Footy supremo Peter V’landys confirms the NRL will look at launching a second team in Victoria
The chairman of the ARL committee, Peter V’landys, has revealed that the NRL was ‘100 per cent’ looking to add a second team in Victoria as the code appears to expand further.
The Dolphins became the NRL’s 17th club this season and V’landys has set a plan to expand the league to 20 teams by 2032.
And according News CorpSetting up a second team in Victoria is at the top of the NRL’s agenda, with V’landys insisting the league ‘would be crazy not to look’ at expanding into Australia’s second smallest state.
“The reason we would never rule it out is because one thing the Dolphins have proven to us is that people like rivalries between cities,” he said.
‘The structure of rugby league is built on tribalism and rivalry.
ARL committee chair Peter V’landys has revealed the NRL is looking to expand its presence in Victoria by potentially adding a second team in the state
The Melbourne Storm is unlikely to welcome the addition of a second team in Victoria
So we can’t rule it out. The other reason why a second team in Melbourne is good for us is that our junior base in Victoria has expanded considerably.’
Any concerns about whether the Dolphins would be competitive in their first season were quickly put to bed after the NRL newcomers won their first two games.
Wayne Bennett’s team is ninth on the ladder and would still be in the top eight after a controversial close loss to the Raiders on Saturday.
The Dolphins have been an even bigger success from an audience’s point of view, drawing a whopping 1.1 million viewers in their first two rounds.
Their debut match against the Roosters in March was watched by 567,000 viewers on Foxtel, helping the broadcaster achieve its highest ever TV viewing figures for an NRL round with 4.1 million fans tuning in – a 17 per cent increase on round 1 last season.
Meanwhile, according to NRL figures, the number of registered participants playing rugby in the competition in Victoria stands at around 4,000.
Despite being the heart of the AFL, NRL fan data showed that rugby league has over 350,000 passionate fans in Melbourne.
However, V’landys insisted that plans to expand the game in Victoria should not be interpreted as a direct attack on the AFL.
The Dolphins have been a huge success since joining the NRL this season
The NRL newcomers have drawn huge crowds and huge TV audiences in their debut season
“That’s not even a consideration,” he said.
Our sole focus will always be to grow the game of rugby. The rest doesn’t matter.’
However, the NRL’s plans to grow the game in Victoria are unlikely to receive much support from the Melbourne Storm.
Since entering the league in 1998, the Storm has been one of the NRL’s biggest success stories, but has previously warned that introducing another team into the AFL-dominated market could harm the game.
Plans to expand the league will be discussed when the ARL committee meets next week.
A Perth franchise, a New Zealand second team and a Pacific island team have all been mentioned as possible expansion destinations for the NRL.
The North Sydney Bears have long expressed interest in returning to the league, having left in 1999 due to financial difficulties.
Last year, the Daily Telegraph reported that the club could qualify for the NRL’s 18th license as part of a joint venture with the Western Australian government.
Under the proposed plan, the Bears would split their home games between Perth and their historic home at North Sydney Oval.
The North Sydney Bears have not been in the NRL since they left the league in 1999 and are now a feeder club for the Sydney Roosters
In January, the Bears signed an alliance with Cricket New South Wales to lobby for $11 million funding to redevelop the North Sydney Oval
In January, the Bears signed an alliance with Cricket New South Wales to lobby for $11 million funding to redevelop the venue, seen as a crucial step towards obtaining an NRL licence.
But Queensland Rugby League president Bruce Hatcher believes any expansion should come at the expense of one of the existing Sydney teams.
“The best way to give Perth an identity in the NRL is to enter two markets with histories that start in Sydney,” he told the Daily telegram in March.
“There are too many teams in Sydney, but if you take one team from Sydney and move it to Perth, we get a more balanced league with a national footprint.