'Cannon fodder': Sattler's warning over NRL's ambitious 20-team expansion plan, and surprise verdict on Pasifika team

Scott Sattler played in a 20-team competition and helped start a franchise so he knows what he’s talking about when he says he is worried the NRL is going to damage its product if expansion is not done right.

“I actually played in a 20-team comp back in 1995. And there were some clubs that didn’t have a great line-up, and you really became cannon fodder to some of the top clubs,” said the former Queensland forward.

Following on from the successful launch of the Dolphins in their inaugural season, the NRL is full steam ahead in not only getting an 18th team underway but looking at expanding to become a 20-team competition down the track.

Before a ball had even been kicked this year, concerns were raised that the talent pool wouldn’t stretch far enough to enable a competitive team, but Wayne Bennett and his troops seem to have halted that talk for now as they currently sit on top of the competition ladder with to back to back wins.

But Sattler thinks the leap to 20 teams may be a bridge too far when it comes to the level of talent a competition that size will require.

“I think the argument for it is that it creates further opportunities for players to progress into the big league, it provides greater opportunity and a lot more revenue to the game as well. But it’s not always about revenue. It’s also about what you’re exposing the player to.

“The argument against it is the quality of the rugby league. And sometimes, it’s a case of ‘Be careful what you wish for’. From a revenue point of view and depending on what parts of the country or what other countries you go to, it’s a tremendous idea. But again, just be careful what you wish for when it comes to the quality of the product.”

One area that is receiving a push to get its own team is throughout the Pasifika. A team based out of Cairns that plays its matches in Papua New Guinea is gaining traction. Sattler, who played over 200 games across six clubs, had the same idea years ago.

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

“I actually raised this particular subject two years ago with Petero Civoniceva and thought that a team based in Cairns that would travel to PNG for home games the day before the game would be really beneficial, especially for the PNG Rugby League tragics,” said Sattler.

“But you also don’t want to eat into what is classed as the North Queensland Cowboys demographic area of support. And I know the NRL after going through the 17th licence process, they’re mindful of not eating into other people’s fan base. So in theory, it sounds really good.

As well as Papua New Guinea, Sattler thinks there is another footy-mad island nation that would be perfect for the NRL.

“If they are going to look at Pasifika, I think they really have to base the team in Fiji and probably play three games a year out of PNG and the others out of Fiji,” said the premiership-winning 51-year-old.

“If they are going to do a Pasifika side, definitely base it in Fiji, and play a handful of games in PNG.

“But if they are going to go that way, the NRL needs to be rebranded. I don’t think it can be the National Rugby League anymore. It’s been a great brand since 1998, but the game is obviously looking outside those barriers now, and I think we need to look at rebranding the game.

“We’ve got the Warriors in the competition and a potential Pasifika side in the next sort of six to eight years, so a rebranding process might be a part of their agenda as well.”

Sattler was part of the Gold Coast Titans getting started, and knows all too well the area of the club is just as important as the club itself to getting players across the line.

“Fiji is a desirable place to live and pretty easy living for the families. If you’re a player with a young family, if it looks like they want to go play for a Pasifika side wherever it might be, living in Fiji is a pretty good selling tool.

“It’s like when we were putting together the Gold Coast Titans for 2007. I would pick up players from the airport and drive around the southern end of the Gold Coast before we got to the office to negotiate. I could see them in the rear vision mirror, the look on their face. I knew not only would they play here, but when they retired, they would keep their family here.

“I’d say much the same when you’re trying to recruit at a club in the Pasifika.”

There is still a huge possibility that the next team will be an Australian side, with the Bears, Perth, Adelaide or another Queensland side all in the mix. The former Maroon Origin player would love to see another side from the Sunshine State.

“I still believe there’s another team that should go west of Brisbane, whether it’s Toowoomba or Ipswich, and replicate what is the like the Western corridor of Sydney, one of the biggest regional towns in Australia.

“It’s got an airport, it’s got two massive communities with Toowoomba, the greater Toowoomba area, the Darling Downs region all the way down the mountain to around Ipswich as well. So I still think there’s room for another team west of Brisbane. I think we really missed a golden opportunity to put a team out there with the AFL putting a multimillion-dollar complex out there with the Lions and I still think that opportunity is still there.”

(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould agrees wholeheartedly with Sattler.

“I said for years that Brisbane needed a second team and now I think they need a third team,” Gould said on the ‘Six Tackles with Gus‘ podcast.

“If we’re going to put an 18th team in, that’s where it should be. They’ve got the population, they’ve got the supporter base to do it.

“There’s not another place on the planet that would be better for another NRL team than southeast Queensland, for the game and for sustainable success.”

While Sattler is all for a Queensland or Pasifika side, there is one area he is completely against.

“I don’t agree with Perth, I just think logistically, it’s a nightmare when it comes to the amount of travel you have to do as a side. The AFL do it, and they do it really well…. but honestly, I feel it is an AFL town, leave it to the AFL to dominate.”