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There has been much recent discussion about the possibility of the NRL competition expanding from sixteen to eighteen teams.
A number of serious contenders have emerged for the two new positions. Strong cases have been made for the inclusion of teams from the Central Coast, Perth, Brisbane and Central Queensland. Other possibilities which have been suggested as expansion areas in the past include the Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Redcliffe, Wellington, and Adelaide.
It is clear that top-level rugby league in Australia needs to move beyond the restrictions of a single division system. And the creation of a second tier, including promotion and relegation between divisions, is the best solution.
The advantages of promotion and relegation are that it:
1. Allows the league to expand and change organically and fairly based on a team’s performance and success
2. Avoids the necessity of enforced and unpopular club mergers and/or relocations for struggling clubs
3. Allows relegated clubs the opportunity to regain position in the top flight at some time in the future
4. Provides greater meaning and incentive to games at the end of the season for relegation-threatened teams
5. Allows teams with a rich history who have previously played at the top level (Newtown, North Sydney and Queensland Cup sides such as Brisbane Souths) to aspire to once again play at this level
The disadvantages are that it:
1. Can be financially difficult for relegated clubs. European football leagues include so-called “parachute payments” for relegated sides to fix this problem
2. Provides a difficult situation for “marquee” players who find themselves in relegated sides
The best way to move to this system would be to create a twelve team second-tier national league underneath the current NRL, consisting of a mixture of new teams and existing QRL and NSWRL sides. Allow this league to develop and improve as a stand-alone competition for two to three years before integrating with the NRL.
In the first year of the promotion and relegation system, the bottom three clubs from the NRL would move down, and the grand final winner from the second level would move up, leaving two tiers of fourteen teams.
This would allow both leagues to play a true home-and-away season in which each club plays every other side in its division twice.
Thereafter, each year the winner of the grand final of the second division is promoted into the first division and lowest ranked team from above is relegated.
Possible initial twelve-team Second Division:
1. Northern Pride (currently Q-Cup, based in Cairns)
2. Central Comets (Q-Cup, based in Rockhampton)
3. Sunshine Coast (Q-Cup)
4. Redcliffe Dolphins (Q-Cup)
5. Souths-Logan Magpies (Q-Cup)
6. Ipswich Jets (Q-Cup)
7. Central Coast Bears (NSW Cup)
8. Newtown Jets (NSW Cup)
9. Perth Reds (Jim Beam Cup)
10. NSW North Coast (new side)
11. Adelaide (new side)
12. Wellington (new side)
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