- The Southern Orcas are one of several sides vying to join the NRL
- Papua New Guinea seem the closest bidder right now and could join by 2028
- But the Orcas are hoping to strengthen their bid by tapping up new talent pools
The Southern Orcas have announced their plans to recruit players from Hawaii and the Caribbean should the Christchurch-based franchise be successful in their bid to join the NRL.
Ex-Wigan Warriors player, Sir Graeme Lowe, is leading the formal proposal, with powerbrokers having reportedly tabled bids of around $325million to join the NRL earlier this September.
Competition for a spot in the NRL is fierce, with an expansion side from Papua New Guinea (PNG) being backed to be announced as the league’s 18th side later this week, according to reports.
There has been talk of the side having struck a $600m deal over 10 years to join the premier rugby league competition, with some anticipating that the side could officially join as soon as 2028.
It is understood that PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape hinted to the PNG Chamber of Resources and Energy conference that an announcement from the NRL was imminent.
‘On Thursday, hopefully, some of you potential sponsors of our NRL team can join me as the NRL completes its process in making a potential announcement of the team,’ the Primer Minister had said, according to the Australian Associated Press.
Andrew Chalmers, the managing director for the Southern Orcas NRL expansion side, has claimed that the club could look to tap up new player talents in Hawaii and the Caribbean
The Southern Orcas could be the 20th team to join the NRL and have tabled a $325 bid to join the Premier rugby league competition
But as the Orcas progress with the bidding process, the footy club have also announced that they will begin a new recruitment programme.
The venture will see them draft players from countries, including Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands, Solomon Island, Vanuatu, French Polynesia and will also expand to Hawaii and the Caribbean.
The Southern Orcas could join as the NRL’s 20th side with the Western Bears ahead of them as the 19th.
Speaking on the proposed pathways, Orcas managing director Andrew Chalmers, believed the club could attract some fantastic new talents from these nations to rugby league, before outlining the club’s development programme.
‘The number of players that would be suited to our game would be phenomenal,’ said Chalmers told The Daily Telegraph.
‘The Caribbean have absolutely fantastic athletes and Hawaii is a huge catchment area of athletes that would be suited to our sport – they just haven’t been exposed to it. It would help with the internationalisation of rugby league.’
It comes at a time when rugby league is broadening its horizons internationally, with the success of the Las Vegas round gaining huge exposure to the sport.
Chalmers went on to highlight that the Caribbean and Hawaii has produced some exceptional athletes in the past.
Rumours are circulating that Peter V’Landys and NRL bosses are set to accept Papua New Guinea’s bid to join the competition on Thursday
Chalmers said that the Orcas would offer younger players from these nations the exposure to elite player pathways that have not been as readily available in the past
‘The Caribbean has absolutely fantastic athletes. When you think about the opportunities in and around the Caribbean, they are all running ten seconds (over 100 metres), and they’re the bad ones,’ Chalmers said. ‘It’s about teaching them to play our sport.
‘When you think of Caribbean athletes, you think about sprinting, NFL and basketball but this would be a great opportunity to integrate their DNA into our sport.
‘It’s not just the Caribbean but through the Pacific Islands and then extends to Hawaii and the Caribbean. The success of Hawaiian athletes is phenomenal but they haven’t been exposed to rugby league.’
The plan is to offer young stars, between the ages of 14 and 15 a sports education programme.
Top talents would then be offered the chance to relocate to New Zealand where they would enrol in a high-performance programme.
‘We want to broaden the pathways,’ Chalmers said. ‘There are a number of phenomenal athletes that haven’t been able to access pathways to reach their potential in rugby league. We will put pathways into the islands.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .