Perth believed to be leading NRL expansion queue as league settles on timeline

Perth is another step closer to having an NRL team following a historic decision by the game’s powerbrokers on Wednesday.

An Australian Rugby League Commission meeting in Melbourne before State of Origin II is believed to have settled on a timeline to expand from the current 17 teams to 20 by 2030.

The ARLC has called for expressions of interest with interested parties asked to lodge their bids within a month. A decision is expected by October.

Perth is the front-runner to win the 18th licence as early as 2027, the last year of the current broadcast rights deal, with a team from Papua New Guinea to enter the competition in either 2028 or 2029.

A third franchise is likely to come from Christchurch on New Zealand’s south island or Queensland.

Representatives of Perth’s NRL expansion bid team will hold talks with possible suitors North Sydney Bears and Newtown Jets over the next two days.

West Australian MP Peter Tinley, chair of the government working group responsible for the bid, met with the sport’s key stakeholders on Monday in Sydney, including NRL executives and Foxtel boss Patrick Delany.

Discussions have also been held with former Parramatta coach Brad Arthur about his interest in a future role.

Arthur, whose wife is from Perth, has also been linked with Leeds Rhinos in the English Super League.

WA is believed to be the NRL’s No. 1 preference, backed by high-powered chair Peter V’Landys.

The PNG bid will be underpinned by $600 million in Federal Government funding and would be housed in a purpose-built, high-security facility in Port Moresby that would include a hotel and centre of excellence.

The WA consortium behind the bid is led by Cash Converters executive chairman Peter Cumins and remains committed to a stand-alone bid.

Freshwater Strategy, which helped the Dolphins put together the bid that secured the NRL’s 17th licence, will put together the proposal.

The Bears have been vocal about a WA union in recent months, with board member and State of Origin legend Billy Moore promising a “marriage not a takeover”.

The Jets’ bid is backed by Sydney marketing guru John Singleton.

Hungry Jack’s founder Jack Cowin is believed to have interest in supporting a WA team.

The Perth bid has the support of the broadcasters due to the favourable time zone.

It will cost an estimated $30 million to put a WA team into the competition in licence fees, players, coaching, support and administrative staff.

Freshwater Strategy director Leo Shanahan said on SEN Sydney last week unlike the PNG case, a WA bid was self-funding.

“The WA Government is hugely supportive and not in the business of propping up teams but it is our understanding it will help in terms of upgrades around HBF Park … and investment in pathways programmes for rugby league,” Shanahan said.

“This is in conjunction with serious private investment around a Perth bid both from West Coast investors and those in the east.

“You have to go to the NRL with a very tight and economically viable proposal … in Perth you have all that. You have financial backing, you have serious government backing and you have a support base.”

Moore told The West Australian the Bears would look to play one or two home games at North Sydney Oval but would be a team owned by WA.

“The Bears will relocate to Perth forever. We will stay and play in Perth,” Moore said.

“The North Sydney Bears have 116 years of history. That won’t go away. But what we have here is two cities, one future.

“Our history, our logo, our brand is very dear to us, it’s our tattoo. We realise for us to be reborn, it can’t be in the North Sydney area and we are more than happy to move across the Nullarbor to Western Australia.

“It’s about the West Australian people realising this is going to be their team as well. It’s a marriage, a partnership, where our history is brought into the West.

“Going forward, it’s a partnership we want the West Australian people to be proud of, what we’ve got, where we are going and what we are going to achieve together.”

Sydney marketing guru Singleton has said he will do “whatever it takes” to ensure the Jets become the minority partner in a Perth team.