Canterbury’s plan fits nicely with NRL vision

‘There is a much bigger contribution we want to make in New Zealand.’

HAVING a team from Canterbury playing in the NSW or Queensland Cups fits the NRL’s plans to grow the game, NRL chief executive Dave Smith says.

The consortium behind the bid for a second New Zealand NRL franchise has signed a $A10 million deal with Christchurchbased Celebration Lions Sports Trust to enter a feeder team in the NSW or Queensland Cups.

Smith said this new team works well with their goals.

‘‘When you’re talking about the state cups, generally our ambition is to grow,’’ Smith told Fairfax Media.

‘‘New Zealand is an important market for us to grow at every level, grass roots and senior football.

‘‘We’ll look at all of that and where there’s an opportunity we’ll think it through quite carefully.

‘‘We’ll work with the New Zealand Rugby League and the

Dave Smith, NRL chief executive Warriors and with Shane Richardson joining (as head of game strategy) and thinking about the blueprint for the future, we’ll make sure we consider all of those things.’’

League’s presence has rarely been bigger in New Zealand than in the last few months. Following on from the Kiwis beating the Kangaroos in the Four Nations final in November, there has been the NRL calendar launch and another hugely popular nines tournament at Eden Park.

Smith says he wants to grow league further in New Zealand, whether that be at elite or community levels and has had a meeting with Prime Minister John Key about that. ‘‘It’s nines,’’ he said.

‘‘There is a much bigger contribution we want to make in New Zealand.

‘‘I’ve had great discussions yesterday and today with John Key, the prime minister and the sports minister [Jonathan Coleman] about the community things we can bring and our programmes in Australia around League for Life, healthy eating and violence against women and all of those social issues where the game can play a big part.

‘‘This is more than just the game, it’s about giving something back to the communities and on the back of that what you see is a strong and healthy sport.’’

Smith believed the nines tournament had built on the success of its first year. Although there was disappointment when it was announced the Cowboys’ Johnathan Thurston wouldn’t be playing, Smith said there had still been plenty of stars and top action on display.

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