As the NRL explores further options for expansion, Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter V’landys has flagged a bold plan that involves capitalising on “wasted” talent overseas.
Speaking on Triple M’s ‘Sunday Sin Bin’, V’landys opened up on his desire to create pathways for college football players who don’t make it to the NFL to play rugby league.
The ARLC Chairman said that ambition is part of a broader realisation that the game needs to explore “new markets” and different ways to generate interest and growth.
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“There’s a market in America for NFL players to come here,” V’landys said.
“The model is basketball. Anyone who doesn’t make basketball in America comes to Australia. Then there’s the pathway then between the two countries.
“Where do all the NFL players go that don’t make it to the NFL? Where do all the college players go?
“You only need to get a dozen or two dozen to come over and there’d be enormous interest in America for our game.
“America is a big market for us and that’s one thing that came loud and clear to me when I saw the broadcasters in America was how small a country Australia is. You’ve got to look at new markets and America is potentially a new market for us.”
V’landys said he “absolutely” has plans to develop some sort of development arm in America that will help build a legitimate pathway for college football players to come down under.
“You’ve got to look at the big markets, you’ve got to look outside,” he added.
“As I said you’ve got to have ambition, you’ve got to look at where the growth can come from. One lesson I learnt talking to all the major broadcasters like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Twitter is that Australia in the scheme of things is a pimple. It’s too small.
“They want big markets so you need to grow your market and if America is one of those places you should be going there sooner rather than later.”
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It came after former NRL player Gorden Tallis floated a similar idea earlier in the program.
“The most wasted talent in sport, is America,” he said.
“If you don’t play in the NFL, there are thousands that sit there. There are 20-year-old and 18-year-old kids… if we really want to really grow the game and market, why aren’t we looking over there?”
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