@Hartwood posted this a few years ago:
https://forums.leagueunlimited.com/threads/it’s-very-realistic-to-say-that-we’ll-have-a-second-team-in-brisbane-in-2023-vlandys.482847/page-31#post-14692204
Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys has revealed Queensland could have a fifth NRL team by 2027 and has outlined plans to clean up the sport to win the turf war against the AFL.
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Part of that strategy involves a proposed second Brisbane team for 2023, a possible fifth Queensland club for the next broadcast deal and a wider appeal to Australian mums and dads concerned about the brutality of the sport.
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THE AFL THREAT
V’landys believes rugby league is under siege in Queensland. The Brisbane Lions are constructing a $70 million headquarters at Springfield in the western corridor on the very patch of grass that once housed rugby league goalposts and football fields.
That is the most palpable sign the AFL is making dangerous incursions into rugby league heartland - and V’landys promised the NRL empire will strike back.
“I will give due credit to the AFL,” he said.
“They have quietly kept us warm and fuzzy and held our hand while they are invading us.
“Let’s not mince words. The AFL are invading Queensland and that is brilliant management. I’m not bagging the AFL. They have excellent strategy. But I’m up for the fight. I’m not going to sit back and give them our territory.
“It’s like if you are at war - you don’t give the enemy half your land.
“Queensland is our turf and I will protect it. The AFL have been very smart and strategic by moving into the western corridor (of Brisbane), but they can’t sit back and think I will accept that.
“Every corridor of rugby league’s house in Queensland is important. It’s our traditional market, but you cannot be complacent and I won’t allow us to be.
EXPANSION
On Monday, the NRL formally called for expressions of interest for a second team in Brisbane to rival the Broncos. The Brisbane Jets, Firehawks and Dolphins are the three consortia bidding to join the big league as the NRL’s 17th team in 2023.
Some of the NRL’s existing clubs, led by the Gold Coast Titans, have expressed concerns about growing the code in a COVID-affected climate, but V’landys hit back at critics of his expansion push.
“We would be derelict in our duty as an ARL Commission not to look at the footprint of our game and how he can make our game more viable and appealing to people,” he said.
“One, we have to attract kids to play sport and the second motive is to entice them to play rugby league.
“If you want to dominate a market you need to have a presence there all the time. We want to dominate Queensland. A second Brisbane team gives the NRL a game every weekend at Suncorp Stadium.
“We are analysing it. Expansion is not a fait accompli.
“People who are jumping up and down should understand that as directors (of the ARL Commission), we have a responsibility to the game as a whole, not to individual clubs.
“Cameron Smith, the greatest player ever, was a Logan junior. He went from Brisbane to Melbourne.
“If there was a second Brisbane team, would he have gone there?
“We should not be on the board if we are too scared to look at a second Brisbane team. We should not be frightened of opportunity. I am determined to grow the game.”
STRIVE FOR FIVE
V’landys is keen to provide more value for the code’s next broadcast deal with 18 teams having been discussed.
Pay TV operator Foxtel are locked in until 2027, while Channel 9’s contract expires at the end of next year and the free-to-air giant are sure to seek additional revenue streams from the NRL to justify fresh media investment.
The NRL are exploring the birth of a second team in New Zealand to join the Warriors, while V’landys is open to a fifth licence in Queensland.
“A fifth team in Queensland is not out of the question at all as we continue to grow,” he said.
“If an 18th team was to come in, it might happen in the next broadcast cycle, but if it is going to happen, planning has to start now. It’s part of our long-term plan.
“It’s too early to be absolutely certain where we go. New Zealand was suggested by Andrew (Abdo, NRL CEO) and that is certainly a market that we are after, but it could be anywhere.
“I won’t rule out Perth, but there could be another team in Queensland.”
