NRL Expands to Papua New Guinea [POLL]

Trying2SaveABuck on 18/09/2024 - 21:46
Last edited 18/09/2024 - 22:27

This is pretty big news for Australian sport and for Papua New Guinea with a team based out of Port Moresby now set to go ahead in 2028

there will also be one more team to join the league that will be based in Australia in 2027 which means before the turn of the decade the NRL will be a 19 team competition spanning over 3 countries. (which if you think PNG to NZ is a fair distance)

Australia has often had international based clubs in sports with New Zealand the A League and NRL but as far as im aware never have we had a franchiee in any code up in Papua New Guinea.[PNG]

Im happy for the news i hope we expand to more of the island nations in the region for all sorts of codes i think sport can be used to build bonds and bring people and nations together

It also helps expand the competition making the market it is selling itself to much larger PNG has a population of 10m people and adds an extra talent pool to scout players

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/600m-deal-rocks-nrl-as-his…

i support the new club but to be balanced ill say the negative is the cost and the fact a large amount of this expansion club will be paid for by taxpayer in a time when Australians are struggling - however for me i support the federal government backing this and hope it is a raging success for the league and a code it is a huge step i am 100% bias as a fan of NRL (and most sports in general) but I dont think the wider community will be so positive but I hope I'm wrong

Do you support a Papua New Guinea based NRL team?

Poll Options

  • 34
    I support a PNG expansion
  • 53
    I dont support a PNG expansion
Sports & Outdoors Rugby League

Comments

  • Chuckles79 on 18/09/2024 - 21:57
    +9

    Why would anyone think this is a good use of hard earnt taxpayer money, even when times aren't so tough? Should have taken it to the election for support imo.

    • Mechz on 19/09/2024 - 00:25

      Yeah mate that's not what parties take to elections.

  • jv on 18/09/2024 - 22:28
    +12

    So Albo is sending money to a foreign country to play rugby instead of spending it on hospitals?

    • Agarwal on 18/09/2024 - 22:43
      -2

      They will use some of that money to build hospitals pal.

      • Ade99 on 19/09/2024 - 08:53
        +3

        really……out of $500M, after all of the local "admin fees and levies" [sic], there will not be much left for the stadium, let alone a hospital.

    • Baysew on 19/09/2024 - 11:37
      +1

      Aren't they also building a sporting stadium on some island off Australia's southern coast.

  • Benoffie on 18/09/2024 - 22:35
    +3

    In terms of sport, makes sense. In terms of funding and ensuring that money doesn't just end up in corrupt hands, yeah, not so sure.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 18/09/2024 - 22:40
    -3

    Get rid of the Melbourne cheating scum, so we can hate manly again, as well as the roosters. Bring back a Sydney based team.

    • Mechz on 19/09/2024 - 00:27
      +1

      Maybe just check how many Shitney teams have cheated the cap and been too useless to even win before you get too beetroot in the face.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 20:47
        -1

        Up until this year the bunnies, had more Victorian juniors in their squad than Melbourne. More Victorians have played nfl, than nrl. The Melbourne storm are a major failure. We should have put a team in China as per john ribot.

        Furthermore, when the bears needed players for the finals, the scum rested 11 players. Wtf. Selfish
        Btw name one team caught cheating the salary cap in the last 2 decades? The Melbourne storm. They don't cheat, they have better accountants.

        • Mechz on 20/09/2024 - 04:37

          lol, so much angst must keep you up at night.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 20:49

        You support Collingwood?

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:41

        Go swans!

  • Drakesy on 18/09/2024 - 23:23
    +1

    Between this and the NDIS drain debacle Labor has lost my vote next election unfortunately.

    Sustainable Australia Party looking more enticing by the day

    • jv on 18/09/2024 - 23:47

      Sustainable Australia Party looking more enticing by the day

      What are their policies to reduce inflation, interest rates and unemployment?

      • Drakesy on 19/09/2024 - 08:06

        Have you had a read on their website?

        • jv on 19/09/2024 - 09:41
          -4

          Do they have a website?

      • Ade99 on 19/09/2024 - 08:55
        +4

        I notice that Easy Sleazy was crowing about creating a million new jobs. The only issue is that there has been 1.1 million "new Australians" so he is not even standing still!

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 19/09/2024 - 06:31

      Between this and the NDIS drain debacle Labor has lost my vote next election unfortunately.

      you where pretty ALP-hell bent that is massive coming from you @Drakesy - credit to you at least your vote swings

      as for the "Sustainable Australia Party" they are still a bit too left for me and personally but they are probably a better choice as their mantra is

      🔴 Stop corruption (including in politics, planning and development)
      🟠 Stop overdevelopment (including housing sprawl and inappropriate high-rise)
      🟢 Stabilise population (mainly by returning annual permanent immigration to normal[2])

      i agree with all of these

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:43

      At least albo supports a decent team, and has more brains than all the idiots running this country since 2006.

      • Drakesy on 19/09/2024 - 23:25
        +1

        Yeah not debating that
        We were headed for a recession under frydenburg. They got lucky when covid gave them an excuse

  • p1 ama on 18/09/2024 - 23:52
    -2

    People always get riled up about the whole "but muhhh tax moneyyy" thing about the most random things.

    I mean, the federal government is stumping up $600m over 10 years, so basically $60m per year. The total tax revenue in the 2022-23 financial year was around $750b (e.g. see https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/government/taxatio…).

    This is literally 0.008% of the annual tax bill (and is only expected to decrease, as the total taxation revenue increases over time). The average net tax paid by an Australian is around $20,000 p.a. (e.g. see https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/research-and-statistics/in-… - slightly dated, but I couldn't find more current figures).

    So that 0.008% of the average net tax paid is literally $1.60. Sure, perhaps that's not the best use of your $1.60, but of all of the stuff the government is spending money on (remember, submarines anyone?) and people are getting riled up over this particular $1.60 seems like missing the forest for the trees.

    • Ryanek on 19/09/2024 - 10:24
      +2

      Yeah, not sure why you're getting downvoted. In the grand scheme of things $60m is not much for a developed nation.

      I think people are bit naive if they think this is just about sports.

      • freefall101 on 19/09/2024 - 16:49
        +1

        It's more about general fiscal responsibility, the "whataboutism" of where we spend money and that people don't really buy trying to make big numbers seems small. I think people get it (my post below was upvoted). There's a hundred countries and a million reasons we could make this kind of decision and we can't fund all of them (we can fund 12,500 to be exact, assuming we don't spend out budget on anything else)

        I can spin it the other way too. 3,000 people had to work all year, shelling out a fifth of their income in taxes, just to fund an NRL team in PNG. It could build two TAFE centres of excellence, it's more than we gave to the project to develop an artificial heart and it's an ongoing commitment with no guarantees. They might just use this to go to China "So Australia gave us this, what are you giving us?", it's like funding a foreign war at this point (although I'll take pouring money into development over into bombs any day of the week).

        But really I think it's the ol' $600m here, $600m there, a few more and we'll be talking real money that people dislike.

  • freefall101 on 18/09/2024 - 23:57
    +10

    It's a cheap way of keeping influence in PNG when China wants to dive in as quickly as possible. It gives them the prestige of a sportsball team, the promise of tourism revenue for people going to see sportsball games there and events that politicians can show up to and wave around. In exchange, it'll help protect our assets there.

    China can come in and throw cash around, but they can't offer something like this.

    • Bob Svargis on 19/09/2024 - 07:20

      I think your argument just swayed me towards the affirmative side. Good thinking.

    • shadyscab on 19/09/2024 - 08:10

      100% this.

      DFAT or one of those mobs has been setting this up for 5 years.

    • Ade99 on 19/09/2024 - 08:56

      China has it's own problems with a recession

    • 82norm on 19/09/2024 - 15:55
      +1

      @freefall101… they better fix their crime situation up. No offence to PNG, but it’s not a tourist hotspot, I don’t recall any particular culinary delights, nor site seeing destinations (without the risk of kidnapping). Really short of a backwater sh1thole.

  • BillyStm on 19/09/2024 - 06:53
    +2

    The costs will blow out significantly, the security risk to players/staff is quite high over there. And visiting teams will no doubt request additional security escorts etc. The local market will be aware of this and know the funds are coming from an international source and push the pricing/costs even higher. Litigation if something does go wrong will also be another huge cost.

    Would it be great having their talent pool in the league, definitely, but they should seek other funding arms if they wish to establish this or alternatively send scouting teams each year to bring new talent through QLD/NSW cup and into the NRL accordingly.

    • Baysew on 19/09/2024 - 13:41
      +1

      The costs will blow out significantly, the security risk to players/staff is quite high over there.

      Probably more of a security risk to the locals from rampant NRL players.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:47

        It can be scary . They are passionate . Just remember, they were practising rituals until the late 80s, in remote areas

  • joshash on 19/09/2024 - 07:46
    +4

    I was the last PNG game here in the Hostplus Cup (Qld) last weekend and saw them win the grand final a few years ago. I see a lot of their games.
    PNG supporters are the most passionate and respectful group of rugby league lovers I've ever seen. The energy they bring to the sport has to been to be believed.
    When they arrive in the NRL the only question will be why they weren't in sooner.
    100% behind this move

    • Ade99 on 19/09/2024 - 08:58

      It is nice to see some one get passionate about a minority sport.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:50

        Go back to supporting your minority sport. Collingwood?

  • theHMASfriendship on 19/09/2024 - 08:44
    -1

    The NRL are not respecting sovereign borders I would expect there will be a resolution by the UN condemning this

  • SlickMick on 19/09/2024 - 08:44
    +1

    NRL have destroyed rugby league beyond recognition. I found a rules of the game website the other day… from what I can see they haven't changed the rule book, they just leave everything to ref's and bunker's discretion. We need more teams. we need less teams. We need more teams again.

    From an NRL perspective, this will be a disaster. But what @freefall101 says above is the reason for it, and unfortunately necessary. However, this won't work either, and PNG will continue to play us off against China.

  • GordonD on 19/09/2024 - 08:52
    +2

    Wow, someone from Melbourne who's an NRL fanatic. After living most of my life in NSW, then moving to Adelaide where there simply isn't any "football" except Victorian football, I'm surprised.

    • Trying2SaveABuck on 19/09/2024 - 10:02
      -1

      I think a lot of people in Victoria support Rugby and in fairness Soccer but the media essentially hate any other code that isnt AFL here

      Open a newspaper [if they still exist] there will be 1 page to other codes 7 to the AFL

      • GordonD on 19/09/2024 - 18:31

        and in fairness Soccer

        You know what Michael Duffy said about soccer don't you?

        Lots of parents want their children to play soccer for reasons of social engineering: they want to make their boys more like girls and their girls more like boys.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:51

        Rugby?
        Rugby league is a different sport.

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:54

      At least png supply players. The Melbourne scum are a disgrace. I think their is only one Victorian junior in the system, being richie kennar. Souths have released him , yet again.

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:55

      Jumping on the bandwagon, they are.

  • ricadam on 19/09/2024 - 09:31

    I'm conflicted as I know a few people from PNG and are all mad-keen NRL supporters. But the main reason for this team is to buy Australian influence into PNG over China, who has started to throw money around the area to further increase their influence.

  • Loot N Plunder on 19/09/2024 - 12:22
    -1

    Here is the deal

    Let china have it
    or
    Australia steps up and we secure our foot in the door

    Sometimes there is more to it than just sports involved
    I am not for blowing all that coin outside Australia but i know whats at stake

  • Joey2scoops on 19/09/2024 - 13:27

    They could move the whole lot out into PNG and save on travel.

  • 82norm on 19/09/2024 - 13:52

    I’ll laugh my ass off WHEN China still has influence over PNG. How about banning coal, gas, iron ore to China outright to cripple their defence industry. Albo’s a joke.

    • GordonD on 19/09/2024 - 18:35

      China can buy those off other countries. Our economy tanks, and we are poor, if we can't sell them to China, because its the country that's making everything for the world. Who else would want our iron ore. Or the coal to turn it into steel. We've stopped making anything, thanks to Keating buying the merits of globalisation when he was Treasurer

  • 82norm on 19/09/2024 - 15:57

    Stop the influence….. someone probably should have told the NT government before they handed the Port of Darwin with a 99 year lease.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 20:50

    I don't have an issue, as long as we remove the purple team.

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:58

      Bring back the bears, magpies, steelers, tams, reds, jets, dirty reds, or university.
      All storm players should be stripped of p awards, points eyc, especially anyone associated with the great immortal clive Churchill.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 19/09/2024 - 21:59

    I support a png expansion, as long as we get rid of the storm, or roosters.

  • st1ng on 19/09/2024 - 22:22

    Like the Dolphins, the PNG Hunters currently play in the Queensland Cup. Would make sense to have a team in the NRL. PNG is league mad.

  • beach bum on 19/09/2024 - 22:42

    Probably a regional team would make more financial sense long term ,
    Newcastle could probably support a team or Coffs/Grafton Northern Rivers.

    Queensland could support a couple more teams easily IF China is still buying Coal,
    If not probably not .

    Samoa would probably be a better choice , you’d have to teach them to pass the ball but I’m sure they would dominate after a couple of seasons.

  • tonka on 22/09/2024 - 20:48
    +1

    PNG is absolutely obsessed with Aussie NRL, way more than us, State of origin may be bigger than Christmas, almost cruel to keep them out.

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