The NRL has expressed an ambition to grow the competition beyond 20 teams and revealed serious consideration is being given to the introduction of an American-style conference system.
The Perth Bears will become the 18th NRL team next season, with the PNG Chiefs to be introduced the following year. This masthead revealed there is a secret clause in the $5.3 billion broadcast deal that deducts $20 million per season – up to $120 million in total – if a 20th team isn’t added from 2029.
Given the huge financial incentive to do so, head office is keen to reveal the identity of the club to be granted the 20th licence by Christmas. Three consortiums in New Zealand – Christchurch, Hamilton and Wellington – are jockeying for that honour, while Queensland-based bids from Ipswich and Central Queensland are also in the mix.
However, there’s a strong chance that the bids that miss out this time could be considered in the future. NRL executive chair Peter V’landys has revealed the prospect of extending the competition to 22 teams.
“Absolutely. Why stop if it is successful?” V’landys told this masthead. “The more you grow, the more you have an ideal season structure with the draw. You can turn it into conferences, you can do so many things.
“You need to have ambition, if you don’t, you shouldn’t be doing the job. You don’t just stay running on the same spot, you’ve got to keep going.”
Sources not authorised to speak publicly said the Southern Orcas – a proposed Christchurch-based franchise – is at long odds to be granted a licence. This masthead revealed Orcas managing director Andrew Chalmers oversaw a string of forestry companies that collapsed a decade ago with debts of more than $25 million, raising questions about his suitability to run an NRL club.
Regardless, once the competition expands to 20 teams, there is scope under the broadcast agreement to introduce a conference system. One option is for teams to be grouped by region, which would result in more traditional derbies. For instance, the competition could be split into a Sydney conference and a national/expansion conference. Or there could be several groupings based on tradition or location.
“It will be a consideration, because a lot of coaches have approached me about it,” V’landys said. “We also want to take the workload off the players. You need to keep the broadcasters happy, but you can do so many other things without increasing the workload on the players.”
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett and Roosters counterpart Trent Robinson are both proponents of the conference system.
“I’ve spoken with Peter, and Wayne and I spoke about that many years ago,” Robinson said.
“I think it builds rivalry and I think it’s the best way to create that. We’re doing it slightly anyway – we don’t have an even competition with the number of teams that play, so the home-and-away against rivals is already happening in some form.
“Doing that, I think there’s a possibility of doing that really well in the near future.”
Some pundits are concerned there are not enough players to fill new teams without diluting the quality of the competition.
“I think there’s two ways to look at it,” Robinson said. “Do you wait until the talent develops and you start to burst at the seams a little bit and then expand the game, or do you believe in what’s possible with our game, start to expand, and then fill that with great coaching, great players, and development?
“I think [the latter] is the case. Yes, naturally, having two teams in two years, there is going to be some changes in scorelines a little bit here, but we’re big enough.
“I’m not a ‘what should happen next year’ person when it comes to that. I’m like, ‘What does our game look like in 2040, and how are we going to get there?’ That’s my view, and I think Peter is on the right track.”
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