Just a week after the Kiwis triumph over Australia in the Four Nations final, a bid for a second New Zealand NRL team based in Wellington has been officially launched.
With the Kiwis now consistently challenging the Kangaroos for international domination after winning the 2005 Tri-Nations, 2008 World Cup and 2010 and 2014 Four Nations tournaments, a consortium of Australian and New Zealand investors believes the time is right for a second team to join the NRL.
They also point to the 17.3 per cent (72) of NRL players who come from New Zealand, the success of the Auckland Nines tournament and the Warriors winning three of the past five grand finals in the under-20s National Youth Competition as well as being runner-up last year.
While the four members of the consortium – some of whom have a background in rugby league – want to keep details of their bid under wraps at this stage, it is understood the new team would be based in Wellington if successful in gaining entry to the 2018 competition.
However, the team may also play matches in other North Island locations, including Rotorua, and look to build on the development of the game in the Pacific by playing an annual pre-season fixture against an unnamed Pacific nation, which is already in discussions with the consortium about the concept.
"The interest in rugby league is at an all-time high in New Zealand due to the great work of the NZRL, the Warriors, the success of the Auckland Nines and the triumphs of the national team," consortium spokesman Robert Picone said.
"It is well documented the magnificent contribution New Zealand has made to the NRL including providing nearly 20 per cent of all NRL players. This will only improve with a second New Zealand team and all NRL clubs will benefit by an increase in playing talent."
The NRL is due to begin considering expansion next year but work has already begun and Fairfax Media understands that officials plan to look at the competition as if they were starting afresh in 2018 and determine where teams should be located.
Picone said it was "imperative" that a second team from New Zealand be included in the NRL to build the game there and combat the AFL's attempts to gain inroads through St Kilda's commitment to play an annual Anzac Day match in Wellington until 2018.
With the 2017 World Cup to be hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand, the timing would be ideal for a second Kiwi team to join rugby league the following season.
Former Kiwis captain Benji Marshall supports a second New Zealand team in the NRL and said Wellington was an ideal location.
"I am all for it," the St George Illawarra playmaker said. "There should be another team in New Zealand because the following has gotten so massive and if you look at the number of juniors and the amount of talent they have got coming through it would be great and it is something they have to look at to help the game grow bigger over there.
"It would create a rivalry too because everyone who lives in Auckland loves Auckland and the people who don't hate them so if they put in a Wellington team the rest of New Zealand will go for them 100 per cent."
The NRL has been working on the type of model it believes would be successful for any new club and is designing a set of minimum requirements for consortiums to meet.
Picone said it was envisaged that the second New Zealand franchise would eventually be controlled by members after the consortium, which comprises two Australians and two New Zealanders, ensured the right structures and corporate governance procedures were put in place in the early years.
"If the bid is successful, the club will be based in the North Island with strong alliances to grassroots rugby league and the community," Picone said.
"The financial model, which has been developed over the last 12 months, will enable the club to prosper long into the future as a community asset and not be beholden to any one individual."
