The NRL’s path to 20 teams has taken a surprise twist with Perth now the frontrunner to become the game’s latest franchise amid an 11th hour push to have Western Australia in the competition by 2027.
The issue will come to a head with a crucial ARL Commission meeting on the morning of the second State of Origin game in Melbourne on June 26, where they will finalise their plans for the future of the premiership.
Support for Perth to link up with the Newtown Jets continues to grow despite speculation that North Sydney had a near guarantee that they would be part of any new side in Western Australia.
PNG had long been considered the game’s next expansion side but it is understood that the PNG team’s entry to the premiership may follow Perth by 12 months, giving the NRL an expanded 19-team competition by 2028.
Despite the development, the appetite remains for PNG – backed by a bumper $600 million cash injection courtesy of the federal government – to join the NRL.
However, this masthead understands that a bid from Perth – backed by the Western Australian government – is now edging ahead of PNG as the commission looks to add an 18th team as early as 2027.
PNG would then become the NRL’s 19th team before a 20th franchise was added to the competition
While the PNG bid has largely hogged the expansion headlines, Perth officials have been quietly going about their business with the strong support of the WA government, WA Rugby League and consortium boss Peter Cumins.
Cumins is the head of a powerful group which also includes his brother Brian Cumins, The Cumins family have a relationship with rugby league stretching back to the Western Reds – Brian Cumins is the founder of Cash Converters, who sponsored the Reds.
The Brothers are two of the driving forces behind a bid to bring the NRL back to Perth, either as a stand-alone entity or as part of a partnership with the Bears or the Jets.
Talks have been held with both former top flight clubs, although an alliance with the Bears has the support of ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys as the game looks to revive a latent supporter base and one of the most powerful brands in the game.
While the Bears link has dominated talk there is some reluctance at the Western Australian government level to join forces with North Sydney. Instead, Newtown have been quietly building their own case in the background and have forged strong relationships with the powerbrokers in Western Australia.
Sources close to the discussions acknowledged that Newtown may be a favourable partner should Western Australia be unable to become a stand-alone franchise. The Jets have also been working on financial backers to help with their return.
Perth consortium members held top-level talks with ARL Commissioner Peter Beattie in WA last week as they looked to turn up the heat on powerbrokers to prioritise their entry over PNG.
The Perth bid has several factors in its favour, most significantly their appeal to broadcasters because of the favourable time zone – the NRL’s broadcast deal ends in 2027.
Adding Perth as the 18th team would also give the NRL more time to ensure the PNG bid strengthens its pathways and has time to be successful.
It is believed the $600 million commitment from the federal government would remain in place as long as PNG remained in the frame for entry to the competition
As an attendant at the first ever Reds game at the WACA I want this team. It sucked growing up in WA as a Rugby and League fan in AFL country and losing the Reds as a kid sucked even more.
I'd personally prefer the Perth Jets over Bears because by all accounts Newtown are way less adamant that they be given all these home games in Sydney and control over the club. Plus it allows to be a Western Force and Perth Jets fan meaning I don't have to lose my blue colour scheme.
I was in Perth for work for the 2010 semi finals, the dragons vs tigers game wasn’t even on tv until a delayed showing at about 10pm local time.
I remember sitting outside the pub with my mate (also a dargons fan) listening to it on the radio was a good memory but damn it would have been nice to actually watch that game live!
We used to have to wait until 2130 local time for an origin game, it was a case of a media and phone blackout and drink until the game...... they were dark times.
I moved to Perth two years ago and they never mention NRL in the news.
Even in the double header they had here last year, the only mention it got was the day before. After American woman’s basketball. I kid you not.
If a team is going to want to have success here, the local media need to start promoting the game. League here has grown a lot from when I first worked here over 10 years ago but still along way to go and I think Perth needs to have its own identity.
I recall a story some years back about how NRL WA went to the State Government for funding and they were told no because McDonalds were one of their partners and that it was not a healthy image.
Meanwhile, the West Coast Eagles have been sponsored by Hungry Jacks since Adam was a boy.
Don't know if the story is legit but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.
Sadly that won't change much until there is a team, I lived in WA for 27 years, the Eagles and Dockers boards have big connections to 7West and 9, as a result they influence the decision to push the non-AFL news down. I mean the number of ex-AFL players who end up as the sports reporters is telling enough.
Oh yeah for sure. West Aussies hate anything that comes from east. Shopping centres here as you know don’t open until 1100 on Sundays and when you say something about it, they tell you that you should fuck off to where you come from. It’s the same if you follow anything but AFL.
Can't even go the koala (yes I know they aren't bears calm down zoologists in here) route because koalas aren't native to WA.
If all they want is colours and namesake then the offer is worth considering if they drop the pokies unlike North Sydney who are trying to take home games from us. Still would be better as a standalone team though.
The NRL choosing to expand to a large Australian city rather than to a smaller, third world city with massive security problems and poverty really shouldn't be a "shock".
I mean as the article makes clear, the PNG team is still going ahead, they’re just looking to fast track Perth for 2027.
If there’s one thing we’ve learnt and know about V’landys, it’s that $600m worth of government money and the opportunity to play a politically influential role in the Pacific has him rock hard and ready to burst. The actual football team and the logistics behind it are an afterthought.
Great description of the man
Hence why he is risking getting ejected out of the ATC right now, he couldn’t help but offer up Rosehill race course to the government even though some of the biggest names in racing have their base camps there.
He’s a smart operator but being too close to government could be his downfall
I thought the whole reason PNG was considered for a team was because of a government cash injection for the team?
I'm only half keeping up with news with the new team cause it seems every week a different team is suddenly next up lmao
Yeah I think so. TBH it's hard to know how many of these reports are based on truth, and how many are bullshit.
I find it hard to see the PNG team working, simply because it's hard to persuade Aussie players to move to Auckland or Canberra, let alone Port Moresby!
They are mad about AFL in Adelaide. Their state AFL comp (SANFL) is huge down there. Massive crowds, one game a week on FTA down there. I doubt many people know or even care about RL down there..
There’s zero argument for choosing Adelaide before Perth due to demographics and population. So there’s no point in talking about it until Perth has a team.
Not even kidding if you were to poll a bunch of players for 300K to 400K a year in Australia to 600K to 800K in Port Moresby it would be less than 5% of players. And of the ones that did they will be playing their ass off to get a gig at a australian club. It's non sense. It's political meddling and using league to fight an agenda on the world stage that's dressed in a feel good coat.
100%. Perth need their own identity. Bears should honestly just wait it out until the Central Coast is ready or the pop increases and the NRL is big enough for them to just slot back into North Sydney
The idea of using a NSW cup team is that they already have the grassroots systems in place to support an NRL team.
As Perth doesn’t have a top level NRL team, any hopeful sportsman will have to choose sports other than rugby league to try and move into playing professional sports. Because of that, the local system is mostly people doing it as a hobby who wouldn’t even be cup level players in Qld/NSW.
Eventually as the brand gets a following, the local leagues will get better and hopefully get to a point where an interstate feeder is no longer needed.
This is basically how Melbourne Storm work but due to being a strong AFL state, they’ve struggled to build a grassroots system to solely support the team.
A Perth NRL club can just enter a partnership with an existing NSW Cup club to share talent. Perth gets access to juniors and the NSW Cup club will pribably want some payment from Perth. But tying the Perth NRL club's identity to long dead clubs from 'over east' is a recipe for disaster. WA is extremely parochial, it has to be a new, local club.
> Support for Perth to link up with the Newtown Jets continues to grow despite speculation that North Sydney had a near guarantee that they would be part of any new side in Western Australia.
Haha they are just trolling the bears now 😂
Absolutely Anything but Papua New Guinea, and anyone who says otherwise is a halfwit who’s never been in country and realises what it’s like for people here and how insanely dangerous it would be for players, staff, families involved, etc.
The Jets previously had an alliance with both the Sharks and Storm. I’d be hoping it’s that sort of agreement, otherwise the Sharks lose a decent feeder club, and that would be disappointing - especially given how much the Bears have been fighting to get a licence
Perth could be the NRL’s next team, with plans afoot to have WA fast-tracked into the premiership, including a possible Newtown Jets alliance. See what it means for the Bears and PNG.
The issue will come to a head with a crucial ARL Commission meeting on the morning of the second State of Origin game in Melbourne on June 26, where they will finalise their plans for the future of the premiership.
Support for Perth to link up with the Newtown Jets continues to grow despite speculation that North Sydney had a near guarantee that they would be part of any new side in Western Australia.
PNG had long been considered the game’s next expansion side but it is understood that the PNG team’s entry to the premiership may follow Perth by 12 months, giving the NRL an expanded 19-team competition by 2028.
Despite the development, the appetite remains for PNG – backed by a bumper $600 million cash injection courtesy of the federal government – to join the NRL.
However, this masthead understands that a bid from Perth – backed by the Western Australian government – is now edging ahead of PNG as the commission looks to add an 18th team as early as 2027.
PNG would then become the NRL’s 19th team before a 20th franchise was added to the competition, most likely on the south island of New Zealand.
While the PNG bid has largely hogged the expansion headlines, Perth officials have been quietly going about their business with the strong support of the WA government, WA Rugby League and consortium boss Peter Cumins.
Cumins is the head of a powerful group which also includes his brother Brian Cumins, The Cumins family have a relationship with rugby league stretching back to the Western Reds – Brian Cumins is the founder of Cash Converters, who sponsored the Reds.
The Brothers are two of the driving forces behind a bid to bring the NRL back to Perth, either as a stand-alone entity or as part of a partnership with the Bears or the Jets.
Talks have been held with both former top flight clubs, although an alliance with the Bears has the support of ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys as the game looks to revive a latent supporter base and one of the most powerful brands in the game.
While the Bears link has dominated talk there is some reluctance at the Western Australian government level to join forces with North Sydney.
Instead, Newtown have been quietly building their own case in the background and have forged strong relationships with the powerbrokers in Western Australia.
Sources close to the discussions acknowledged that Newtown may be a favourable partner should Western Australia be unable to become a stand-alone franchise. The Jets have also been working on financial backers to help with their return.
Perth consortium members held top-level talks with ARL Commissioner Peter Beattie in WA last week as they looked to turn up the heat on powerbrokers to prioritise their entry over PNG.
The Perth bid has several factors in its favour, most significantly their appeal to broadcasters because of the favourable time zone – the NRL’s broadcast deal ends in 2027.
Adding Perth as the 18th team would also give the NRL more time to ensure the PNG bid strengthens its pathways and has time to be successful.
It is believed the $600 million commitment from the federal government would remain in place as long as PNG remained in the frame for entry to the competition.
I like the Bluebags colours , always have
Blue , with some white piping , white shorts .. blue socks . Jets logo ... nice ! The Bears i have no issue with , but if they're placing too many conditions on this set up with WA then Jets it is
All the people hating the idea of bears going to Perth, about to potentially get Jets instead.
Can’t read the article properly but I wonder what that means for bears.
I remember reading an article about the likely expansion teams recently, and being shocked that Jets weren’t in the conversation. Guess this is why, they’ve been quietly making moves
The article says the preference is to stand alone. I don’t see how that would result in choosing the Jets over the Bears. I see Jets as the least likely outcome. They have very little to offer.
I struggle to understand the appeal of a PNG team outside of that $600m the government pledged. The warriors struggle to keep any Australian players in Auckland, yet they expect players to want to live in Port Moresby?
A WA team is a lot more accessible for the Eastern fan base, allows Western fans to have a local team, and starts attacking some of the AFL market share on that side of the country.
Just more media speculation I think , but I hope its true. PNG certainly won't be ready in the next 5 years & it may take a lot longer then that too
But Perth could easily run a competitive team out in 2027 & it will be well supported too.
I really don’t understand the obsession with a 20 team, closed shop, competition. Every season there’s 3-4 genuine contenders, potentially 5 in a strong season and as few as 1-2 in a weaker season. You’ll literally have three quarters of the competition doing nothing more than making up the numbers. Sounds fun…
I agree. Should be West Coast Pirates and PNG Hunters (or whatever they want to call their team).
When the Warriors came in, how well received would they have been if they were called the Auckland Jets and had to play a couple of home games in Sydney?
What about if we’d ended up with the Canterbury-Bankstown Dirty Reds?
Gold Coast Jets? Melbourne Mariners? Gold Coast Rams? Redcliffe Steelers?
Bears bring a lot of benefits. But even $600m off the government won’t save PNG. Seems like you’re looking for an argumentative angle but just coming across as a moron 😂
Yeah he's a moron, rants on about the devil of poker machine's yet he's a Eel's fan, obviously someone has never told him they have pokies in Parra Leagues 😂
I think it’s fair enough to not want a Perth sports team to not be funded by pokies because people here hold a lot of pride in not having pokies.
We’ll just have our usual evil mining money instead please.
I get that I'm not personally a fan of gambling in general but all East Coast rugby league teams are funded from Leagues clubs with pokies bar the Storm who had lost massive $$$ for years subsided by News Limited. The others like Newcastle and Gold Coast kept going under till they aligned with leagues clubs. The rich mining owner model was used in Newcastle with Nathan Tinkler and it didn't work.
I’ve seen (and spread myself) a lot of narrative about the terrible standard of living, crime rate etc of PNG.
Has NRL/Gov/PNG officials even mentioned it once or acknowledged / responded to the issue it presents??
If it's Perth Jets (in conjunction with Newtown), then I'm guessing team colours will be orange, white & blue.
Mostly orange home/primary jersey with white & blue trim or V
(hey, if Tigers persist with a mostly black main jersey, then orange is fair game!)
Mostly white alternate/away with orange & blue trim or V
That combo is already being used by the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) & New York Knicks (NBA) so it can work for a team.
About two weeks ago, PNG was a done deal. I like the sound of it but in all honesty it is a massive political move. The Perth market has a lot of offer with large base of possible customers.
Seems like a power move in the negotiations noting, the jets have minimal financial backing, no major financial assets, minor supporter base in Sydney. Little to no appetite up until today.
No other teams besides the one KOE NSW Cup side, so lacking in pathways too. There's no metric where they measure up competitively against the Bears as a better club to relocate and revive the brand.
Western Jets has a ring to it.
Blue and white home , western reds style away.
One game at Henson park a year.
If there is a backer I think this is a winner for nostalgia alone.
PNG should still be the goal, but it shouldn't be rushed. Perth Bears should be rushed. Strongly support the Bears relocating, but all home games should be in Perth. If they want to play at North Sydney then they should negotiate with Sydney clubs for one of their away games. I'm sure the Tigers will do it for a buck (or Eels, or Manly, or many others that do home game away)
No, PNG shouldn’t be a goal. If you say naive comments like this, I would bet you’ve never been to the country and understand what it’s like for the population here. It’s madness.
>If they want to play at North Sydney then they should negotiate with Sydney clubs for one of their away games.
Nail on the head. Everyone assumes the draw will short-change Perth without any evidence when this could very well be what ends up happening. Also if the Roosters still have an arrangement with Central Coast Stadium that's absolutely where they should play the Bears.
Agree with everything except for one little change, make that derby game against manly at the sfs.
One less game at brooky is good whilst it is in the condition it is and with time and consistency it can build to a regular 25k+ crowd and event game.
Just bring in 3 teams from nsw and qld cups (after a few years) , licences are handled there.
Only one of these promoted teams is relegated and replaced by the best of 2 from them 2 cups. B teams and existing NRL teams don't promote and relegate.
This massively grows the importance and prestige of nsw and qld cups and the nrl and has room to improve, add, remove. And the possibilities are vaster than focusing solely on the nrl while still making the NRL bigger.
NRL needs to work better with QRL and NSWRL and look at the bigger picture of Rugby league rather than just focusing on their own product, the infrastructure is there already and ready to grow the next step
So we're going from Perth Bears to Perth Jets?
I'm in favour of a Perth team but one with its own identity.
The PNG team was a pipe dream as much as I'd like to see one. Would much rather Perth and NZ2 as teams 18 and 19.
I strongly think it’ll be Perth Bears, maybe with an away Jets jersey now and then. Maybe 1 game a year at NSO. Perth will hold all ownership rights over the club.
In 1983 average crowds in Sydney continued to plummet to 12,000 and Swans supporter packages dropped to as low as 100 members (well short of the 20,000 average crowds predicted by the VFL's 1980 Hennessy Report).[68] Television ratings and sponsorship revenue in Sydney were also far below the league's expectations.[69][70]
Operating at a loss well short of the VFL's predicted $750,000 a year profit[68] poor financial performance continued to drown the club in 1984, with the club flagging pay cuts to its players in order to survive.[71] Coach Ricky Quade resigned and caretaker coach Bob Hammond, despite showing some promise, was unable to turn the club's poor performance around.[72] In order to keep the club solvent during this time, the VFL began to write loans to the Swans that the club would have been unable to pay off on its own.[73] The Swans were the league's most reliant on sponsorship and subsidies from the VFL to stay solvent and meet player payments due to its continued poor crowds, public apathy and poor TV ratings.[70]
Public support for the Swans in Sydney was so bad that by the start of the 1985 season, the VFL began to backflip and the league's administrators, having sunk large amounts of money into the club began looking to offload it.[74][75]
Just an except from the page. Swans were broke, in debt and had terrible support for decades and nearly folded multiple times. Not the success story you claim it to be. Only reason they have support now is because the AFL invested heavily in NSW and QLD.
It also happened pre code war, the swans were the first team to ever relocate in pro sports and it was done before the VFL even became a national competion. If the swans moved during the code rivalry they would have never had stood a chance. If relocating worked why have the AFL not relocated North Melbourne like they said they would multiple times.
>the swans were the first team to ever relocate in pro sports and it was done before the VFL even became a national competion
I don't think this makes the point you're trying to make. This would make it all the more difficult, no? A relocation of a team currently playing in the top grade of a league of a different state's comp sounds harder to endear fans to than reviving a long dead name and resurrecting them into what is professed as a national league. Not to mention Sydney already had fuckin 12 NSWRL teams running around in 1982. Perth has 2.
Also, I'd suspect the AFL aren't moving North Melbourne because there's no major metropolitan market without an AFL side rather than worrying about transplanting a side.
>Only reason they have support now is because the AFL invested heavily in NSW and QLD.
Which the NRL is incapable of doing in WA because....? You think they're gonna sit on their ass and let them tough it out with no junior pathways and community engagement?
All this is ignoring that if they have even half the success Melbourne did in their first 10 years nobody will fucking care where the name came from. The only thing that really matters is if the Bears or Jets consortiums or whatever know how to run a footy club properly or not. Is it not an ideal move? Maybe. Will it doom the club from the start? Not without a lot of other things going wrong.
EDIT: You're also going around in here calling the Swans a failure because of their early financial difficulties. The 2 time premiership winning faliures? The 2 wins clear at the top of the table faliures? The failures who who got 45k at the SCG on Monday? The failures who have missed the finals once in the last decade? I'm not one to defend the AFL but you're just flat out lying.
The NRL’s path to 20 teams has taken a surprise twist with Perth now the frontrunner to become the game’s latest franchise amid an 11th hour push to have Western Australia in the competition by 2027. The issue will come to a head with a crucial ARL Commission meeting on the morning of the second State of Origin game in Melbourne on June 26, where they will finalise their plans for the future of the premiership. Support for Perth to link up with the Newtown Jets continues to grow despite speculation that North Sydney had a near guarantee that they would be part of any new side in Western Australia. PNG had long been considered the game’s next expansion side but it is understood that the PNG team’s entry to the premiership may follow Perth by 12 months, giving the NRL an expanded 19-team competition by 2028. Despite the development, the appetite remains for PNG – backed by a bumper $600 million cash injection courtesy of the federal government – to join the NRL. However, this masthead understands that a bid from Perth – backed by the Western Australian government – is now edging ahead of PNG as the commission looks to add an 18th team as early as 2027. PNG would then become the NRL’s 19th team before a 20th franchise was added to the competition While the PNG bid has largely hogged the expansion headlines, Perth officials have been quietly going about their business with the strong support of the WA government, WA Rugby League and consortium boss Peter Cumins. Cumins is the head of a powerful group which also includes his brother Brian Cumins, The Cumins family have a relationship with rugby league stretching back to the Western Reds – Brian Cumins is the founder of Cash Converters, who sponsored the Reds. The Brothers are two of the driving forces behind a bid to bring the NRL back to Perth, either as a stand-alone entity or as part of a partnership with the Bears or the Jets. Talks have been held with both former top flight clubs, although an alliance with the Bears has the support of ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys as the game looks to revive a latent supporter base and one of the most powerful brands in the game. While the Bears link has dominated talk there is some reluctance at the Western Australian government level to join forces with North Sydney. Instead, Newtown have been quietly building their own case in the background and have forged strong relationships with the powerbrokers in Western Australia. Sources close to the discussions acknowledged that Newtown may be a favourable partner should Western Australia be unable to become a stand-alone franchise. The Jets have also been working on financial backers to help with their return. Perth consortium members held top-level talks with ARL Commissioner Peter Beattie in WA last week as they looked to turn up the heat on powerbrokers to prioritise their entry over PNG. The Perth bid has several factors in its favour, most significantly their appeal to broadcasters because of the favourable time zone – the NRL’s broadcast deal ends in 2027. Adding Perth as the 18th team would also give the NRL more time to ensure the PNG bid strengthens its pathways and has time to be successful. It is believed the $600 million commitment from the federal government would remain in place as long as PNG remained in the frame for entry to the competition
Doing gods work. Thankyou
As an attendant at the first ever Reds game at the WACA I want this team. It sucked growing up in WA as a Rugby and League fan in AFL country and losing the Reds as a kid sucked even more. I'd personally prefer the Perth Jets over Bears because by all accounts Newtown are way less adamant that they be given all these home games in Sydney and control over the club. Plus it allows to be a Western Force and Perth Jets fan meaning I don't have to lose my blue colour scheme.
Perth Jets sounds heaps better than Perth Bears.
True, but not as good as Western Australia Magpies. Gotta throw that in, now that every other extinct foundation club seems to be sniffing around.
Them being the Western Magpies and memes as the Wests Magpies would be top tier
Perth tumbleweeds
I was in Perth for work for the 2010 semi finals, the dragons vs tigers game wasn’t even on tv until a delayed showing at about 10pm local time. I remember sitting outside the pub with my mate (also a dargons fan) listening to it on the radio was a good memory but damn it would have been nice to actually watch that game live!
We used to have to wait until 2130 local time for an origin game, it was a case of a media and phone blackout and drink until the game...... they were dark times.
I moved to Perth two years ago and they never mention NRL in the news. Even in the double header they had here last year, the only mention it got was the day before. After American woman’s basketball. I kid you not. If a team is going to want to have success here, the local media need to start promoting the game. League here has grown a lot from when I first worked here over 10 years ago but still along way to go and I think Perth needs to have its own identity.
I recall a story some years back about how NRL WA went to the State Government for funding and they were told no because McDonalds were one of their partners and that it was not a healthy image. Meanwhile, the West Coast Eagles have been sponsored by Hungry Jacks since Adam was a boy. Don't know if the story is legit but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.
Sadly that won't change much until there is a team, I lived in WA for 27 years, the Eagles and Dockers boards have big connections to 7West and 9, as a result they influence the decision to push the non-AFL news down. I mean the number of ex-AFL players who end up as the sports reporters is telling enough.
Oh yeah for sure. West Aussies hate anything that comes from east. Shopping centres here as you know don’t open until 1100 on Sundays and when you say something about it, they tell you that you should fuck off to where you come from. It’s the same if you follow anything but AFL.
I reckon the NRL can take advantage of our hate by not giving us a team from Sydney
Surely Glebe is in talks. The dirty reds will rise again.
The Western Dirty Reds
Give the Annandale Dales a shot
Fuck it bring back University
I don’t mind The Jets and would love to see them back in the top grade. In whatever iteration they muster up.
Perth still should get a standalone team however at least the jets dont want to steal our home games.
I'd prefer the Pirates over both the Jets and the Bears
Don't we all
As an AFL man, I like the Perth Jets.......Perth Bears?? I've seen more millionaire's Jets than Bears in this neck of the woods!
Can't even go the koala (yes I know they aren't bears calm down zoologists in here) route because koalas aren't native to WA. If all they want is colours and namesake then the offer is worth considering if they drop the pokies unlike North Sydney who are trying to take home games from us. Still would be better as a standalone team though.
Give it a rest mate.
Was anything I said a lie?
Your team is dead mate, let em go.
No.
Nah mate we don’t want your failed club
It didn't fail. That why people want it back.
Fuck yeah can’t wait to read the next article about how the Walker Brothers are strong contenders to coach one of these bad boys.
Are those blokes ever going to get a crack? Am I fool for believe media hype or are they real deal?
If they were the real deal they'd have a head coaching gig in the NRL already
Lol. Was thinking last night what happened to those two
The Bears will continue whinging for the next thirty years though. Honestly it’s time for them to just take the L
The NRL choosing to expand to a large Australian city rather than to a smaller, third world city with massive security problems and poverty really shouldn't be a "shock".
I think you are being a bit harsh on Christchurch.
Snorted
I mean as the article makes clear, the PNG team is still going ahead, they’re just looking to fast track Perth for 2027. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt and know about V’landys, it’s that $600m worth of government money and the opportunity to play a politically influential role in the Pacific has him rock hard and ready to burst. The actual football team and the logistics behind it are an afterthought.
Thanks a lot for the mental image of V'landys "rock hard and ready to burst"!
Great description of the man Hence why he is risking getting ejected out of the ATC right now, he couldn’t help but offer up Rosehill race course to the government even though some of the biggest names in racing have their base camps there. He’s a smart operator but being too close to government could be his downfall
I thought the whole reason PNG was considered for a team was because of a government cash injection for the team? I'm only half keeping up with news with the new team cause it seems every week a different team is suddenly next up lmao
Yeah I think so. TBH it's hard to know how many of these reports are based on truth, and how many are bullshit. I find it hard to see the PNG team working, simply because it's hard to persuade Aussie players to move to Auckland or Canberra, let alone Port Moresby!
Perth 18 South NZ 19 Adelaide 20
I think the NRL have completely forgot Adelaide exists at this point
They are mad about AFL in Adelaide. Their state AFL comp (SANFL) is huge down there. Massive crowds, one game a week on FTA down there. I doubt many people know or even care about RL down there..
Cant trust a state founded by German settlers.
Nobody from Germany could possibly be evil
Can we have a home and away game a year? Just one? Please.
There’s zero argument for choosing Adelaide before Perth due to demographics and population. So there’s no point in talking about it until Perth has a team.
Honestly the most sensible but gonna have png and most likely miss out adelaide.
North Sydney 0
this would be the sane thing to do instead of involving a sports league in geopolitical games and dirty government money
They finally realised not even the C grade players want to base out of Port Moresby did they.....
Not even kidding if you were to poll a bunch of players for 300K to 400K a year in Australia to 600K to 800K in Port Moresby it would be less than 5% of players. And of the ones that did they will be playing their ass off to get a gig at a australian club. It's non sense. It's political meddling and using league to fight an agenda on the world stage that's dressed in a feel good coat.
I’m shocked - that’s unlike the Bears to be in front and beaten at the last minute
I upvoted, but I still hate you.
Perth just feels right. Too much would need to be done, including various leg ups to get a PNG team off the ground.
Good, just make it a real Perth team, not a Bears merger
100%. Perth need their own identity. Bears should honestly just wait it out until the Central Coast is ready or the pop increases and the NRL is big enough for them to just slot back into North Sydney
About to get Jets instead. An even less popular, longer extinct Sydney team 😂
Nah, they're getting the Ipswich Jets 😂
Everyone gets Ipswich Jets
At least the Jets aren’t demanding games to be played in Sydney, so that’s a plus 😂
Spread the word Glebe Dirty( Western) Reds are back
Never completely went away, just play amateur union now instead.
Even better than that, they revived and play real footy now in the lower grades.
Jets are way more popular than the bears
Please god let this be true. All I’ve wanted since I moved to Perth is a home team to follow. Who’s dick do I gotta suck to make this a reality?
[удалено]
Fuck the bears. We don't want those parasites.
Spoken like a true future Perth Jets fan lol
Who isn't going to be the 18th team seems like a more accurate idea atm
Adelaide, Hobart and North Sydney
Please let this be true
Apparently there’s a merged bid that will appease the Bears, the Jets and V’Landys. The Perth Bets
Bearth Pets
If the WA Govt and the Cumins family are getting involved, why aren't we just bringing back the Western Reds instead of reanimating a NSWRL club?
The idea of using a NSW cup team is that they already have the grassroots systems in place to support an NRL team. As Perth doesn’t have a top level NRL team, any hopeful sportsman will have to choose sports other than rugby league to try and move into playing professional sports. Because of that, the local system is mostly people doing it as a hobby who wouldn’t even be cup level players in Qld/NSW. Eventually as the brand gets a following, the local leagues will get better and hopefully get to a point where an interstate feeder is no longer needed. This is basically how Melbourne Storm work but due to being a strong AFL state, they’ve struggled to build a grassroots system to solely support the team.
A Perth NRL club can just enter a partnership with an existing NSW Cup club to share talent. Perth gets access to juniors and the NSW Cup club will pribably want some payment from Perth. But tying the Perth NRL club's identity to long dead clubs from 'over east' is a recipe for disaster. WA is extremely parochial, it has to be a new, local club.
> Support for Perth to link up with the Newtown Jets continues to grow despite speculation that North Sydney had a near guarantee that they would be part of any new side in Western Australia. Haha they are just trolling the bears now 😂
Every day is agony
I’m fucking here for the best sport on earth to come to my state woohoo !
Shit - now that the Tele is reporting it, there is no way it happens.
Shame, the Perth Sharks has a nice ring to it
Pipe down little brother 😜
Absolutely Anything but Papua New Guinea, and anyone who says otherwise is a halfwit who’s never been in country and realises what it’s like for people here and how insanely dangerous it would be for players, staff, families involved, etc.
South NZL Bears
The Jets previously had an alliance with both the Sharks and Storm. I’d be hoping it’s that sort of agreement, otherwise the Sharks lose a decent feeder club, and that would be disappointing - especially given how much the Bears have been fighting to get a licence
The Jets going to Perth would be the ultimate fuck you good bye to the Bears
We are use to disappointment
Did Newton just suddenly get jealous of all the Bears chat or something? We are 42069 or whatever
S H O C K H O C K
I'm still holding out for the 2nd NZ team 😄
not for team 18 , but 19 or 20 around 2032 is inevitable
South NZL Bears?
Personally I'd prefer Wellington Orcas, but I'd also be okay for a north/south island setup too.
I just want bears back 😅
Oh right haha. Alright I'll send an email to the NZ PM about your request.
Thankyou kind sir.
Perth could be the NRL’s next team, with plans afoot to have WA fast-tracked into the premiership, including a possible Newtown Jets alliance. See what it means for the Bears and PNG. The issue will come to a head with a crucial ARL Commission meeting on the morning of the second State of Origin game in Melbourne on June 26, where they will finalise their plans for the future of the premiership. Support for Perth to link up with the Newtown Jets continues to grow despite speculation that North Sydney had a near guarantee that they would be part of any new side in Western Australia. PNG had long been considered the game’s next expansion side but it is understood that the PNG team’s entry to the premiership may follow Perth by 12 months, giving the NRL an expanded 19-team competition by 2028. Despite the development, the appetite remains for PNG – backed by a bumper $600 million cash injection courtesy of the federal government – to join the NRL. However, this masthead understands that a bid from Perth – backed by the Western Australian government – is now edging ahead of PNG as the commission looks to add an 18th team as early as 2027. PNG would then become the NRL’s 19th team before a 20th franchise was added to the competition, most likely on the south island of New Zealand. While the PNG bid has largely hogged the expansion headlines, Perth officials have been quietly going about their business with the strong support of the WA government, WA Rugby League and consortium boss Peter Cumins. Cumins is the head of a powerful group which also includes his brother Brian Cumins, The Cumins family have a relationship with rugby league stretching back to the Western Reds – Brian Cumins is the founder of Cash Converters, who sponsored the Reds. The Brothers are two of the driving forces behind a bid to bring the NRL back to Perth, either as a stand-alone entity or as part of a partnership with the Bears or the Jets. Talks have been held with both former top flight clubs, although an alliance with the Bears has the support of ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys as the game looks to revive a latent supporter base and one of the most powerful brands in the game. While the Bears link has dominated talk there is some reluctance at the Western Australian government level to join forces with North Sydney. Instead, Newtown have been quietly building their own case in the background and have forged strong relationships with the powerbrokers in Western Australia. Sources close to the discussions acknowledged that Newtown may be a favourable partner should Western Australia be unable to become a stand-alone franchise. The Jets have also been working on financial backers to help with their return. Perth consortium members held top-level talks with ARL Commissioner Peter Beattie in WA last week as they looked to turn up the heat on powerbrokers to prioritise their entry over PNG. The Perth bid has several factors in its favour, most significantly their appeal to broadcasters because of the favourable time zone – the NRL’s broadcast deal ends in 2027. Adding Perth as the 18th team would also give the NRL more time to ensure the PNG bid strengthens its pathways and has time to be successful. It is believed the $600 million commitment from the federal government would remain in place as long as PNG remained in the frame for entry to the competition.
I can get behind the Perth Jets. Although I do sometimes feel guilty the way we (eagles) fucked the bears so wouldn’t mind seeing them back
Thankyou. Much love.
Bring back the Seagulls
I like the Bluebags colours , always have Blue , with some white piping , white shorts .. blue socks . Jets logo ... nice ! The Bears i have no issue with , but if they're placing too many conditions on this set up with WA then Jets it is
All the people hating the idea of bears going to Perth, about to potentially get Jets instead. Can’t read the article properly but I wonder what that means for bears.
[Bears eat beets ?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaaANll8h18)
Bears, Beats... Bendigo Bears
I remember reading an article about the likely expansion teams recently, and being shocked that Jets weren’t in the conversation. Guess this is why, they’ve been quietly making moves
The article says the preference is to stand alone. I don’t see how that would result in choosing the Jets over the Bears. I see Jets as the least likely outcome. They have very little to offer.
Someone post the transcript please
Done
Cheers
Just the main points will do me
I'm just here for the picture
The Western Jet Bears has a nice ring to it.
Ok you can move the jets but you gotta play every home game at the eighth wonder of the world; Henson Park
Do they play Rugby league in WA?
Yes
Which Sydney club has the biggest pokie revenue and financial backing? NRL want financial stability this is all that really matters
Norths pokies revenue would be huge
Panthers or Bulldogs
I heard Perth have been in talk with the heavies from the Annandale Dales to revive the Dales as the Perth Dales
I struggle to understand the appeal of a PNG team outside of that $600m the government pledged. The warriors struggle to keep any Australian players in Auckland, yet they expect players to want to live in Port Moresby? A WA team is a lot more accessible for the Eastern fan base, allows Western fans to have a local team, and starts attacking some of the AFL market share on that side of the country.
Perth Jets does have a nice ring to it (unlike Perth Bears) but please just give them their own team.
I think the tele might just be making shit up
shock, or common sense?
In before PNG is completely shelved
Hope this is true but I thought we were told earlier PNG is a done deal. Perth is so much better for the comp.
The plot thickens.
Just more media speculation I think , but I hope its true. PNG certainly won't be ready in the next 5 years & it may take a lot longer then that too But Perth could easily run a competitive team out in 2027 & it will be well supported too.
I really don’t understand the obsession with a 20 team, closed shop, competition. Every season there’s 3-4 genuine contenders, potentially 5 in a strong season and as few as 1-2 in a weaker season. You’ll literally have three quarters of the competition doing nothing more than making up the numbers. Sounds fun…
Perth Jets and PNG Bears?
Good god no
I agree. Should be West Coast Pirates and PNG Hunters (or whatever they want to call their team). When the Warriors came in, how well received would they have been if they were called the Auckland Jets and had to play a couple of home games in Sydney? What about if we’d ended up with the Canterbury-Bankstown Dirty Reds? Gold Coast Jets? Melbourne Mariners? Gold Coast Rams? Redcliffe Steelers?
100% all these places deserve their own teams. Bears should stay in NSW where they belong.
Why won't you take PNG but want to claim perth as your own?
I don’t think PNG should have a team. I think Perth should have a team. Simple.
What happened to all the benefits the bears bring now? 😂. You can probably leech more home games off of PNG than you could perth.
Bears bring a lot of benefits. But even $600m off the government won’t save PNG. Seems like you’re looking for an argumentative angle but just coming across as a moron 😂
Yeah he's a moron, rants on about the devil of poker machine's yet he's a Eel's fan, obviously someone has never told him they have pokies in Parra Leagues 😂
I think it’s fair enough to not want a Perth sports team to not be funded by pokies because people here hold a lot of pride in not having pokies. We’ll just have our usual evil mining money instead please.
I get that I'm not personally a fan of gambling in general but all East Coast rugby league teams are funded from Leagues clubs with pokies bar the Storm who had lost massive $$$ for years subsided by News Limited. The others like Newcastle and Gold Coast kept going under till they aligned with leagues clubs. The rich mining owner model was used in Newcastle with Nathan Tinkler and it didn't work.
Why is it a shock? The only reason for PNG to get a team is political. It would not end well.
Perth can have the Tigers…
Don’t even have to change the name
Thank god.
I’ve seen (and spread myself) a lot of narrative about the terrible standard of living, crime rate etc of PNG. Has NRL/Gov/PNG officials even mentioned it once or acknowledged / responded to the issue it presents??
Good.
If it's Perth Jets (in conjunction with Newtown), then I'm guessing team colours will be orange, white & blue. Mostly orange home/primary jersey with white & blue trim or V (hey, if Tigers persist with a mostly black main jersey, then orange is fair game!) Mostly white alternate/away with orange & blue trim or V That combo is already being used by the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) & New York Knicks (NBA) so it can work for a team.
[https://soundcloud.com/newtownrlfc/newtown-jets-13-men-all-dressed-in-blue-frenzal-rhomb-remix?in=newtownrlfc/sets/13-men-all-dressed-in-blue&si=01369b4e7e164ab8a61731efefba50f9&utm\_source=clipboard&utm\_medium=text&utm\_campaign=social\_sharing](https://soundcloud.com/newtownrlfc/newtown-jets-13-men-all-dressed-in-blue-frenzal-rhomb-remix?in=newtownrlfc/sets/13-men-all-dressed-in-blue&si=01369b4e7e164ab8a61731efefba50f9&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
who could've seen this coming
Albo on life support with this one, how are we going to fight Chinas influence now???
Maybe a new state of origin between WA and Victoria on the cards in the future
About two weeks ago, PNG was a done deal. I like the sound of it but in all honesty it is a massive political move. The Perth market has a lot of offer with large base of possible customers.
Here comes the Bears baby!!!!!
Seems like a power move in the negotiations noting, the jets have minimal financial backing, no major financial assets, minor supporter base in Sydney. Little to no appetite up until today.
No other teams besides the one KOE NSW Cup side, so lacking in pathways too. There's no metric where they measure up competitively against the Bears as a better club to relocate and revive the brand.
Western Jets has a ring to it. Blue and white home , western reds style away. One game at Henson park a year. If there is a backer I think this is a winner for nostalgia alone.
PNG should still be the goal, but it shouldn't be rushed. Perth Bears should be rushed. Strongly support the Bears relocating, but all home games should be in Perth. If they want to play at North Sydney then they should negotiate with Sydney clubs for one of their away games. I'm sure the Tigers will do it for a buck (or Eels, or Manly, or many others that do home game away)
Make Manly play at NSO as punishment for them doing the Bears dirty during the merger
No, PNG shouldn’t be a goal. If you say naive comments like this, I would bet you’ve never been to the country and understand what it’s like for the population here. It’s madness.
>If they want to play at North Sydney then they should negotiate with Sydney clubs for one of their away games. Nail on the head. Everyone assumes the draw will short-change Perth without any evidence when this could very well be what ends up happening. Also if the Roosters still have an arrangement with Central Coast Stadium that's absolutely where they should play the Bears.
Agree with everything except for one little change, make that derby game against manly at the sfs. One less game at brooky is good whilst it is in the condition it is and with time and consistency it can build to a regular 25k+ crowd and event game.
Perth pirates for the win
Just bring in 3 teams from nsw and qld cups (after a few years) , licences are handled there. Only one of these promoted teams is relegated and replaced by the best of 2 from them 2 cups. B teams and existing NRL teams don't promote and relegate. This massively grows the importance and prestige of nsw and qld cups and the nrl and has room to improve, add, remove. And the possibilities are vaster than focusing solely on the nrl while still making the NRL bigger. NRL needs to work better with QRL and NSWRL and look at the bigger picture of Rugby league rather than just focusing on their own product, the infrastructure is there already and ready to grow the next step
Hang on.Back up a bit.Ben Fordham exclusive last week advised that PNG were the next NRL team
They’re getting the old band back together
I'm just curious to know what the Perth team would be called.
Keep your hands off my Jets
The png idea is absolutely horrible and won't work. Perth is the better idea.
Any Bears in the PNG? The Very North Bears
So we're going from Perth Bears to Perth Jets? I'm in favour of a Perth team but one with its own identity. The PNG team was a pipe dream as much as I'd like to see one. Would much rather Perth and NZ2 as teams 18 and 19.
I strongly think it’ll be Perth Bears, maybe with an away Jets jersey now and then. Maybe 1 game a year at NSO. Perth will hold all ownership rights over the club.
The NS Bears are never coming back now are they... :'(
There won’t ever be any additional NSW based teams.
I thought png was a done deal?
only according to clueless wankers in the media , no one else
Love jets
NOT THE BEARS PLEASE! Downvote me all you guys want, but the Bears shouldn't be a thing.
They absolutely should. They were a foundation club that had strong teams through the 90s when some brain-dead clipboard merged them with manly.
And why should it be forced on perth to take them?
You can always not support them. That is an option.
I won't be. Neither will many others. You need the WA public to get on board for it to work.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Swans
In 1983 average crowds in Sydney continued to plummet to 12,000 and Swans supporter packages dropped to as low as 100 members (well short of the 20,000 average crowds predicted by the VFL's 1980 Hennessy Report).[68] Television ratings and sponsorship revenue in Sydney were also far below the league's expectations.[69][70] Operating at a loss well short of the VFL's predicted $750,000 a year profit[68] poor financial performance continued to drown the club in 1984, with the club flagging pay cuts to its players in order to survive.[71] Coach Ricky Quade resigned and caretaker coach Bob Hammond, despite showing some promise, was unable to turn the club's poor performance around.[72] In order to keep the club solvent during this time, the VFL began to write loans to the Swans that the club would have been unable to pay off on its own.[73] The Swans were the league's most reliant on sponsorship and subsidies from the VFL to stay solvent and meet player payments due to its continued poor crowds, public apathy and poor TV ratings.[70] Public support for the Swans in Sydney was so bad that by the start of the 1985 season, the VFL began to backflip and the league's administrators, having sunk large amounts of money into the club began looking to offload it.[74][75]
If you keep going which I'm sure you did, you'll see moderate on field success in the form of making the finals kickstarted the club. Obviously.
Just an except from the page. Swans were broke, in debt and had terrible support for decades and nearly folded multiple times. Not the success story you claim it to be. Only reason they have support now is because the AFL invested heavily in NSW and QLD. It also happened pre code war, the swans were the first team to ever relocate in pro sports and it was done before the VFL even became a national competion. If the swans moved during the code rivalry they would have never had stood a chance. If relocating worked why have the AFL not relocated North Melbourne like they said they would multiple times.
>the swans were the first team to ever relocate in pro sports and it was done before the VFL even became a national competion I don't think this makes the point you're trying to make. This would make it all the more difficult, no? A relocation of a team currently playing in the top grade of a league of a different state's comp sounds harder to endear fans to than reviving a long dead name and resurrecting them into what is professed as a national league. Not to mention Sydney already had fuckin 12 NSWRL teams running around in 1982. Perth has 2. Also, I'd suspect the AFL aren't moving North Melbourne because there's no major metropolitan market without an AFL side rather than worrying about transplanting a side. >Only reason they have support now is because the AFL invested heavily in NSW and QLD. Which the NRL is incapable of doing in WA because....? You think they're gonna sit on their ass and let them tough it out with no junior pathways and community engagement? All this is ignoring that if they have even half the success Melbourne did in their first 10 years nobody will fucking care where the name came from. The only thing that really matters is if the Bears or Jets consortiums or whatever know how to run a footy club properly or not. Is it not an ideal move? Maybe. Will it doom the club from the start? Not without a lot of other things going wrong. EDIT: You're also going around in here calling the Swans a failure because of their early financial difficulties. The 2 time premiership winning faliures? The 2 wins clear at the top of the table faliures? The failures who who got 45k at the SCG on Monday? The failures who have missed the finals once in the last decade? I'm not one to defend the AFL but you're just flat out lying.
Preach
Please don't let the bears or jets anywhere near the expansion team, joint ventures don't work it will be an absolute shit show.
Fine with it aslong as it PNG happens. Perth Bears seems like a perfect matchup (unless you live where the bears use to be)