NRL: Blueprint includes plans to develop NZ league

Kiwis and Warriors youngster Tuimoala Lolohea in action for the Junior Warriors in 2014. Photo/Getty.

The NRL has acknowledged the importance of New Zealand rugby league and reiterated their commitment to supporting and developing the game throughout the country.

The NRL's head of game strategy and development, Shane Richardson, on Tuesday outlined a blueprint for taking the code into the next decade and confirmed that New Zealand had a key part to play in these plans.

The former South Sydney Rabbitohs chief executive acknowledged the inward thinking and critical mind-set within Australian league circles towards New Zealand league needs to change and reiterated the responsibility the NRL feels towards assisting the growth of the game across the Tasman.

"Forty percent of our players are of Polynesian background, which is wonderful for our sport, but they grew up in New Zealand," said Richardson.

"We've got to do far more and consider them far more in their view of the whole game than we are now.

"We can't just rape and pillage the players across here, and not do something about what they're actually doing over there.

"It's alright to sit there and criticise New Zealand Rugby League, but when you're on the smell of the oily rag that depends on test matches and whether it rains or not to be able to operate a league, it's the wrong way of going."

Late last year, NZRL chief executive Phil Holden and board chairman Garry Fissenden presented to the Australian Rugby League Commission board on the need and opportunity that existed, if the two countries became more aligned.

Following those talks, Richardson's 'whole of game' strategy includes aims of keeping New Zealand's best young players at home rather than being forced to move across the Tasman to further their development and career prospects.

Essential to that is ensuring the New Zealand Rugby League is equipped with the right resources and Richardson's blueprint contains plans to improve development pathways from junior level through to the NRL.

"Part of the pathway here is to get at least two teams from NZ eventually playing in the platinum league, have Under-18s coming across and 20s playing in competitions in Australia to strengthen it, to try give incentives to those players and hopefully those players can stay at home to do it.

"They don't have to relocate themselves and their families to be able to participate in rugby league and we can grow NZ which I think is a gem, as we can grow Pacifica and as we can grow affiliated states."

The NZRL will continue to work with the NRL to determine how the game is structured here, with consideration being given to the possibility of a second New Zealand-based team from Wellington or Christchurch competing in the revamped second tier Platinum League.

"There are obvious challenges around funding and who would manage those teams," said NZRL chief executive Phil Holden. "But we're very engaged in that process and look forward to playing a leading role in finding those solutions down the track."

In their latest funding rounds, Sport NZ and High Performance Sport NZ have collectively pledged nearly $4 million to the NZRL over the next four years for projects ranging from the Kiwis' 2017 World Cup campaign to community initiatives at grassroots.