NRL set to walk away from Perth expansion plans
By Michael Chammas and Danny Weidler
April 4, 2025 — 7.27pm
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Rugby league’s bid to expand into Western Australia is on life support, with the NRL on the verge of walking away from plans to add a Bears-affiliated team in Perth.
The NRL had hoped to introduce a Perth-based side in 2027, but sources with knowledge of negotiations talking on the condition of anonymity told the Herald league officials have informed the WA government of its desire to park discussions and revisit them at a later date.
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The NRL is expected to announce its decision to postpone plans for a 19th team so it can focus on achieving a record broadcast deal, with the looming addition of a Papua New Guinea team ensuring an extra game per round from 2028.
Barring a last-minute increase in the financial package being offered by the WA government to secure a rugby league team for its state, the NRL will next week formally vote on a decision to abandon the plan to introduce a Perth-based team in the next broadcast cycle, which begins in 2028.
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It will come in the same week the NRL hosts a double-header at Perth’s Optus Stadium, where the Sharks will square off against Manly and the Rabbitohs face the Cowboys.
After rejecting a bid from a private consortium, the NRL has been in negotiations with the WA government for several months about a team in Perth and a formal affiliation with former first grade team, the North Sydney Bears.
Bears fans won’t be seeing their team’s colours in the NRL any time soon.
Bears fans won’t be seeing their team’s colours in the NRL any time soon.CREDIT: STEVEN SIEWERT
Talks were put on hold due to the recent state elections, causing a delay in the process that is likely to result in the NRL putting its Perth plans on ice.
The NRL has run into a number of stumbling blocks and have privately raised concerns about the AFL sabotaging their plans to expand into Western Australia by influencing government and media.
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The NRL doesn’t want to be rushed into making a call on a Perth team, with head office turning its attention to securing a lucrative broadcast deal with the potential of mega streaming rights.
WA premier Roger Cook met with ARLC chairman Peter V’landys last November following the NRL’s request for the WA government to chip in $120 million ($12 million a year over 10 years) to ensure a team was established in Perth.
There was significant progress in the first face-to-face meeting between the influential pair as the WA government significantly upped its financial commitment to the bid. However, it wasn’t enough to clinch a deal.
Under the operating model proposed, the NRL would have controlled the team in its start-up years before handing over the organisation to the club’s members and elected directors.
For its part, the WA government would help fund community, pathways, development and infrastructure projects.
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That funding would have been worth $350 million to $500 million and would have included a proposal to increase Perth’s rectangular HBF Stadium from a 22,500-seat venue to a 27,000-seat venue and upgrade the stadium’s facilities to ensure the new team could earn up to 70 per cent of its game-day revenue from corporate partnerships.
The cost of using HBF stadium is estimated to be $150,000 per game, but the government offered a period of rent-free use for the NRL.
Preliminary discussions threw up the prospect of at least a trial game at North Sydney Oval each year. There was also a suggestion that a Perth-based team could play at least one NRL game in Sydney each year, potentially against North Sydney’s former joint venture partner Manly, at Allianz Stadium.
Those conversations are now expected to be shelved, at least for the next few years
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