PNG set to be next NRL team as doubts continue over WA team’s future

Papua New Guinea has won the race to be announced as the next NRL team as the future of a WA-based team remains unclear.

The PNG team is set to be revealed as the NRL’s newest franchise next week, according to The Daily Telegraph. The team would enter the NRL in 2028.

The announcement will coincide with a PNG investment conference in Sydney with several PNG ministers flying to Australia for the media event.

A $600 million funding deal from the federal government is at the heart of the deal wot get PNG into the NRL to further integrate Australia with its Pacific neighbours.

One of the key benefits of the PNG NRL bid from the Australian government’s point of view is combating Chinese competition in not just PNG, but also the region.

A Perth NRL team, the Western Bears, had been expected to be revealed as the league’s 18th team in October, but that bid ground to a halt after ARL Chair Peter V’landys said the bid was not up to scratch.

The ARL is in talks with the WA Government to help fund the deal to get it across the line so that franchise can play in the NRL in 2027.

The two clubs would make the NRL a 19-team competition providing impetus for a 20th team, possibly in New Zealand or south east Queensland.

In September Prime Minister Anthony Albanese voiced his support for the PNG bid.

“I’ve been a strong advocate for PNG to have a team in the National Rugby League,” he said.

The sticking point with the Western Bear bid, which was combined bid from the North Sydney Bears and group of Perth businessmen, was the lack of licence fee being offered by the consortium.

Bid chief Peter Cumins, the executive deputy chairman of Cash Converters, said in October the big could not afford a licence fee but would be willing to negotiate one.

The Bears had not stumped up for a licence fee given an estimated $26 million in start-up costs and what Cumins felt was between $10 million and $20 million in value being created for the NRL by establishing a West Australian team.

The Dolphins were not required to pay a licence fee when they entered the league in 2023, given the club’s financial strength.

“Unfortunately I see (the bid) on life support, disappointing as it is,” Cumins told SEN

“I’m hopeful that we can have further negotiations with the NRL and come to some compromise on this licence fee.”

Meanwhile, like the defunct North Sydney Bears, the Newtown Jets are looking to re-enter the NRL by moving states with plans to be the 20th team based in Ipswich.

The Jets have received a $40 million commitment by three levels of government to upgrade North Ipswich Reserve and establish a centre of excellence.

The bid has an in-principle deal with Suncorp Stadium to initially play all home games at the venue, where they would wear the green and white strip of Ipswich.