Pacific Islands Expansion (covid barred)

[Getmefood]

With PNG Hunters and Kaiviti Silktails & possibly a new Pacific XIII club in the QLD Cup (New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, French Polynesia) do you think the Pacific would be better served with a semi professional competition of there own with further clubs from Samoa, Tonga & the Cook Islands added as well or would Pacific Island clubs be better playing within the NZRL ? or absorbed by the NRL's competitions (NSW & QLD Cup)?

I think personally rugby league governing bodies has to be pro-active in expanding the game and I'd love for the Pacific Islands to have their own small professional league, run during the NRL off season to allow for more footy.

9's has also been a great tool in expanding the game and could be used for smaller Pacific nations like Tokelau, Niue, Tuvalu, Kiribati & Nauru to showcase RL there - there's plenty of raw talent in the Pacific Islands as we've seen players like Eliesa Katoa for the Warriors, the amount of Fijian wingers in the NRL. There'd be plenty more they just need to be given the opportunity to play, the most common path they find themselves moving to Australia/NZ to further there careers but with a more local league it can make talent spotting easier. What is your ideal method with expanding into the Pacific. I understand the populations is much smaller but the amount of raw talent shouldn't be ignored and with the right training players from the Islands make very good players and something the NRL and International Rugby League should look to fully capitalise on.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

I think it would be fantastic to have a pacific island competition. Of their own.

A big obstacle to overcome is geography, the span of the pacific islands is huge, and as such the travel costs will be significant.

 

[NRLMad]

Start with NSWRL & QRL teams with money funding local grassroots competitions and over a few years hopefully we’ll see some real completion startup

 

[greenBV4]

travel costs would be too much and they wouldn't have the australian/nrl economy to piggy back off like they would in the nsw and qld cups

The ARLC should look to strengthen the 2nd Division - rebrand them as conferences (the 2 winners already play eachother anyway) and do away with NSW and QLD in the name (as they are already expanding out of those states anyway)

2nd divsion is never likely to be anything BIG in Australia, but it could still definately get a bit bigger, a rebrand like this wouldn't cost the ARLC much either and opens the comp up to more of a national appeal.

The NSW cup would need some fixing up, with too many sides from Sydney and not enough in regional NSW, I'd also like to see it go the QCup route of seperate clubs from the NRL counterparts, with the NRL clubs then forming feeder agreements

 

[greenBV4]

National 2nd Division

Conference 1 (named after NSW great)
Kaiviti Silktails
Wellington or Christchurch (shift the Warriors)
Newcastle Knights
CC
Newtown Jets
North Sydney Bears
Magpies
Syd
Syd
2 of North Coast/West NSW/South Coast
Victoria
WA
SA

Conference 2 (named after QLD great)
Burleigh Bears
CQ Capras
Brisbane Tigers
Ipswich Jets
Mackay Cutters
Northern Pride
Norths Devils
PNG Hunters
Redcliffe Dolphins
Logan Magpies
SC Falcons
Tweed Seagulls
Western Mustangs
Wynnum Manly
Pacific XIII
NT

(either cut 2 brisbane teams - or add 2 teams to C1)
Just an idea on teams, its the concept I'm more a fan of

 

[Perth Red]

Too logistically hard and costly to have their own comp. Better PI teams are admitted primarily to a beefed up nz comp, or QRL if easier for travel.