With the early success of the Dolphins, should the NRL continue to expand the competition?
ARLC CEO Peter V’landys has confirmed the NRL’s interest in forming three more teams in the next decade, whilst pointing out a Papua New Guinea-Pasifika team as the most probable next destination.
Along with the PNG-Pasifika side, there is likely to be interest from a fifth Queensland team, a second New Zealand team and Perth.
SEN’s Matty Johns admitted that 20 teams is an unrealistic number at the moment but revealed where he’d like to see the NRL’s 18th side to be based.
“20 at the moment is too much, when we do expand, in my opinion, the first side that should come in is Pasifika,” Johns said on SEN 1170 The Round Up.
“When people say we have to go to Perth, my concern about going to Perth, is that one day the junior nursery will be there, will be strong and able to be sustained, in the meantime you’re going to be poaching from all these sides on the east coast, which lessens the competition.
“I think in a shorter period of time if you have a side representing Pasifika, you look at where the games gone, the amount of Pacific Island players in the competition, the impact they’re having, I think Pasifika is a must.
“I know the Australian Government, Anthony Albanese is desperate for Peter V’landys to bring in a Pasifika side, so they have a presence in the pacific… it’s around the presence of China in that region.
“By the sounds of things, they’re willing to fund a lot of this, on top of that there is just huge oil money in Papua New Guinea.”
Johns admitted expanding to 20 teams should have occurred in the 90s when the NRL didn’t have to fight with rugby union for the best players.
“I think 20 (teams) is too much at the moment, maybe a decade down the line we’ll get there,” Johns added.
Johns’ concerns stem from the depth of the current playing pool, stating that the expansion could have worked easier three decades ago before rugby union became a full-time professional sport.
“It (expansion) should have happened then (1993), a couple of things were important, rugby union was still amateur, at that point we were poaching some of the best international players.
“So, there was another pool to pick from, on top of that the English rugby league was played in the winter which let their best players come here and play in the off-season.”