-on effect.

“If the foundations are right and the game is being handled right at the top, which it is in my opinion, the NRL is ready for a second Brisbane team.”