Momentum is building for a second team in Brisbane from 2023 after NRL boss Todd Greenberg suggested the city is in the box seat for a franchise and a decision needed to be made by the end of this year.
At least four candidates are queuing up to create a local rivalry with the Broncos and Greenberg said a study into expansion will provide greater clarity as soon as the middle of this year.
“(Brisbane) is an absolute rugby league town; we’ve seen that particularly in the last five years. The strength of the game here both in participation and ratings has been phenomenal,” he said on Monday.
Franchises based in Redcliffe, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich and Brisbane itself have all been floated, while Perth, North Sydney and New Zealand are other options as the NRL contemplates expanding from 16 teams.
Broncos great Darren Lockyer on Monday put his weight behind the Redcliffe bid while NRL chief executive Greenberg said the city’s case in general was hard to ignore.
“I was asked that question pretty much as soon as I stepped off the plane today,” Greenberg said.
“The game’s doing a very detailed piece of work at the moment on its future footprint.
“We know there’s an extremely strong appetite for another club in Queensland, we acknowledge that.
“I’m not watering it down, I’m just suggesting there’s a lot of work to do before you simply sign on the dotted line.”
Greenberg said the expansion report would ideally be presented by mid-year “to give a team a proper runway to land into 2023”.
“Anything we’re talking about here relates to 2023 and this is the first time in my memory that the game’s starting to talk about these decisions strategically well in advance of the time frame,” he said.
“But we’ve got a big year in 2020 to land some of these decisions.”
Adding two teams would create an extra fixture and potentially add value to the next broadcast deal.
It is why Broncos great Lockyer hopes the NRL have done their homework if they are to add just one team to the mix.
“(I support it) as long as the NRL are adamant it won’t fail and that’s why they’re taking their time,” he said.
“They want to make sure that if we do this it’s going to work.
“Redcliffe has a growing population and is known as a rugby league community … they’re one of the potential clubs that could make it work.”
