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February 13, 2025 12 mins

Former New Zealand and Samoa league rep Frank Pritchard thinks the international game would benefit from the next NRL expansion team being a blend of Maori and Pacific Islanders.

Mana Pasifika is banking on fan support and playing depth to spearhead its bid to secure an NRL licence for an expanded 20-team comp in 2032.

Pritchard says the recent rise of Tonga, Samoa and Fiji in the international pecking order provides a pathway for Polynesians playing league.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildergrave
from news Talk z'b.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Minor PACIFICA consortium lead Jeff Brown joins the program next
again looking at bringing another NRL side, a second NRL
side to the shores of our Tiro, this time though
to make him Makoto nothing to do with the South Island.
We'll find out more about that with that. Jeffy joins
us now, Good evening, mate, Hi Dfy. There's a chance

(00:36):
that consortium fatigue might set in. This is another one.
We know we've got three in the South Island. Now
we've got one up here in Auckland. What makes this
any more likely to be introduced to the NRL?

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Jeff, I've actually met with a few of the other
bids in South Island and as I said, I've been
involved in the international space for a while now, and
any even in the communicy capacity. So we've seen we've
seen what the what they can provide Pacific. But more
importantly having I'm born in Auckland, raised here. I played

(01:13):
both both rugby league and rugby union, and I played
another other sports as well for Auckland. But I think
the big thing is right now that the game's going
through growth, and obviously Pacific is a huge part of that.
I think fifty percent plus is now within the NRL
and that's growing. The numbers are growing, particularly in the
in the in the in the sort of the youth area.

(01:34):
So the future looks right for PACIFICA in the NRL.
But more importantly, it just comes down to Ian. I've
traveled a lot for work, I've played sport nationally and
through my travels, you know we're talking about Auckland business.

Speaker 4 (01:48):
It's just a bigger city. You know, one point seven
million people.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
Wellington's got four hundred thousand plus, Cristure to four hundred
thousand plus.

Speaker 4 (01:56):
It just makes sense for us that you.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
Know, Auckland Cancers stained a team and there's questions around
the Warriors. Well, the Warriors have been around thirty years now,
you know they're they're established and they know where they're going,
where they're heading and under you know, ownership with the
one owner. Now, I think the Warriors are going to
do fantastic. What we believe is another team in Auckland

(02:21):
is only going to lift the game where where there
is sustainability the numbers I mean, as I said to
you that rugby rugby's taking a bit of a duty
itself and right now rugby league thriving. You only have
to look at the Pacific influence across the international game.
As I said on part of Armor, we've seen the
growth of our nation with limited resources to make a

(02:42):
Grand final on the World Cup.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
Now that's huge.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
And you know, in the context of the game, and
Tom is just flying off the seat at the moment,
they're sleeping giants that are just doing huge things in
the game. Cook Islands are not far behind that and
neither of the of the nation. So we believe that at.

Speaker 4 (02:57):
Auckland bid would lift the game.

Speaker 3 (02:59):
But it also provides the sustainability because we've got a
lot of kids and leaving this country. We've got a
lot of young people leaving New Zealand to pursue a
career in Australia. And look, there's nine clubs in Sydney
is four clubs in Queensland, two in Brisbane. I don't
think it's a I don't think it's a case of
I can you know to in Auckland. I pretly believe

(03:21):
it's a matter of providing a model that can sustain
and even hold our talent and stop this exodus of young.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
Kids, because we've been part of it.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
I've been working with young coaches, young teams, and I'm
not the only one.

Speaker 4 (03:33):
The other nations and we're losing.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
I think it's a one hundred and fifty to two
hundred kids a year just from the Auckland and probably
the wider some of the other regions.

Speaker 4 (03:42):
And that's a lot of talent to be losing here
in our ched Ai.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Jeff, what makes you think though that another franchise can
actually breathe in Auckland when you look at AFC, I
mean that's not right across the season, but it does interfere.
You've got the Warriors, You've got the Blues, You've got
one pussy thinker. There's only so many eyeballs and so
many bums in a particular city. So what gives you confidence.

Speaker 4 (04:05):
That you can act?

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Actually, I suppose panels to swim to keep your head
above water.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
As I said to you, we're involved in the international space,
so regionally, we're a lot of us are based here.
A lot of the players that are playing in the
International space originally came from the Auckland Wellington Prostchage sort
of regions in terms of their football careers. They now
it will find their careers across the ditch, but Auckland
still has a stronghold. It's still the largest Pollingian city
and we have a lot of intentional involvement. We're also

(04:33):
taking the game to the island, so Albert actually includes
the Pacific Islands, which means our home games we played
at Eden Park, and we're also taking games back to
some or two Tonga into the Cook Islands, so we're
we're looking to pick up a lot of support through
the island regions as well.

Speaker 4 (04:48):
It's not just that. And then we've got Newey and
Tukila who are part of it.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
One of the other things that's not really mentioned as
pacifica we're also indigenous, so we've just we've actually signed
with an ewing so Tucket the Fenaway, which will be
announced in the in the coming weeks. So having having
you know, indigenous the marriage behind what we're doing as
well is only going to add a bit of weight
to what we're doing. So you know, you only have
to look at the way that you like. The players

(05:14):
that we're looking after now aren't just full blood and
sour morns. We have a really hybrid A lot of
these kids are mixed bread now, so you know it's
not just the pacifica community we are. You know a
lot of these kids that will be available to play
for a Pacific Indigenous team, the kids of various descents,
so they've got a wider catchment. We're not limited just
just bus a figure. Obviously they're mixed breeds, but I

(05:37):
think there's enough. I don't think it's just so much
the eyeballs. The numbers. We know the numbers. I've been
a part of the development for years here in Auckland
and through the Pacific, and we are leaning on the
Pacific Island nations to provide a bit more talent in eyeballs.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
But you're going to get people along to the event
because you need that. And that's what I say about
the amount of eyeballs and the amount of bums on seats.
You can have support and you have a net cast
wide and deep, but when push comes to shove, you
need punters, You need warm props to go and sit
in those seats. So what puts you a part that
will get people away from the warriors or away from

(06:09):
the blues, or away from Mwana Pacifica, because these are
your biggest problems when it comes to securing more fans.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
Well, look in terms of the rugby league fans, if
you look at as I said to you, we're leaning
on our Rugby league international database in terms of what
we're doing. If you look at recent games with Tong
or Sam on the Cooks, most of the games were
played in Auckland and across Australia. I've really told out crowds.
Our numbers are huge. We're not leaning on the Warriors

(06:41):
supporters to support this team. We're just leaning on PACIFICA.
There's a lot of people that don't support the Warriors.
I can tell you I know hundreds and hundred people
that don't support the Warriors, but they will follow them
whether they're watching on TV. But to pay season tickets
for the Warriors, I can tell you now I don't.

Speaker 4 (06:58):
I used to be a season ticket holder about ten
years ago. I might get a Warrior's game.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
But like I said to you, I've embedded my time
and all the years that I've been working with the international,
especially the PACIFICA teams and around this game, and you know,
we're quite confident that we can pull on our communities.
There's a lot of people that won't follow warriors. But
because we're pushing Pacifica like they have been behind, you
know mmt or a tongue of Raby League and Raby

(07:25):
Sarmore and then the Cook Islands. I'm confident that we
can build a crowd. It's just a manner of believing
and backing our communities and getting out our why our churches,
why are our community groups? This is how we've survived
for years. By the way, it's not just if you
go to PACIFICA events. You go to any Pacific event,
you know, you see Polinians come out to support. So
that's what we'll are own at the moment and we

(07:47):
just continue to build that.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
What about the lands, have had any contact with them
at all is notoriously difficult to actually sit down and
speak to and you've heard that from the three propositions
in the South Island. So connection with Peter villanis what's
that been like?

Speaker 3 (08:02):
Well at the moment, our submission was only made about
a week ago and we have consultant working with us.
It's a former NURL executive is an independent working with
us and he's part of the reason why we submitted
about two weeks ago, so a week ago now, so
you know, we know at the moment there's a lot
of other teams putting in birds and resubmitting and doing
all sorts of things, and we're just confident with the

(08:24):
team that we have.

Speaker 4 (08:25):
We've got a very experienced rugular league team.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
A lot of us have been involved in the game
and we're still involved in the game as we speak,
at international level, club level, at provincial level. Our sort
of driver at the moment, it's just we've put together
a really good strong case. We're the support of government,
so we've been up and seeing Prime ministers. We've got
sports ministers that have supported this. Obviously the Auckland cland

(08:50):
powerhouse in terms of the Mayor of.

Speaker 4 (08:52):
Auckland, you know Wayne Brown.

Speaker 3 (08:53):
We've got the CEO supporting next Sultan and that from
Eden Park. We're putting up us foot forward and right
now it's been received where like everybody, we're waiting to
get a reply back. There was mention of it this
today by another reporter that that Andrew Abdos talked about,
you know, the nineteenth team and the twentieth team and
they resume negotiations in March.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
Teff, Is it solely PACIFICA. Are you only looking at
employing polowand some on Marty new Way and took the
loans and the like as well.

Speaker 4 (09:25):
Look, we are a PACIFICA entity.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
We will be PACIFICA owned as well, and obviously we're
leanning on investments to keep us sustainable. We want to
employ as many Polynesian people as possible indigenous. But at
the same time, we all agreed that to compete in
this competition, like we do in the international space as
PACIFICA entities, we have to get the best people for
the job. There's a lot of people involved that we're
bringing into the PACIFICA and you know we've air marked

(09:51):
then we're but we're talking to very you know, we're
talking to top top coaches in the NRM at the moment,
and we know we're in really good stead at the
moment with the coaching team that we're looking at that
when successful for this bid.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
And so yeah, athletes, but the athletes, it's not a
purely PACIFICA line, is it.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
Look, we we we want to be PACIFICA only at
the moment. And I was asked this from the very beginning,
but what we're what we've you know, and we've been
telling people this, it's a Pacific Indigenous. So we're talking
about kids that are of PACIFICA and Indigenous descent, Moldy descent.
Now a lot of our kids are, as I said
to you, have mixed breed that We've got a lot

(10:33):
of our kids that are sort of star on Ossie there,
you know, their tongue and Ossie they're their tongue and Kiwi.
Uh they're they're Cook Island French. Look, my boys play footy,
so my actually have kids that play regular league and
my kids are Simon Croatian. So you know, we're certainly
looking at PACIFICA and Indigenous kids. And obviously a lot

(10:54):
of our kids these days no longer full blooded. They
were a mixed of you know, nationalities and the heritage.
But our pushes towards the PACIFICA and Indigenous. But yes,
certainly we'll look at other nations provided they do have
you know, heritage or Pacific and thedigitous descent.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
Well so no pure blooded scotsman in your side, Jeff.

Speaker 4 (11:15):
Well, I got as you know, at brown, I'm Brown.

Speaker 3 (11:19):
I want heritage, but I also have We've got of
Scottish heritage and I can't be you can't be full
blood in Scottish if you wanted to play for our team.
I know it's We're not prejudice, it's just that's how
that's that's the whole reason why we're doing this is
to empower the Pacific and to ensure that we're providing
you know, more opportunities in the space.

Speaker 4 (11:37):
There's a lot of teams that can you know, play for.

Speaker 3 (11:40):
As you know, there's the seventeen other teams that are
providing you know NRL and and positions, our pushes towards
Indigenous and Pacific.

Speaker 4 (11:50):
So that's how that's our mentra.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
Now, on that note, Jeff, thanks very much for joining us,
Papa duly Jeff Brown, wishing you the best of like
for this looking forward with keen interest to see how
it develops.

Speaker 4 (12:02):
Thank you, Thank you so much. I've played.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
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