Article confirms 18th team won't be australian

[Pippen94]

Bold bid for Pasifika team to become NRL’s 18th franchise

As the Australian government looks to combat Chinese influence in the Pacific Islands, plans are afoot for rugby league to follow the lead of Super Rugby and have a Pasifika team in the NRL competition.

www.smh.com.au

 

[MugaB]

Looking like PNG, (yeah you know me!)
now will it be the Hunters, Pride or some new pasifika moniker

PNG's back.

Papua New Guinea launches bid to become NRL’s 18th team I'll be surprised if there isn't significant political pressure to make a PNG side happen. It shouldn't happen under any circumstances, but they might actually be in with chance considering the political environment in the region.

forums.leagueunlimited.com

 

[MugaB]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07...national-rugby-league-bid-expansion/101240158

How Anthony Albanese came to back PNG's bold bid to become the NRL's 18th team

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Papua New Guinean counterpart James Marape may have been speaking on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum on Thursday. But what they said will be felt across the playing fields of the NRL and regional geopolitics.

www.abc.net.au

 

[mave]

If you listen closely, you can hear a faint cry all the way from Perth.

 

[Marlins]

So PNG are looking more likely to be the 18th team. So the order atm goes -
1. PNG
2. North Sydney Bears
3. NZ2
4. Perth

 

[mongoose]

Given it is unlikely that PNG will earn the league’s 18th licence as a stand-alone entity, one of the options being explored is forming a super bid comprising players and resources from PNG, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Fiji.

how is this even going to work?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

For the past two years, we’ve seen how well a composite team playing all over the place and not being at home works.

 

[MugaB]

For the past two years, we’ve seen how well a composite team playing all over the place and not being at home works.

Lets gone warriors!

 

[Canard]

Pure drivel.

It's embarrassing for Fairfax and our game that fanciful bullshit like this gets written about.

The Super Rugby team is just another NZ side with the pretence of representing the Pacific (based in Auckland and plays all games at Mt Smart).

 

[reanimate]

Where was the confirmation? The article uses language like ‘bid’, ‘option’, ‘considered’ etc.

 

[The Great Dane]

It's still a terrible idea, but done right the NRL could absolutely fleece the government to get it done at the moment.

If I was the NRL I'd demand a ludicrous amount of subsidies in exchange for allowing a PNG side into the NRL. I'd literally just write a wish list of everything you could ever want and present it to Albo with an ultimatum "do all or most of this or no PNG side".

If he agrees then great, the NRL gets a bunch of stadiums, junior registration paid for, help expanding with further expansion, etc, etc, if he doesn't then it's no loss.

 

[jim_57]

Where was the confirmation? The article uses language like ‘bid’, ‘option’, ‘considered’ etc.

Exactly, Pipp is trolling with the title or didn’t actually read it. No quotes in there from anyone at the NRL and nothing indicating Australian bids were ruled out.

 

[Perth Red]

Haha nice stretch pip! Some of your best troll work there.
“THE“ PNG playing across the pacific, success written all over it lol. If anything reads like png know they’ve got no chance of a team and are now doing a bears and trying to look more enticing by coming up with hair brain ideas about how they can represent half the southern hemisphere. But yeh that article confirms where club 18 will be lol.

 

[MugaB]

Haha nice stretch pip! Some of your best troll work there.
“THE“ PNG playing across the pacific, success written all over it lol. If anything reads like png know they’ve got no chance of a team and are now doing a bears and trying to look more enticing by coming up with hair brain ideas about how they can represent half the southern hemisphere. But yeh that article confirms where club 18 will be lol.

Well he might be right, as in might not be on Australia, could be Christchurch Bears

 

[Perth Red]

Well he might be right, as in might not be on Australia, could be Christchurch Bears

There is no Christchurch bid.

 

[Gobsmacked]

This is Albanese simply speaking out of turn. He has no say in the direction of the NRL . 0
And if he had even the slightest influence, he's a politician... and you can't believe a thing he says anyway.
This is a politician speaking kind words with foreign allies, nothing more.
It's actually an embarrassment and could come back to bight him when the NRL denies any knowledge or intrest.
What a flog.

 

[flippikat]

There is no Christchurch bid.

As far as the Bears are concerned, there's a bid from anywhere that will host them.

 

[Wb1234]

He’s a

This is Albanese simply speaking out of turn. He has no say in the direction of the NRL . 0
And if he had even the slightest influence, he's a politician... and you can't believe a thing he says anyway.
This is a politician speaking kind words with foreign allies, nothing more.
It's actually an embarrassment and could come back to bight him when the NRL denies any knowledge or intrest.
What a flog.

massive south’s fan
Never misses a game

if he wants to invest 20 million a year Into a png nrl team then vlandys should take the cash

geopolitical tensions could be a huge win for league

 

[TGG]

Lol at the deadshit moron and his fishing attempts on this.

 

[Gallen Towers]

It would be funny to see it happen just to see all the Victorians whine about why the federal government isn't spending money to promote AFL in the Pacific.