Toowoomba and Rockhampton Backed for NRL Expansion Bid

A bid to bring an NRL team to Toowoomba and Rockhampton has been backed by a former mastermind behind the North Queensland Cowboys' success. The joint bid, known as the Queensland Heartland Bid, covers the Darling Downs and south-west Queensland and extends into central Queensland.

The bid will compete with proposals from Ipswich and New Zealand for a spot as the NRL's 20th team, with the successful franchise expected to enter the competition in 2029. NRL boss Peter V'landys is set to announce the new team by Christmas.

Strong support for the bid

Denis Keeffe, the former Cowboys chief executive and inaugural CEO of the Central Queensland NRL bid in 2009, believes the Queensland heartland bid ticks all the boxes. "It's the heartland, not just rugby league, but it's the economic heartland of this country," Mr Keeffe said.

"If you just look through the record books as to who's come from there rugby league-wise, and where they went and what they did, it fills a journal."

Mr Keeffe said much of the blueprint developed for the previous Central Queensland bid remained relevant. "The business plan has been done, and while things have changed since then, the heartland story doesn't change," he said.

"The grassroots are there, the feeder programs are there, all of the green shoots are still there … they just need to be watered a bit."

Support from Queensland captain

Queensland captain Cameron Munster has thrown his support behind a Central Queensland NRL team, saying the region has been a great nursery for kids who have gone on to play NRL. "It's been a great nursery for kids that have come through to play NRL and it's only going to get bigger," he said.

Tapped talent pool

Mark Mason, the man behind the Toowoomba and Rockhampton consortium, said the area was home to more than 6,000 junior players and had produced NRL stars such as Darren Lockyer and Shane Webcke. The bid team lead said the response from both regional centres had been exciting.

"The community has really come together and united around the bid and, so that sort of reaction has just been incredible," Mr Mason said.

"They feel like they're a part of something."

Benefits and challenges

Mr Mason acknowledged there would be benefits and challenges with the bid spread across two cities. "There's a great spirit of cooperation between the working parties and there's a core group from Central Queensland and a core group from the Darling Downs that are working well together," he said.

"No doubt there'll be some difficult and tough conversations as we move forward as well. But I think both regions are just super excited to be able to be part of this."

Stadium hopes

Toowoomba magnate and director of the Wagner Corporation, John Wagner, said an NRL team would put the region on the map and be a good incentive for a stadium to be built in the garden city. "It would be great to see Toowoomba get its own NRL team and that would ultimately mean that one day we would get a decent stadium here in Toowoomba which we desperately need," Mr Wagner said.

"Everyone wins from these things, accommodation providers, the airport creates more jobs, there's no downside to having our own NRL team."