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The Live Sport Bible is here!NRL set for Magic Round talks over Super League deal
George Clarke, AAP •  May 11th, 2026 3:15 pm
Isaah Yeo | Photo: AAP
The NRL will ramp up talks to formalise a partnership with the Super League as representatives of the British game get set to meet with their Australian counterparts at Magic Round.
After NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo travelled to England last month to meet with club bosses, Rugby Football League (RFL) interim chief executive Rhodri Jones and chair Nigel Wood are scheduled to jet into Brisbane this week.
Abdo and ARL commission chairman Peter V'landys also met British powerbrokers during last year's Kangaroo tour, but the NRL has yet to put a formal proposal to Super League's 12 English and two French clubs.
A cohort of Super League sides are in favour of stronger relations with the NRL, but there is also a substantial bloc of clubs wary of becoming subservient to the Australian game.
The NRL is keen on the British game adopting a commission-style governance model, which would prevent the in-fighting between clubs that has hamstrung the sport in the UK for the past decade.
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"It's non-negotiable for us to (implement) an independent commission," V'landys told AAP.
"We're not going to go over there and then have all the clubs pushing against themselves.
"It's like a public company, a board of directors not a shareholder runs a company, and it's the same with the NRL at the moment where it's run by an independent commission.
"That has succeeded because in sport and anything you do, self interest is always king, so you have to have someone who looks at it with a helicopter view."
There has been greater co-operation between the NRL and Super League over recent years, but there remains a significant financial gap between the two competitions.
Super League clubs receive roughly $AU2.4 million ($NZ2.9m) per year in central distribution to cover a stagnant salary cap of about $AU4 million ($NZ4.8m), forcing club benefactors to dip into their own pockets to remain competitive.
The NRL's salary cap was at $AU4 million ($NZ4.8m) in 2007, and under the Abdo and V'landys administration, Australian clubs receive a grant that covers a cap that is set to surpass $AU12 million ($NZ14.5m) next season.
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oThe chasm in riches has meant investment into grassroots and the women's game have been of low priority to British clubs, and the gulf was n full display in last year's Ashes series where England were whitewashed 3-0 by Australia.
"It was proven last year - England weren't overly competitive, but they will be again - how much you need the international game," V'landys said.
"We can grow the international game significantly, that's a real growth area for the sport, and you can't do that without England.
"We've got a lot of fans in England who subscribe to Watch NRL and since we've been going to Vegas it's brought significant additional revenue."
V'landys is adamant any NRL involvement in the running of Super League would need to include a professional team in London.
Brisbane Broncos great Darren Lockyer bought the Championship club last year and they sit top of the second tier under the guidance of former South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou.
"You can't have the biggest city in England not represented," V'landys said.
"If you want to grow the game you've got to go into London."
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