Report: New Zealand could be set for a second NRL side by 2024

New Zealand could be set for another NRL franchise sooner than first thought according to Business Desk’s Trevor McKewen.

McKewen wrote that either Wellington or Christchurch are the favourites to win the race for the NRL’s 18th side when the competition decides to further expand.

With NRL CEO Andrew Abdo previously revealing that the competition would eventually add an 18th team, McKewen says a Kiwi side will be at the top of the list due to their hopes to go head-to-head with rugby union.

As New Zealand’s NRL broadcasting deal ends at the conclusion of the 2022 season, McKewen believes the competition will look to capitalise on that, adding another team to dominate free-to-air sport coverage in the nation.

Describing the potential expansion as the NRL’s “most significant opportunity since the Super League”, McKewen says the NRL will also look to increase player pathways, support the Kiwis and Tonga in Test football and bring more matches to the nation with hopes of making the move by the 2024 season.

The league has previously floated the idea of a second NZ side, with Abdo stating in March that an 18th team “allows your to think about what we might want to do about expanding in New Zealand”, adding that having a second side would create “tribalism and a new rivalry” across the ditch.

New Zealand’s first NRL franchise, the Warriors, joined the competition in 1995.