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QLD NRL expansion study set for off-season

3 minute read

ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys says there is no timeline on the introduction of a second Brisbane team, with an NRL case study set for the summer.

Peter V'Landys
Peter V'Landys Picture: Racing and Sports

The NRL will launch a case study into Brisbane this summer to decide if and when the competition can expand to include a second team in the city.

Expansion will again be at the forefront of the next chapter of the NRL, with Andrew Abdo appointed as the game's full-time chief executive on Thursday.

It comes amid a turf war between the NRL and AFL, after the latter announced this year's grand final for Queensland and ongoing state government support.

The notion of a second Brisbane team has long been discussed at NRL HQ, becoming the preferred option for a 17th side under Peter V'landys chairmanship.

But V'landys said the league would not be rushed into a timeline, with a new free-to-air TV deal set for 2023.

"Even though I'm a very strong supporter of a second team in Brisbane, it's got to be a strong business case," V'landys said.

"It has to stack up and have value to the game. It can't cannibalise the Broncos or the Titans. So there's a lot of work to do in analysing that situation.

"There's no time set as to when we introduce a second Brisbane team. It might be a year away, two years away, three years away.

"But I stress again, the business case has to stack up."

Under former CEO Todd Greenberg and chairman Peter Beattie, the NRL launched a footprint study at the end of 2018 to consider the future expansion of the game.

Perth, the Central Coast, Central Queensland and a second New Zealand team have all featured alongside Brisbane as possible options in the past.

But Brisbane is now by far and away the most popular option, given high ratings in the region and the potential of having a game at Suncorp Stadium each week.

The conversation comes as the NRL desperately tries to stabilise its accounts under Abdo, cutting $50 million a year from head office.

The NRL has not expanded since the introduction of Gold Coast in 2007.

"Peter's always said that we'll look at expansion so far as it's feasible and so far as it's going to generate value for the game," Abdo said.

"Our job is to add value for all the stakeholders. If the business case stacks up then why wouldn't we look at it?"

Meanwhile the NRL remain in negotiations with the NSW Government around this year's grand final, given the changes to the state's stadium policy.

However it will almost certainly be played at ANZ Stadium on October 25, with as large of a crowd as possible.

Abdo also said the priority was for the NRLW competition to be played in double-headers with the men when it starts next month under a looser bubble scenario.

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