{"id":804734,"date":"2026-07-16T21:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/804734\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T21:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:18:13","slug":"nrl-news-2026-ben-ikin-pushing-for-another-queensland-expansion-team-dolphins-ceo-terry-reader-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/804734\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL news 2026: Ben Ikin pushing for another Queensland expansion team, Dolphins CEO Terry Reader, exclusive"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the debate around the NRL\u2019s future expansion plans continues, outgoing QRL boss Ben Ikin<\/a> is adamant the state is ready for another team. <\/p>\n

Just three years removed from the Dolphins<\/a> entering the competition, the next two seasons will see the Perth Bears<\/a> and PNG Chiefs<\/a> join the fray.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Three years on, the Dolphins are firing in the NRL.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Peter V\u2019landys<\/a> and company won\u2019t stop there however, with another first grade club expected to be brought in during the next broadcast rights deal, which was announced last week and runs through until the end of 2034<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The two clear front-runners are another team in Queensland – either in the Ipswich region<\/a> or closer to Rockhampton – or a second New Zealand side<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking to nine.com.au last week as part of a DrinkWise campaign, Ikin was staunch in his belief that adding a fifth team in the Sunshine State was a \u201csure thing\u201d considering the risks associated with both Perth and PNG.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the most popular sport in the state, we\u2019ve got four teams in Queensland and there\u2019s 11 in NSW,\u201d the departing chief executive said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know in my heart and off the back of my experience in this role as CEO, is that we could absolutely cater for another NRL team. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe western corridor of Brisbane and central Queensland are passionate rugby league bases. It\u2019s not just in the form of fans, it\u2019s also the number of participants and the pathways that are well-established in those regions. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf the game was looking to get to 20 teams, I\u2019ve got no doubt that Queensland would be more than capable of hosting a fifth NRL side. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can just about guarantee you that with the risk associated with Perth and PNG, if they were looking for a sure thing, putting another side here would fit that bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ikin has overseen a stellar period for Queensland on and off the field, but will step away from the chief executive role at the end of July<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While he is pushing hard for another Queensland-based club to be entered into the NRL and V\u2019landys himself has refused to rule it out, the calls for another New Zealand side is gaining steam and looms as the popular pick for fans.<\/p>\n

Dolphins boss Terry Reader<\/a>, who has been in charge of the NRL\u2019s 17th club since before their inaugural season, wants to see the sport branch out further across the Tasman and capitalise on the success of the Warriors in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a 17-year gap in between the Titans and us coming in and we\u2019re actually gonna bring in three sides within six years of each other \u2026 it is a difficult task,\u201d he said on Wide World Of Sports\u2019 QLDER<\/a> earlier this week. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have the calibre of players, but it\u2019s about getting depth right at the start because you\u2019ve gotta have a balance. It\u2019s not as simple as people might think of how you put it together \u2026 it doesn\u2019t happen overnight. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think New Zealand we\u2019re talking about as the 20th side, probably makes sense with what\u2019s happened at the Warriors, there\u2019s one team over there. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Warriors fans have constantly sold-out stadiums in recent years.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest game in the world of rugby in any code is the Battle of Brisbane. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing that it\u2019s already in place in our city and I\u2019ve got no doubt that New Zealand could have their own calibre of that if they get a chance. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe NRL is looking through the pathways in New Zealand, because currently the Warriors junior reps and reserve grade are all playing in NSW.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this stage, NRL officials have not locked in their plans for a 20th team, but it\u2019s expected that the recently-signed TV deal will push things along.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the debate around the NRL\u2019s future expansion plans continues, outgoing QRL boss Ben Ikin is adamant the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-804734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}