The Papua New Guinea NRL franchise has been confirmed in a $600 million deal but there has been a twist in the timeline.
Ahead of the 2023 season, the Dolphins were introduced as the competition’s 17th franchise and plans for an 18th, 19th and possibly even 20th have been ongoing.
One of those new franchises was slated for Papua New Guinea and per reports Down Under that will be confirmed next week, however, it’s unclear if they will be the 18th or 19th franchise.
Despite the NRL being ready to pull the trigger on a team in PNG, it’s unclear if a team will enter the competition before them.
Perth has also been a destination that the NRL have looked to target with the West Coast of Australia being a huge untapped market and it’s being suggested that they could be introduced to the NRL for 2027, a year ahead of Papua New Guinea who are slated to join in 2028.
PNG set to be confirmed as NRL expansion team
Dates are not locked in but ahead of next week’s expected confirmation of Papua New Guinea as a new franchise, it still remains unclear if they will be joining as the 18th or 19th team.
That is per The Daily Telegraph who report that the deal to bring the Pacific Island nation into the NRL is worth a reported $600 million. That will be split with $60 million going to existing clubs and the remaining $540 million to finance the team and game in PNG.
Australian MP Justin Tkatchenko who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Papua New Guinea confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald: “It (PNG franchise) will really boost our economy and also put us on the map.
He also confirmed that $38 million would be put into the 2025 budget to build facilities for the franchise with a further $74 million made available in the three years prior to their expected 2028 entry.
It still leaves question marks over whether the PNG franchise will be the 18th or 19th in the NRL given the ongoing talks to create a team in Perth, with the WA government working alongside the NRL on that.
Per The Telegraph, the NRL’s preference was to enter Perth in 2027 and PNG in 2028 but that is looking unlikely.
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