Personally i would love to see Perth involved in the league again, seems to be another 5-10 years away tho, only due to competitiveness of the current juniors, covid could have halted that somewhat but i feel there will be a push towards that after this next 18th team get greenlit, either that or a push into more qld content
Yeah I think NZ 2 is pretty odds on at this stage; unless something pretty drastically changes from here on in.
The more I think about it, there are big advantages, if they set it up properly (TV scheduling, greater access to talent etc)
The concern is the Warriors. It would enormous if they were able to obtain some sort of success prior to the second team coming in. That would help out the Warriors as well as drum up some interest in the rivalry.
I’m a big fan of Perth. There would be challenges in terms of recruitment but the amount of corporates over there, the population and the flexible scheduling options are big advantages. I don’t think the current administration have that thought process it seems but you never know.
The 20th team is the difficult one for me. I’m definitely not sold on Adelaide (it’s not a growing area anyway). Brisbane might be ready depending on how well the Dolphins and the Titans are travelling but I wouldn’t do it in the next five years say.
If the league is in some unbelievably good financial position, then they might go to the Pacific or some other really long term option.