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\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,\u201d Ikin said. <\/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 will step down at QRL boss at the end of the month, but will push Queensland\u2019s case for a new team, possibly in Ipswich, right until he leaves his post.<\/p>\n
“Can’t remember a game like it!” | 05:22<\/p>\n
A New Zealand franchise on the south island in Christchurch looks to be the frontrunner as the NRL tries to grow the game internationally and take over the rugby union-mad nation. <\/p>\n
That would be welcome news to Dolphins boss Terry Reader who naturally doesn\u2019t want another NRL team in his backyard so soon after his came into the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took a 17-year gap in between the Titans and us coming in and we\u2019re actually going to 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 earlier this week.<\/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.\u201d<\/p>\n
RIVAL\u2019S SWIPE AT \u2018MANUFACTURED\u2019 BRONCOS<\/p>\n
Dolphins boss Terry Reader has made the stunning claim that his side was \u201cBrisbane\u2019s team\u201d in a stinging sledge to the Broncos.<\/p>\n
With the clubs just weeks away from contesting the eighth Battle of Brisbane, Reader claimed the Broncos were a \u201cmanufactured\u201d side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funny thing is \u2013 and the Broncos fans don\u2019t like hearing this \u2013 but we actually represent the BRL (Brisbane Rugby League),\u201d Reader told the Courier Mail.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the first team to ascend to the national competition out of the BRL or out of the QRL competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Broncos \u2026 we\u2019ve got manufactured expansion sides, but we\u2019re the first grassroots side to ascend into the NRL.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fletch & Hindy dealt final punishment | 07:23<\/p>\n
The Broncos have won six of the seven clashes between the two sides, including one game where centre Kotoni Staggs declared Suncorp Stadium \u201cour house\u201d after scoring a match-sealing try.<\/p>\n
The Broncos have no doubt felt threatened by the Dolphins since they entered the NRL in 2023.<\/p>\n
When he was head coach at Brisbane, Kevin Walters always referred to the Dolphins as \u201cRedcliffe\u201d in an effort to make them sound like an out of town team. <\/p>\n
Following a 66-0 loss at the hands of Cronulla, Walters dismissed the Dolphins are genuine premiership threats in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you get beaten by 50-plus or more, you aren\u2019t going to win the grand final,\u201d Walters said on his Inside Ball podcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always glass half-full, but like stats and history tells us the Dolphins (can\u2019t win the premiership).\u201d<\/p>\n
THE OFFER A BRONCO COULDN\u2019T REFUSE<\/p>\n
Marlon Brando may be long gone, but someone from the Broncos must play the role of the Godfather and make Xavier Willison an offer he can\u2019t refuse to ensure the man mountain stays put beyond the 2027 season.<\/p>\n
And a little bit of Hollywood could go a long way given Willison sports a tattoo on his right leg of the legendary Don Vito Corleone, who delivered iconic quote after iconic quote in the 1972 classic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many to choose from, but probably just the main one \u2018I\u2019m gonna make him an offer he can\u2019t refuse\u2019,\u201d Willison replied when asked what his favourite quote from the film is.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely my favourite movie. I used to watch it all the time at my nana\u2019s (place) growing up. It\u2019s my favourite movie, closely followed by A Bronx Tale. I like those old-school Italian mafia sort of movies.\u201d<\/p>\n
His Broncos tale is just getting started after becoming a mainstay in the team back in 2024, with Willison playing a key role in their run to the premiership last year.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll turn 24 in a couple of weeks and will command huge offers if he hits the open market on November 1, which is why the Broncos are doing everything they can to convince the New Zealand international to stay.<\/p>\n
There are reports that they\u2019ve tabled a three-year deal worth about $3m, with Willison showing his value against Penrith on Thursday where he started in the middle but moved to the edge and ran for 189m.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still working through things,\u201d he said, with Brisbane desperate to keep him given superstar prop Payne Haas is leaving to join the Rabbitohs at the end of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely (my preference is to stay). They\u2019ve given me everything. They brought me over from New Zealand as a kid, so definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n
A premiership push this season seems improbable, but at least the Broncos have given themselves a tiny chance of sneaking into the finals after they snapped an eight-game losing streak with a win in Sydney over the title favourites.<\/p>\n
Reece Walsh was at his brilliant best with three try assists as the Broncos reminded everyone that they can still be a force when they have all of their stars on the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good feeling. It\u2019s fun to be back in the winner\u2019s circle,\u201d Willison said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had all our boys back, so there were really no excuses for us not to perform tonight, and I felt like we did that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last couple of weeks, I definitely felt like we\u2019ve had the effort. The boys were trying to look after each other, it just hasn\u2019t gone our way. Tonight everyone was there, which definitely helped.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queensland Rugby League (QRL) CEO Ben Ikin says the state deserves to have a fifth NRL team as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":805763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-805762","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\/805762","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=805762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}