Could Singapore emerge as a new force in rugby league? Perth Bears recruitment manager Dane Campbell believes it can.
DANE CAMPBELL likes to set himself big, audacious goals when it comes to rugby league. The man who as the recently appointed Perth Bears recruitment manager has the task of assembling a competitive squad to enter the NRL in 2027, is used to tough challenges. After all his resume includes starting up rugby league in Jamaica and Vanuatu. The latest project outside of his day job is developing the sport in Singapore.
Returning from the Asian Championships in the Philippines with a winners trophy Campbell says he wants the annual World Club Challenge to be played in Singapore.
“Apart from (Australian Rugby League Commission Chair) Peter V’landys identifying Singapore as one of the possible major cities for a proposed NRL Global Round, we’ve got a huge ambition, what we want to promote is the World Club Challenge being hosted in Singapore. We really want to make a push for that to become a catalyst event in its own right. That gets more eyeballs on our game in South-East Asia, which collectively is 700 million people. If we can do that in a way that both sets of fans understand, as soon as their team wins the trophy, all eyes lead to Singapore, I think that’s a great outcome. The proximity for both nations is an advantage, rather than travelling one way or the other each year.
“I love the fact that Singapore is being mentioned by Peter in the NRL, and I genuinely feel that Singapore should be one of the very first destinations if that global round concept gets up and running. We have a tremendous facility. A roofed stadium, 50,000 seats and air conditioned seating. It’s central to the middle of town and the training facilities for teams are great. The sets of fans are able to experience all Singapore has to offer in terms of nightlife and for families. I really do believe that it’s got it all and the timezones for television are attractive. I just think that both Singapore and Hong Kong can have a place in the Global Round.”
After assembling the Singapore national team for the first time a few weeks prior to the Asian Championships in Manila at the end of November, the fledgling organisation enjoyed the perfect start with a resounding 48-4 victory over Japan before a thumping 62-0 win to take home the trophy in the final against hosts the Philippines. To top it off, Singapore Rugby League announced four local businesses as sponsors and the creation of two clubs, the Central Vipers and the Eastern Hornbills, who will be joined by more teams for the inaugural Singapore domestic rugby league competition scheduled to commence in July 2026.
The national squad, known as the Memerang (Malaysian for Otter), saw heritage players from Australia, such as star playmaker and up and coming South Sydney Rabbitohs under 21s squad member Tylan Berryman, joined by domestic rugby union players from the Asian nation, some of whom have represented the Singapore Rugby 7s team previously.
“We were confident in the squad we had assembled that we would be nice and competitive,” Campbell said, wearing his head coach hat.
“The unknown was the Philippines. We really didn’t know what to expect in that second game. Fortunately for us we got a good run of things in the first half and consequently the result we were after.
“There were seven or eight guys playing either their first or second game of rugby league in their entire lives. Coming from a rugby union background, they adapted really quickly. The fact that a number of them are now based in Australia for studying purposes, they’ve been able to watch rugby league. They may not have necessarily played rugby league, but have watched plenty of NRL, so had an understanding of the game. And I was just super impressed with their commitment and willingness to learn. If I was singling out any particular players, our left edge was all Singapore raised in the Poselthawite brothers, Liam and Connor, and Tiernan O’Rourke. All three of them played both games on that left edge and did an incredible job.
“We were fortunate to have four Singapore-based companies support this tour which was a fantastic result. In the few days after the competition concluded we were inundated with companies and individuals asking how they can assist and be involved from a corporate and sponsorship point of view.
“That’s given us the momentum to get the domestic competition up and running: we’ve announced two teams and we’ll have two more teams announced shortly so that will take us to four. The other thing is we’ve had a lot of inquiries in the female space. I think that’s our next step as well, to do a similar thing, getting a team together that represents the national level that can unfold into a domestic and junior pathway over the next two to three years.
“We’ve got to think differently. We can’t just do what Australia, England or New Zealand have done forever and a day. We need to be really respectful to the local rugby union and make sure we work together. We understand that a lot of the player pool is going to want to play both codes of rugby and we can see some real benefits for both codes of making that work. Singapore is a place that struggles for green space so access to fields is a priority, we need to be mindful of how long our seasons go for and how many volunteers are needed. It might be an eight to ten week competition that becomes stronger and stronger over the years. I think what we’re seeing in the world of rugby league and sport in general these days is that if you can make it highly attractive for people we don’t have to have eight or ten month competitions in developing nations. We can get in there and have a really good product for a shorter period of time, play our national team games and make sure everyone’s happy.”
The 2025 Asian Championships featured Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore from November 27 to 29. The play off for third spot resulted in a 34-30 victory to Japan over Hong Kong.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 516 (January 2026)