I would go even as far to say that if the NRL admitted a Fijian team in right now Rugby League would supersede Union within a year or two(virtually overnight) and become the mega dominate sport in the country. I mean there would be nothing like it in all of the Pacifica. Having the first and only NRL team playing biweekly in their homeland would generate such an unparalleled sense of pride and excitement that it would be frenzy like. The sponsors and money would come in from everywhere. The buzz would be insane. NRL players would be so easy to recruit too. I mean how hard would it be to entice players and their families to move to an island paradise like Fiji? Not to mention the tourism bump for when your team is playing them for that awesome sport-cation we all love to have. The amount of kids that would instantly switch over to Rugby League would be unprecedented and infectious.
I really can't see much wrong with this idea and have been saying for a while now that Fiji is so under utilized from an RL development point of view. Ever since Parra got Semi Radradra I started to look into Fiji and realized that League could gain a significant asset and ally if we as a sport were smart enough to develop them correctly. I know this won't be happening anytime soon, but for mine as soon as we get Perth, PNG, Christchurch & maybe a 3rd Brisbane team sorted, Fiji should be the priority and as with the Hunters, introducing the Kaiviti Silktails into the NSW Cup in 2027 is a great second step (they are already competing in NSW junior comps) towards the grand plan. I would be aiming within a 10 year window from now.
But the sooner this sort of development and expansion happens I believe the better the game as a whole will be. There is no shortage of great athletes in Fiji. The trick is to get the best of them playing RL.
As for Adelaide? Well if we got all these new teams in and running successfully and the NRL is absolutely flying by that stage, then I think even a delusional AFL State like them would come to its senses somewhat (not all, cos stupid is stupid) and ask us for entry and what they can do to be part of the greatest razzmatazz football competition in the Southern hemisphere. One of my must haves for this to happen is a purpose built 40K rectangular(preferably with a roof or built so a roof can be added later) stadium on a trainline and very close to the city in a central location.
We can dream can't we?