A rival contender for a mooted South Island franchise in Australia’s National Rugby League has emerged, headed by former New Zealand Rugby and NRL chief executive David Moffett.
North Canterbury-based Moffett wants the “South Island Kea” to play out of Christchurch’s new Te Kaha Stadium and is targeting a 2028 debut when the NRL is tipped to expand to 18 teams.
The experienced administrator’s bid is a rival to the previously announced Christchurch-based consortium led by former Canterbury Rugby League chair Tony Kidd which has been lobbying NRL officials for admission to the competition. Sports Insider understands Moffett was approached to be involved in the original consortium. He would not explain why he rebuffed those overtures but told this column he was confident of securing a coveted expansion license.
“I have a completely different model to what has been proposed to date and I believe it will intrigue the NRL,” he said, in also revealing key details of his bid for the first time to Sports Insider.
“We are proposing a co-operative model that will allow fans to invest and own a portion of the franchise.”
Moffett confirmed that if successful, the Kea would also include a women’s franchise competing in the NRLW competition and that a handful of home matches would be played at other South Island venues including Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The NRL is planning to add an 18th men’s franchise by 2028 with two further teams to be added two years later when it is likely that the competition will be split into two 10-team conferences ahead of the finals series.
A Papua-New Guinea franchise, bankrolled by the Australian Government to ward off Chinese ambition in the country, is heavily favoured to secure the 18th licence which will leave Perth, the North Sydney Bears and now two South Island bids chasing the other two.
Moffett’s track record in both rugby union and league will ensure his bid secures the attention of NRL powerbrokers Peter V’Landys and Andrew Abdo. He has been the head of Sport England, New Zealand Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union, NSW Rugby and the NRL. He was also the first CEO of Southern Hemisphere rugby alliance Sanzar featuring the NZ, South African and Australian unions.
During his time at the NRL in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was instrumental in ensuring the Warriors franchise did not disappear. Influential Sydney league identities were pushing for the Warriors to be dumped from the competition during the messy transition of ownership from the Waikato-based Tainui iwi to now disgraced Kiwi businessman Eric Watson. Moffett resisted those overtures and made sure the Warriors survived.
He told Sports Insider his heart remains close to rugby league despite winding back his sports administration career to concentrate on other business interests in rural Canterbury.
“I was involved with [former Kiwi coach] Frank Endacott in considering a bid in 2012, however, there was no appetite within the NRL for a bid from the South Island at that time,” he said.
“I have always believed that Christchurch was the best city for an expansion team in the NRL and recent announcements by Peter V’Landys have confirmed that the NRL is now serious about receiving a bid from Christchurch.
“Under his astute leadership Peter has transformed the NRL into a powerhouse of Australian sport.
“The recent sell-out for the Warriors v Tigers match in Christchurch was a further indication that there is a lot of interest in teams playing in the best rugby league competition in the world.”
Aussie player in Kea team
Former Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos is also involved in the NRL Kea bid.
Moffett said Marinos will be “our man on the ground in Australia supporting us”. Zimbabwe-born Marinos has played rugby and league professionally (the latter with the Sydney Bulldogs in the mid-1990s and until last year was CEO of Rugby Australia). He left abruptly after falling out with then-chair Hamish McLennan after the boardroom boss sacked Kiwi Dave Rennie as Wallabies coach and replaced him with Eddie Jones for the World Cup against Marinos’ wishes.
Moffett said he is working to bring other prominent personalities onboard with potential announcements in coming weeks.
‘Fans will own the team’
Another key advisor to the team is Roz Henry, formerly the CEO of Co-Operative Business New Zealand, who is working with Moffett on the team’s business model which is based off 10,000 to 15,000 home crowds. Henry is an expert in co-ops and Moffett intends an intriguing fan-based ownership concept.
“One of the major differences that we will bring is the ownership structure,” Moffett said. “We’re investigating a form of fan ownership which will ensure fans can have skin in the game.
“We will be offering fans an opportunity to own part of the team either through a co-operative structure which is a common approach taken by major European football franchises, or the opportunity to buy shares in the company.
“It will be a first for New Zealand and for rugby league and is based on a co-operative model which inherently democratises decision-making and will allow fans to govern the team’s operations from selecting management to shaping the strategic direction.
“By empowering fans as owners we will foster a strong sense of community and inclusivity.”
Sports Insider would expect Te Kaha to jump at the chance to secure another anchor tenant alongside the Crusaders whose team boss Colin Mansbridge recently tweeted his organisation would have no problem with a league franchise in the city.
Moffett has also worked as boss of Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in Wales, offering further insight successful stadia workings.
Other titbits he released were that, if successful, the Kea’s colours would be based on the iconic Kiwi bird (meaning likely colours of emerald green, red or orange and black).
“We settled on the Kea for a number of reasons,” he explained.
“We wanted an emblem that embodies agility, intelligence, and adaptability – that describes the South Island kea.
“They’re endemic to the Southern Alps of New Zealand which demonstrates an ability to adjust to harsh conditions.
“They have a curious nature and playful spirit and are among the most intelligent and social bird species in the world. They represent teamwork and resilience which will mirror the spirit of our players.
“They are all attributes a franchise will need to be successful in the NRL, so it’s an appropriate name that will add authenticity to our team identity.”
With only 7000 wild Kea remaining and the species under threat, Moffett said $1 of every admission ticket would be donated back to the Kea Conservation Fund.
The South Island has a rich heritage of producing NRL performers including teak tough props Brent Todd, Mark Broadhurst, Terry Hermansson and the late Quentin Pongia and Adrian Shelford, former Kiwi coach David Kidwell right through to current Broncos emerging star Jordan Riki and last season’s leading tryscorer in the NRL, Jamayne Isaako from the Dolphins. That proven factory line of South Island talent over four decades will surely catch the eye of V’Landys and Abdo who both understand New Zealand is currently the richest talent nursery in the game.
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