NRL clubs are set to demand compensation if the Perth Bears are granted salary cap relief to bolster their efforts to build a competitive roster before their 2027 entry into the competition.
To this point, the Bears have struggled to attract big-name players. With 2028 competition entrants, the Papua New Guinea Chiefs, able to offer tax-free deals to players, calls for concessions to be granted to Perth continue.
It was reported by this masthead that ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys was considering providing assistance to the Bears after lobbying from Perth board members James Bracey and Daniel Dickson and the Rugby League Players’ Association.
But any such move would face resistance from existing teams.
“Going back to the initial decision to admit Perth, the clubs raised a number of concerns about the process of getting Perth in and the fact that the NRL would own two clubs in the competition, particularly given we supply them with our most sensitive and commercially confidential information,” South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly said on Sunday.
“We needed to have some comfort that those two clubs would be operated at arm’s length. The NRL assured us that both clubs will be salary cap and football department cap compliant.
“That was the basis on which we accepted their entry. If there’s an appetite to move away from that, it needs to involve a discussion with the 17 clubs.”
The issue is likely to be a hot topic at Friday’s NRL CEOs conference in Brisbane, which will take place in the hours before Magic Round begins at Suncorp Stadium.
As well as the Bears, the NRL will also own the PNG Chiefs for the first 10 years of their existence as part of a $600 million Australian government-funded package.
The decision to add the Bears and the Chiefs to the competition in successive years has presented a major recruitment hurdle for Mal Meninga-led Perth, with PNG able to offer players tax-free wages and third-party deals in the Pacific nation that supercharge their earning power.
Bringing in two teams within 12 months has also placed pressure on other NRL teams as they try to retain players. Only one new club – the Dolphins, in 2023 – joined the NRL in the previous two decades.
Clubs signed off on the PNG deal after being allocated $4 million each in federal taxpayer money.
After expressing reservations about the Perth process, they are likely to push for compensation from the NRL if it backtracks on not providing new teams a salary cap edge.
“This was a commitment that Peter and [NRL chief] Andrew [Abdo] made,” Solly said.
“I don’t think any of the clubs are bloody-minded about this. We all want PNG and Perth to succeed. It’s just about recognising the contribution that the 17 existing clubs have made to the growth of the game and our massive investment in pathways and players.”
The NRL declined to comment on Sunday.
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys told this masthead last month the NRL couldn’t carve out exemptions for Perth because “the clubs have always indicated it would be unfair if we did anything other than have the same salary cap for everyone”.
Former NSW and Australia halfback Andrew Johns believes the Bears should get a 50 per cent dispensation for two marquee players. Others in the game have discussed whether travel and housing allowances in Perth could be provided.
“I think all clubs have always said we’re for the competition being competitive,” Parramatta chief Jim Sarantinos said.
“But we agreed, and we were informed that these clubs were coming in based on a set of circumstances, and now those circumstances could change.”
Another club CEO, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said on Sunday: “We don’t want them to have any kind of relief because that was the deal. But you could sense something was coming.”
Not all clubs are adamantly against it.
Canberra chief Don Furner said it would come down to the details.
“We’re not saying a blanket no to something that could be a good thing for the game to expand,” he said. “There is no harm in having the discussion and exploring it.”
Dolphins CEO Terry Reader said the most difficult part of setting up an NRL franchise was recruitment, “and we had Wayne Bennett [as coach] and were asking players to go to Brisbane”, not the other side of the country.
“We all knew what we signed up to when we came in,” Reader said.
“But it’s in the game’s best interest for the new teams to be successful, especially Perth, as it offers another time zone for broadcast revenue. It’s worth having a conversation amongst the clubs and with the NRL.”
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.