Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Olympics
Football
Netball
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Full Noise by SN
The only way is up for incoming New Zealand Rugby League CEO
Savannah Lendich Jonkers • May 20th, 2026 3:41 pm
Andrea Nelson | Photo: NZRL
With the number of league lovers on the rise in New Zealand, newly appointed New Zealand Rugby League CEO Andrea Nelson couldn’t ask for a better time to take the reins of the organisation.
She told Sport Nation Afternoons that league becoming a mainstream sport in NZ is a credit to former CEO Greg Peters.
“His leadership of NZRL over the eight years he was there just took the sport from strength to strength.”
New Zealand Rugby League CEO Greg Peters with Kiwis' fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Photosport NZ
“Every sport's always going to have its challenges and there's always good days and bad days but it's an incredibly exciting time where Rugby League is mainstream in New Zealand.
“People are watching it every week on the telly with the NRL, the Kiwis have been playing regularly, there's meaningful competitions with Pacific Championships, World Cups, that actually mean something, so it's a really great point to be taking the sport on.”
The Warriors' "spooky" Boyd/Metcalf situation | Running It Straight
Nelson said she has always been a fan of the sport but really fell in love with the game at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.
“I always felt very connected to the people, to the sport and to what the sport can do for communities in New Zealand, so I'm over the moon and completely honoured to be offered the opportunity to lead the sport when it's such an incredible place and where the opportunity is just so huge.”
While she says it’s still too early to be calling the shots, it's clear she has been thinking of the best possible way to keep rugby league in New Zealand on the upward slope.
Listen to the full interview below:
