NRL Expansion: Queensland should host the 18th team says Ben Ikin

New QRL boss Ben Ikin says Queensland should play host to the NRL’s 18th team – but the former Broncos boss accepts that the club may not be based in Brisbane.

New Queensland Rugby League boss Ben Ikin has backed the code’s expansion plans and believes the Sunshine State can accommodate a fifth NRL franchise.

ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys will begin due diligence in the coming months on fresh expansion, with a Pasifika franchise, based full-time in Cairns, touted as the frontrunner to win an 18th licence.

But a Pasifika franchise, bankrolled by the Australian government, will face stiff competition from the Brisbane Tigers, which formally launched their bid for an NRL licence on Wednesday.

Brisbane Tigers bid chief Shane Richardson believes the NRL will be ready for an 18-team league by 2027 and Ikin is adamant there is room for a fifth franchise in Queensland following the success of 17th club the Dolphins this season.

“Queensland seems to be the place to expand the game,” said Ikin, the former Broncos head of football.

The Brisbane Tigers want to be the 18th NRL team - do you back their bid?@badel_cmailhttps://t.co/jR1l8edIfv

— Courier Mail Sport (@cmail_sport) May 16, 2023

“We’ve had the Gold Coast Titans and the Redcliffe Dolphins, and the Brisbane Tigers, formerly known as Easts Tigers, have a long history in this jurisdiction.

“The QRL are right behind their bid to be the 18th franchise.

“What we have got is a sound base to work from with the Brisbane Tigers.

“Knowing their bid and based on what I know, they are keen to push out through that western corridor (of Brisbane) which has been very important to this organisation (the QRL).

“Ipswich Jets have been a great brand in Queensland for a long time, the Clydesdales have come and gone a couple of times, but we are back in Toowoomba under the Western Clydesdales brand.

“If the Tigers were elevated to the NRL and they were affiliated to that western-corridor region, it would be a good thing for the game.”

Darren Schonig in action for the Clydesdales. Picture: Nev Madsen.

There is a strong push for a Pasifika team to be added to the NRL.

It is understood a Pasifika franchise would receive more than $20 million in annual funding from the Federal Government to assist with national security in the Pacific region.

Under a Pasifika model, the 18th team would have a full-time headquarters in Cairns and play home games in Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea, with the North Sydney Bears open to a stake in the club.

PNG has expressed a desire to enter the NRL for the past decade and the Pacific nation has the support of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Ikin sees merit in a Pasifika NRL team and says the QRL has shown its support to PNG rugby league via the inclusion of the Hunters in the Queensland Cup in 2014.

Asked if a Pasifika team straddled across three or four nations would be a logistical nightmare for the NRL, Ikin said: “A lot of things would have to be modelled to understand how it could work.

“The QRL is proud of the work we have done with the PNG Hunters.

“We have put down real roots with a country that loves rugby league.

“In fact, rugby league is their No.1 code to the point where they believe they are ready to take a step up to the NRL.

New QRL CEO Ben Ikin. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“If there is some way that you could engage and embrace at that level the Pasifika element of our game, that would be wonderful.

“But if we are in a rush and we are trying to get to 18 teams quickly, then the logical solution is the Brisbane Tigers.”

Richardson says a Pasifika franchise based in far-north Queensland is not sustainable and is adamant the NRL can no longer overlook Brisbane’s western corridor, which is being targeted by the AFL.

“It’s horrendous that we are ignoring the western corridor of Brisbane,” Richardson said.

“The AFL is a massive threat – they are taking us on in that region.

“League is in huge trouble if we don’t go to the western corridor. The AFL has money to spend and they have the financial wherewithal to do it.

They are smart, but they don’t have the heart and soul at this stage.

“And that’s league’s trump card.

“The Brisbane Tigers have an established presence in that region, we have links with Booval Swifts at Ipswich.

“We could build a high-performance centre in western Brisbane tomorrow and be right next door to the AFL and take them head on.

“Cairns is not a viable option from a commercial point of view for an 18th team.

“If you are going to put an 18th team anywhere, it has to be based in Brisbane.”

Originally published as NRL Expansion: Queensland should host the 18th team says Ben Ikin