Latest NRL decision set to cause Super League issue amid head coach warning

Super League clubs ought to have been monitoring the situation surrounding NRL expansion closely.

The Australian league has confirmed two more teams will be welcomed in over the next two or three years with teams from Papua New Guinea and Perth being given the green light. The latter was announced this week with the Bears franchise heading to Western Australia in a move that links both coasts together.

Anyone that’s been to Perth will have a sense of how isolated the city is. The rugby league hotspots of Sydney and Brisbane are at least five hours away on a plane and because of that the 13-man code doesn’t quite have the same following as it does on the east coast.

AFL, cricket and rugby union currently dominate the sporting market in Perth, with soccer an option for the locals, too, in the form of Perth Glory. As such, in order for the Bears to engage the Perth audience ahead of their first NRL game in 2027, they might need to rely on star power.

Big names draw local interest and ticket sales will follow. As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bears shopping for and bringing in some of the biggest names the sport has to offer to get themselves off the ground.

However, they need to build a squad and the talent pool down under is only so big. Where will the Bears be looking to over the next 18 months then? You guessed it, Super League.

NRL clubs have started to look to England for recruits more and more over the last few years with the likes of Dom Young, Morgan Smithies, Kai Pearce-Paul and most recently Matty Nicholson proving to be successes in the Australian competition.

The Bears will be no different and it seems they could even be looking to recruit a coach with a strong knowledge of the English game, with Sam Burgess and Brad Arthur being linked. In fact, with roughly 10% of Perth’s population said to be British, it’s something of a no brainer to lean into that cultural influence and look to the northern hemisphere for talent.

Super League clubs should be on alert then and over the next few months, those able to should be doing all they can to wrap up their best and most promising talent on longer deals. The last thing the European competition needs is more top talent heading down under and clubs must be aware of the looming threat of NRL recruitment over the next 18 months to two years.

Top youngsters, current stars and even coaches are at risk if not tied down and clubs must act to avoid them being picked off.

NRL expansion sides expected to pursue Super League talent

With Perth set to enter the NRL in 2027, they’ll be looking at players whose contracts expire at the end of the 2026 season. At present that includes a raft of talent such as Man of Steel frontrunner Jake Connor, Oliver Gildart, Umyla Hanley, Oliver Partington, Daryl Clark, George Williams and Luke Yates, while youngsters such as George Flanagan and Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet may also be on radars.

Speaking about the situation a couple of weeks back, Hull FC head coach John Cartwright fired out something of a warning.

“Having spent some time in Super League, if I’m involved in the new club, I’m looking over here,” he said.

“The Australian clubs are tying up their best players for the long term, and there are players over here that no doubt can handle the NRL, and if I were in the new Australian team, I’d be looking at the best players over here to get started.”

With the British market set to be a popular one, Super League clubs can give themselves a degree of security by wrapping up their most valuable talents for the long-term then.