Well well well… Seems like the Queenslanders are getting restless… Apparently - NRL need to shore up the western corridor as AFL are after that region… Who would have thunk it eh??? Haha so many deadshits with no clue running their mouths on this forum.
Wayne Bennett has slammed NRL clubs’ “selfish” attitudes on expansion as Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher called for a Sydney team to be killed off and relocated to Perth.
The NRL’s strategic plan on expansion is gathering steam with the stunning success of the Dolphins providing added impetus for the ARL Commission to consider fresh markets for an 18th licence – possibly as early as 2026.
As revealed by News Corp, rugby league’s most influential executives discussed a 20-team competition at last month’s Annual General Meeting of clubs and ARLC boss Peter V’landys is keen to explore further growth to combat the AFL.
Now he has found powerful allies in Bennett, the code’s greatest coach, and QRL chair Hatcher, who is proposing an 18-team league featuring a rebranded Perth team and a fifth NRL club in Queensland.
The Sydney market is saturated with nine teams and Hatcher urged V’landys to move one of those clubs to Western Australia, while introducing another Queensland franchise in Brisbane’s western corridor ahead of the code’s next broadcast deal in 2027.
“The best way to give Perth an identity in the NRL is to straddle two markets with a history starting out of Sydney,” Hatcher said.
“There are too many teams in Sydney, but if you take one team out of Sydney and move it to Perth, we will have a better-balanced competition with a national footprint.
“I’m not going to name which (Sydney) team should go, I will leave that to the ARL Commission.
“The AFL has relocated teams with South Melbourne and Fitzroy and while it took time, the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions are now forces of their competition.
“The intermediate problem is getting a team to Perth. I still think the best solution is to take a team from Sydney to Western Australia and if you include a fifth Queensland team, that’s an 18-team competition.
“We need a truly national footprint. Everyone agrees with me behind the scenes, but no-one ever talks about it openly.”
Bennett has been a pivotal figure in the meteoric rise of the Dolphins.
The NRL’s 17th team has shocked the league with their flying start to the season after having just a 15-month runway to build a 30-man full-time roster capable of competing with big guns such as the Roosters, whom the Dolphins upset 28-18 in their debut premiership game.
Bennett backed V’landys’ expansionary vision and took aim at Sydney clubs for attempting to block the growth of the sport.
“PVL (V’landys) is a genius, he can do what he wants on expansion,” Bennett said.
“He made a great decision with the Dolphins, he backed it, a lot of people doubted it, the clubs didn’t want it (expansion) and look at the results.”
Asked why he believed existing clubs didn’t want expansion, Bennett fired: “Because they are selfish.
“If Sydney had their way, they wouldn’t be playing anywhere else but in Sydney.
“They wouldn’t want Test matches or State of Origins. That’s why you have administrators outside of the clubs that have to make decisions in the best interests of what the game needs. But we get selfish in clubs and a bit personal. We all want to win the premiership but we don’t want to play against anybody to win it.”
Hatcher is adamant Queensland has enough players to sustain a fifth team in the Sunshine State and believes an 18-team league, delivering nine games per round, would be a broadcasting bonanza.
“Our competition (Queensland Cup) is a good pathway to the NRL and I have no doubt the talent is there for an 18th team,” the QRL chair said.
“We can’t leave Perth out to dry.”
“We have taken two Origin games to Perth and there’s a reason we have done that. They have the population, infrastructure and a great stadium (Optus), so there is a market in Perth.
“I think Queensland can sustain a fifth team and I’d be putting them in the western corridor from Logan through to the southwest beyond Toowoomba. It would cover that area. That corridor has to be catered for.
“I would have these teams come in for the next broadcast deal. “Ipswich were the main threat to the Dolphins bid (in the last expansion race in 2021) and that western region is a massive growth corridor for Brisbane.
“The AFL is looking at that region and I believe we need to shore up that area in Queensland.”
Wayne Bennett has slammed NRL clubs’ “selfish” attitudes on expansion as Queensland Rugby League chairman Bruce Hatcher called for a Sydney team to be killed off and relocated to Perth.
The NRL’s strategic plan on expansion is gathering steam with the stunning success of the Dolphins providing added impetus for the ARL Commission to consider fresh markets for an 18th licence – possibly as early as 2026.
As revealed by News Corp, rugby league’s most influential executives discussed a 20-team competition at last month’s Annual General Meeting of clubs and ARLC boss Peter V’landys is keen to explore further growth to combat the AFL.
Now he has found powerful allies in Bennett, the code’s greatest coach, and QRL chair Hatcher, who is proposing an 18-team league featuring a rebranded Perth team and a fifth NRL club in Queensland.
The Sydney market is saturated with nine teams and Hatcher urged V’landys to move one of those clubs to Western Australia, while introducing another Queensland franchise in Brisbane’s western corridor ahead of the code’s next broadcast deal in 2027.
“The best way to give Perth an identity in the NRL is to straddle two markets with a history starting out of Sydney,” Hatcher said.
“There are too many teams in Sydney, but if you take one team out of Sydney and move it to Perth, we will have a better-balanced competition with a national footprint.
“I’m not going to name which (Sydney) team should go, I will leave that to the ARL Commission.
“The AFL has relocated teams with South Melbourne and Fitzroy and while it took time, the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions are now forces of their competition.
“The intermediate problem is getting a team to Perth. I still think the best solution is to take a team from Sydney to Western Australia and if you include a fifth Queensland team, that’s an 18-team competition.
“We need a truly national footprint. Everyone agrees with me behind the scenes, but no-one ever talks about it openly.”
Bennett has been a pivotal figure in the meteoric rise of the Dolphins.
The NRL’s 17th team has shocked the league with their flying start to the season after having just a 15-month runway to build a 30-man full-time roster capable of competing with big guns such as the Roosters, whom the Dolphins upset 28-18 in their debut premiership game.
Bennett backed V’landys’ expansionary vision and took aim at Sydney clubs for attempting to block the growth of the sport.
“PVL (V’landys) is a genius, he can do what he wants on expansion,” Bennett said.
“He made a great decision with the Dolphins, he backed it, a lot of people doubted it, the clubs didn’t want it (expansion) and look at the results.”
Asked why he believed existing clubs didn’t want expansion, Bennett fired: “Because they are selfish.
“If Sydney had their way, they wouldn’t be playing anywhere else but in Sydney.
“They wouldn’t want Test matches or State of Origins. That’s why you have administrators outside of the clubs that have to make decisions in the best interests of what the game needs. But we get selfish in clubs and a bit personal. We all want to win the premiership but we don’t want to play against anybody to win it.”
Hatcher is adamant Queensland has enough players to sustain a fifth team in the Sunshine State and believes an 18-team league, delivering nine games per round, would be a broadcasting bonanza.
“Our competition (Queensland Cup) is a good pathway to the NRL and I have no doubt the talent is there for an 18th team,” the QRL chair said.
“We can’t leave Perth out to dry.”
“We have taken two Origin games to Perth and there’s a reason we have done that. They have the population, infrastructure and a great stadium (Optus), so there is a market in Perth.
“I think Queensland can sustain a fifth team and I’d be putting them in the western corridor from Logan through to the southwest beyond Toowoomba. It would cover that area. That corridor has to be catered for.
“I would have these teams come in for the next broadcast deal. “Ipswich were the main threat to the Dolphins bid (in the last expansion race in 2021) and that western region is a massive growth corridor for Brisbane.
“The AFL is looking at that region and I believe we need to shore up that area in Queensland.”
