The NRL has begun a series of secret meetings with clubs detailing plans to transform the game, 7NEWS can reveal.
Every aspect of the competition is set for a radical overhaul in coming years - including expansion to 18 teams and a conference system to split the NRL in two.
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ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo have been secretly selling their vision for the game’s future to club powerbrokers.
7NEWS understands clubs are on board with the concepts, with overwhelming support from coaches and club chief executives.
South Sydney were the latest to hear the pitch, listening in on Tuesday morning.
The planned overhaul includes a 17th team entering the competition in 2023 before an 18th team follows in 2026.
Multiple groups are bidding to win the licence to become the NRL’s second team in Brisbane, where the Broncos have dominated for 30 years.
The NRL is proposing a full overhaul of the development pathways to ensure there is enough talent to support two more teams.
Clubs will be forced to invest in their juniors.
Funding will also be provided so clubs can have all three grades play at the same ground on the same day.
And an NFL-style conference system, splitting the teams between Sydney and the rest, could be implemented.
The conference winners would then play off in the grand final.
The idea of conferences was first seriously floated during last year’s COVID-19 shutdown, as the game tried to restart safely during a shortened season.
But while administrators eventually took a different option, they never completely went away from the idea.
The benefits would include more local rivalries, while it would theoretically even out a competition that is now not entirely equal given each team only plays eight others twice.
South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett has long been a fan of the idea, and backed it in an interview last month.
“I think they should play in conferences, I’ve always argued for conferences,” Bennett said at the time.
“I think Sydney do themselves a great disservice by not playing each other on a regular basis home-and-away because that’s what the fans want in Sydney.
“(Sydney fans) embrace the national league but they also embrace the club rivalry and unless you’re living in Sydney you don’t realise how strong it is.”
The NRL plans to utilise the conference system to create rugby league’s very own version of the Super Bowl.
The ARL Commission is believed to be confident the changes could deliver a major boost to crowds, ratings and money - when the time comes to negotiate the next broadcast rights deal.
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