ARLC president Peter V’Landys said club owners would have to give up control if the NRL was to invest in Super League because “it’s not working”.
There has long been talk of a possible NRL investment in Super League, with many fans hoping and demanding that the Australian league join the English game.
The NRL is a billion-dollar business and has a salary cap three times that of Super League. That doesn’t mean Super League can’t compete. Hull KR became the third Super League team to win back-to-back World Club Challenges in 2025 when they took on premiers Brisbane Broncos.
For V’Landys, the Australian competition’s involvement in Super League is about making the owners’ investments “better”, but this requires the sport’s operations to be independent and therefore control to be handed over.
Super League club owners currently have significant control over the sport and the decision-making of its governing body. Instead, they will be more like “shareholders” who do not “run” the company.
“What I want to tell them is you can stop yourself from investing your money and you can make your investment much better, but you have to give up control because it’s not working,” V’Landys said. sky sports.
“At the end of the day, look at the model and tell me if it works. Compare that with a fully independent NRL. It’s chalk and cheese.
“What I want to do for the owners of Super League clubs is that they don’t have to put money in their pockets. I want to give them a return on their investment rather than continuing to take losses.
“For them to do that they will have to have faith in us and faith in our independence model. There may be terms or sunset clauses involved, but I am confident they will be much better off financially than they are now.
“What they (club owners) need to understand is that if we invest here, we are not investing to make money, we are probably going to lose money.
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Current North Queensland Cowboys assistant coach Paul Wellens is relishing the opportunity for his team to play in Las Vegas against the Newcastle Knights at Allegiant Stadium in the NRL.
“If we are going to invest, we need to control it independently. We will certainly consult, but if it is a self-interest model, it will never work and some of those clubs will have to give up control.”
“It’s like being a shareholder in a company. If you’re a shareholder, you don’t run the company. You trust the board to run the company and maximize profits and then maximize dividends.
“This is the model we want. We want to be able to run the company and maximize our profits.”
Why do they want to invest?
So why would the NRL want to attract this potential investment? It’s about their global model.
The NRL currently has four clubs in Las Vegas, including Super League side Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR, and plans to continue playing games around the world.
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Hull KR’s flying wingers Tom Davies and Noah Booth traveled on the SlotZilla zipline on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.
For it to succeed we need a league that thrives outside of Australia.
“NRL clubs are very supportive because they recognize the need to have rugby league as a global game and the need for Super League to be very active,” he added.
“They can see the big picture. We came back, we did some modeling, we did some analysis to see how we can help and what we need to do.
“So we are in a better position now than when we met Nigel Wood with the Super League clubs last year and we will have further discussions in the coming weeks.
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Leeds Rhinos’ Jarrod O’Connor, Danny Levy and Cam Smith ride the El Loco and Canyon Blaster roller coasters in Las Vegas.
“There are a few small variables that we need to get right that I can’t explain because they are commercially sensitive, but I think if we get them right we can be in a position where Super League can be happy.
“It is a priority. Super League investment was already on the table and continues to be on the table. We want to see a vibrant and healthy game in England and for us this is also a good investment.
“Where the best competition is held, other jurisdictions will take notice. If you use football as the best example, every Australian will watch the Premier League above all else because it is the best competition.
“You can watch the A-League in Australia, but it’s not the best competition. The NRL is the best competition and we want Super League fans to watch both games.”
‘Brother and sister’ relationship
There are concerns among some that if the NRL joins Super League, there will be a talent drain as the country’s best players will be transferred to the NRL.
V’Landys believes Super League will be a “mentor” for the partnership rather than a “feeder club”.
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Highlights from the World Club Challenge between Hull KR and Brisbane Broncos.
“I don’t think they are a feeder club. That’s far from what we are looking at. We are looking at it like brothers and sisters and they are actually feeding the Super League,” said V’Landys.
“We bring some junior talent here, we bring some junior talent there. It’s never going to be a one-way street. It’s a two-way street, it’s a partnership, and with good partnerships we can look after each other.
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Hull KR beat Brisbane Broncos to win the World Club Challenge.
“We want some of our very successful Australian clubs to be mentors to English Super League clubs and vice versa. There are some good clubs in England who can help us.
“We don’t need feeder clubs. The NRL is doing quite well on its own. We don’t need to utilize players. We want to help provide some of the juniors to support their skill level and ability.”
So if the investment is made, will we see NRL and State of Origin games in London?
“Of course,” he said. “That’s the plan. If we invest in Super League, we will bring NRL competitive games to London. Absolutely.”
2026 Super League – Key dates and things to watch out for
- Las Vegas Rugby League: Saturday February 28th: Hull KR vs Leeds Rhinos11pm (sky sports)
- Super League 30th Anniversary: Thursday March 26th: Castleford Tigers v Bradford Bulls8pm (sky sports)
- Rival Round: April 3 – April 5
- Paris Super League: Saturday June 6th: Catalan Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris)6:30 UK (sky sports)
- Magic Weekend: July 4th – July 5th
- Rival Round Reversal: July 23rd – July 26th
- Elimination playoffs: September 19th – September 20th
- playoff semifinals: September 26 ~ September 27
- Grand Finals: October 3, Old Trafford.
sky sports We will be broadcasting live again every Super League match this season. Two matches from each round will be broadcast exclusively live, while the remaining five matches will be shown weekly on Sky Sports+.
