"Our growth plans are well underway,'' he said. "The Gold Coast Titans have been an overnight success. Calling what we achieved with the Gold Coast 'lucky' (as claimed by AFL commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick) is frankly arrogant and underestimates our efforts up there.
"While the other codes chase areas we are already in, we have the Central Coast, an area west of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and New Zealand in our sights as possible future NRL franchises. There's Perth too. It's an area we could explore.
"We are constantly monitoring how we are placed strategically in comparison with other codes and further expansion will happen at some point.
"The pace of population growth in these areas will create pressure on all the codes to take their claims for inclusion seriously. But there is a real danger in a code looking to put dots on the map without considering the impact of your existing teams.''
Gallop refused to set a date for expansion but did say Sydney clubs could consider amalgamation. "It is difficult to imagine going to all four places in one hit, but the competition between these areas for a place will make it a tough choiceto leave anyone out,'' he said.
"Rather than set a number or a date, it's about making sure the competition is as healthy as possible with sensible growth. Mergers are a possibility with the pressure on Sydney clubs, but certainly it's not something we will be forcing our clubs into.''
