Melanesian Boars for NRL?
FNRL, PNGRL should table bid for new team
Talk has already started in rugby league circles about changes that could be made to the existing structures of the National Rugby League (NRL).
And one can tell you, any talk about expansion in sports is good talk. It brings about opportunities and the ability to take a bold step in making a paradigm shift.
COVID-19 has rocked the world enough, crippling sporting events, organisations and economies alike, giving those at the helm a reality check on the vulnerability of sports.
However, as ruthless as it is, sports have the ability to dust itself and adapt and run again.
This was seen as rugby league (NRL) became the first sport to reset during the pandemic.
Super Rugby (union) soon followed suit and following a blowout the successful first year, there have been talks of expansions.
Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU which were played separately in 2020 will next year combine and guess what; two new teams will join them.
The brand new teams will be Moana Pasifika (Samoa and Tonga) and the Fijian Drua will give an opportunity to island-based-rugby players who have for so long looked abroad to earn a living through the code. They will now be able to earn a decent living, yet not leave the shores.
This week, there is another talk of expansion. This time across the Tasman ditch in rugby league.
Yes, the NRL is also looking to grow the game by flirting with the idea of a two conference, 18 team systems giving a real possibility for the addition of another two teams. Right now, it’s worth remembering that is nothing more than a conversation and any potential competition restructure is several years away. But why not kick the concept around with the game’s stakeholders and gauge reaction?
This week we will look at how this expansion is not only good for NRL but also good for regionalism.
The idea
So what are the Aussies planning? Reports out of Australia are suggesting that the NRL is looking at splitting the competition into two conferences of nine.
Welcoming a new team in Brisbane is the first step, expected to happen in 2023, than a second New Zealand team or perhaps a team in Perth would get to 18-teams and allow for the formation of two nineteam conferences.
One conference would contain the Sydney- based clubs of Roosters, Bulldogs, Eels, Panthers, Dragons, Wests Tigers, Sharks, Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs.
The second conference would consist of the Broncos, Titans, Cowboys, Raiders, Storm, Knights, Warriors, and the two new franchises.
“All these proposals are designed to look at how you grow the game,” ARL Commissioner Peter Beattie said this week on discussions pertaining to the expansion.
The possibilities are endless and, at the end of the day, we’ve got nothing to lose by talking about a revolution.
A Pasifika mix?
The NRL has been canvassing in what would be one of the biggest restructures in the game’s history as first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
And while we are at it, why don’t we throw in a Pasifika club. One for the family aye mate.
Australia has been good to the region, it includes the Wellington Phoenix in its football competition, NZ Breakers in its basketball competition, a NZ Warriors side in the NRL, gave the Fijian Drua an opportunity in its domestic rugby championship, added a Papua New Guinea rugby league team in its Queensland Cup competition and now has the Kaiviti Silktails to go with it as well in the New South Wales Rugby League competition (Ron Massey Cup).
Australia has been good to the region when it comes to looking after us.
The efforts of Australian sporting organisations and their Federal Government cannot be emphasised enough and as a region, we should be grateful.
“We’ve got to be innovative and smart and look at a number of options,” he said.
“Let me be clear, no decision has been made in relation to that. Of course, the Commission is going to consult with various clubs about options and then we’ll make a decision and that will be later in the year.”
Now, that decision has not been made, Fiji National Rugby League and its Papua New Guinea counterparts should table a collective bid for a team in the next expansion cycle.
If granted, the new Melanesian team (Melanesian Boars) would be the perfect fit to have a team in the NRL.
It already has two feeder teams playing in NRL sanctioned NSW and Queensland Cup competitions in PNG Hunters and Kaiviti Silktails.
It has strong executive capabilities in both clubs for directions to be a highly competitive and sustainable brand. It could be backed by a mining magnate in PNGs mineralrich and league crazy capital. It would be successful in establishing a massive fan base across the region.
And it could split its home matches between Suva, Port Moresby, Darwin or Cairns.
The Melanesian Boars would help strengthen international rugby league by strengthening the Fiji Bati and the PNG Kumuls. This will give international fans more dynamic opposition to the Kangaroos, Kiwis, and Great Britain.
While NRL bosses have repeatedly insisted that any new licence will only be granted if it is financially viable and beneficial, the time is now right for FNRL and PNGRL to work and table a bid together. Oh and by the way, after successfully trialing and adopting the Six again rule in the NRL, the International Rugby League has announced that, the rule will be adopted in the international Test arena as well.
This can mean only one thing.
The international rugby league just got more exciting.
To World Rugby, you got served.