Perth has moved closer to becoming the NRL’s 18th team, with a potential “marriage” with the North Sydney Bears touted as part of the inclusion.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Papua New Guinea bid has fallen out of favour with ARLC officials, with an announcement on expansion plans coming soon.
The next team to enter the NRL is expected to occur in 2027 – the final year of the current broadcast deal – and according to the man behind the Western Australian franchise, it would be ready to go by that time.
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“We would. We’ve been sitting here like [an elastic] band wound up, ready to be sprung,” Peter Cumins told the Herald.
Perth’s bid for an NRL spot could be an alliance with the Bears. Getty
“There’s a substantial amount of money required, probably $30 million before you’ve kicked a football, but there’s a lot of money here in Perth. We’ve had people on the east coast willing to be investors, and it’s quite a compelling case.
“We’ve got talks about a potential marriage [with the Bears] later this month. The consortium I head up, our preferred option is to go a standalone West Australian team.
“I’m a commercial animal, and if the case is compelling, you’d be silly not to consider it.”
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Roosters supremo Nick Politis is in favour of bringing in a WA-based outfit to the competition in the coming years and is helping the consortium in their approach.
Newtown Jets have also emerged as an option to merge with a Perth franchise.
A second team in New Zealand has also been discussed, with the NRL hopeful of moving to 20 teams in the next decade.