A fresh Auckland-based rugby expansion bid has told the NRL they would take games to Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands each year, if admitted to the competition.
But there will be eyebrows raised in rugby union over the name of the team – Mana Pasifika. The rugby league will have two fewer starting players than union and just one letter less than the established Moana Pasifika Super Rugby outfit.
Stand by for a marketers nightmare.
In a first-of-its-kind proposal, the Mana Pasifika submitted its expansion bid to the NRL last week, after first raising the idea with league bosses close to five years ago.
AAP has been told the team would aim to play at least half of its home games at Auckland’s 50,000-seat Eden Park.
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The Mana team would then play annual matches at Apia Park in Samoa, Teufaiva Stadium in Tonga, and the National Stadium in the Cook Islands.
Plans would also be afoot to take home matches to Waikato, Christchurch and Dunedin from their first season.
The bid is headed by Rugby League Samoa’s New Zealand president Geoff Brown, and has buy-in from Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.
“This bid is about establishing an alliance … we are all Pacific Islanders,” Brown told AAP.
“It’s a merging of nations under a license. Auckland is one of the largest Pacific cities in the world. There are second generations of our families living here.
“There are a lot of kids who have to leave to chase their career in Australia. Some have made it in the NRL.
“We could bring something exciting to the NRL, with really good values around what our culture provides, our faith, our family and our footy.”
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Brown said the team would be able to enter in 2027 if required, and while open to government assistance, has financial backing from private investors and equity groups.
The bid is similar to that of the Moana Pasifika franchise in Super Rugby, with the NRL having never played competition games outside of Australia, New Zealand and USA.
“That’s what we’ve submitted to the NRL,” Brown said.
“We have done the work with governments, we’ve done financial modelling with Deloitte, dealt with the costs involved in playing games up in the islands.
“We’ve got that there for the NRL.”
It is the fourth New Zealand bid attempting to join an expanded NRL, with the other three based on the south island.
A Fiji bid also remains on the table, as does the Ipswich Jets proposal that carries Newtown’s backing. A separate submission has also been made by the Brisbane Tigers.
Realistically all seven are vying for one spot in a 20-team NRL next decade, with Papua New Guinea already confirmed and Perth expected to join them.
The Mana bid has the backing of former Samoa players, with Fetu Samoa women’s coach Jamie Soward adamant it would be an appealing prospect for the 200-plus Polynesian players in the NRL, while widening pathways out of the Pacific.
“I know there is a huge desire for Polynesian players to represent their culture,” Soward said.
“You always hear about Queenslanders grow up wanting to be a Bronco. There are kids who have grown up wanting to be Warriors.
“I would love to think there are kids who could grow up wanting to be one of these Mana Pasifika players.
“The Polynesian influence is so strong right now, this gives them a pathway into a market that is ready and ready to go. It’s a must I reckon.”
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo told AAP earlier this week he was open to the idea.
“We are the biggest sport in the Pacific and we want rugby league to be the language that binds us all together,” Abdo said.
“The opportunity to have another team long term in New Zealand or the Pacific, we would be crazy not to look at that.”
(With AAP)
