Cashed up NRL bid team aiming to revive the Newtown Jets in Queensland – with Wayne Bennett as coach
- Ipswich and Newtown jointly bid to become 20th NRL team
- Would be based in Queensland and coached by Bennett
- Seeking inclusion at the expense of Papua New Guinea
The Jets’ NRL bid team has secured $40 million in funding and hopes to compete in an expanded NRL competition in 2028, with Wayne Bennett as head coach if he still wants to continue his stellar career.
The partnership between former NRL contender Brisbane Jets and founding Premier League club Newtown Jets would be based west of Brisbane in Ipswich, if granted a permit by the ARL Commission.
The NRL is set to include two new teams in 2028, with the Perth Bears as favourites. The Jets believe they, rather than Papua New Guinea, should be the other expansion party.
The Jets have received a $40 million commitment from three levels of government to modernise North Ipswich Reserve and create a centre of excellence.
The bid includes an agreement in principle with Suncorp Stadium to initially play all home games at that stadium, wearing Ipswich’s green and white kits.
On away games in Sydney they wore the traditional Newtown kit and held their captain’s run at Henson Park.
Newtown Jets would become part owners of the club.
The Newtown Jets are an iconic club that has produced legends such as the late Tommy Raudonikis
The Newtown Jets were founded in 1908 and are Australia’s oldest rugby league club
The expansion bid targets super coach Wayne Bennett to build the new Jets team
Several millionaires have backed the bid, including businessman and Newtown member John Singleton. Financing is not an issue, as it was with the Brisbane Jets.
The Brisbane Jets missed out on the Dolphins to become the 17th team in the competition.
Jets NRL bid chairman Steve Johnson, who is also the Ipswich Jets boss, has signed a confidentiality agreement with the NRL. Johnson is chairman of Ipswich Group Ltd, which submitted the bid, and cannot comment publicly.
Scott Sattler, who won the championship with Penrith in 2003, was on the board of the Brisbane Jets and has the right to comment on the Jets’ candidacy.
“In Ipswich, out towards Toowoomba, the Scenic Rim and the Darling Downs you have a hardened population begging to support their own NRL team, just like when the Cowboys got their own team,” Sattler said.
‘Newtown Jets have a famous name, a nostalgic angle and a ready-made fan base, and it would be foolish not to re-engage them with the NRL.
“Yes, we have to look to the future, but we can’t forget the past. That’s why Western Australia has linked up with the Bears and that’s why we’ve linked up with the Newtown Jets.
‘The Jets would bring new subscriptions to (broadcasters) Kayo and Fox, which is their main focus.
‘You also have to consider the threat of the AFL, which is also very important to the NRL. Internally at the NRL they agree that the western corridor (of Brisbane), with the AFL training facility in Springfield, has really eaten into that rugby league heartland, which we don’t want to turn into an NRL wasteland.’
The Newtown Jets celebrate their victory over the Burleigh Bears in the 2019 National State Championship
Former Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale celebrates victory with the Jets’ Richard Pandia after the 2015 Queensland Cup Rugby League final
Dolphins coach Bennett owns a farm in the western service area, where he grew up and played.
He is set to complete his three-year spell at South Sydney by the end of 2027. The seven-time premiership winner Bennett has a ‘never say never’ philosophy on coaching.
He would have coached the Brisbane Jets had they obtained their 17th NRL licence in 2022.
“Wayne will never lose his passion for the game and he is physically and emotionally fit,” Sattler said.
“With Wayne, you could talk about, ‘Do you still see yourself coaching?’ Wayne may be 78 years old in 2028, but the principles and standards he holds and his ability to communicate one-on-one and with the general public are unmatched.”