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NRL officially expands from 2023, Warriors partner club Redcliffe Dolphins tipped to be 17th team

Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:19 am
by josie andrews
The NRL will officially expand its competition to include a 17th team, although the clubs are calling for a bigger share of the spoils after the game announced a A$50 million (NZ$52.6m) surplus.

The Redcliffe Dolphins are expected to beat the Firehawks and Jets to become the next franchise in 2023 after broadcasters felt the inclusion will add value to their product.

The clubs were told the cost of having an additional club would be $15 million (NZ$15.8m) per year, which would be offset by the $20 million (NZ$21m) per annum that Foxtel were prepared to pay with an extra Brisbane team.

That would allow the 16 existing teams to receive additional funds in the future, allaying fears the size of the revenue pie would be sliced up thinner between them.

The partnership between the Warriors and Redcliffe has enabled Warriors contracted players to turn out for the Dolphins in the Queensland Cup and Hastings Deering Colts (for players aged 21 or under) after the New Zealand club withdrew from the New South Wales Cup due to Covid-19.

Due to uncertainty around the trans-Tasman borders, the Warriors will be based out of Moreton Daily Stadium (Dolphin Stadium) in 2022.

The new club will be required to have a $10 million (NZ$10.5m) bank guarantee per annum over the next five years to ensure it can stand on its own feet. The 17th team will not get any additional funds over the existing ones in order to start up.

There will be 12 additional games per season as a result of the inclusion of an extra team, with every side to get two byes.

The clubs were also told Rugby League Central was close to securing a new free-to-air deal, understood to be with the Nine network, the publishers of this masthead.

Had Covid-19 costs of $30 million (NZ$31.5m) not been incurred, the game would have made $80 million over the last financial year.

The NRL cut costs by $55 million (NZ$57.9m) to be able to distribute $376 million (NZ$395.8m) across the game. However, some clubs believe they should be given more money in order to grow their own businesses.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/wa ... -17th-team

Re: NRL officially expands from 2023, Warriors partner club Redcliffe Dolphins tipped to be 17th team

Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:40 am
by Charriots Offiah
There will be more British players going down under.

Re: NRL officially expands from 2023, Warriors partner club Redcliffe Dolphins tipped to be 17th team

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 10:28 pm
by widdenoldboy
Nah, just Wigan players going..

Re: NRL officially expands from 2023, Warriors partner club Redcliffe Dolphins tipped to be 17th team

Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 10:54 am
by Firestarter
As the quality drops in SL the NRL teams will stop poaching us