- Combined Ipswich and Newtown bid seeks to become NRL’s 20th team
- He would be based in Queensland and would be trained by Bennett.
- With the aim of being included at the expense of Papua New Guinea
The Jets’ NRL bid team has secured $40 million in funding and is hopeful of taking part in an expanded NRL competition in 2028, with Wayne Bennett as head coach if he is still interested in continuing his stellar career.
The partnership between former NRL bidder Brisbane Jets and founding premiership club Newtown Jets would be based west of Brisbane in Ipswich if granted a licence by the ARL Commission.
The NRL is on track to include two new teams by 2028, with the Perth Bears the favourites. The Jets are of the view that they, and not Papua New Guinea, should be the other expansion team.
The Jets have received a secure commitment of $40 million from three levels of government to upgrade the North Ipswich Reserve and establish a centre of excellence.
The bid has an agreement in principle with Suncorp Stadium to initially play all home games at the venue, where they would wear Ipswich’s green and white jersey.
For away games in Sydney, they would don the traditional Newtown jersey and do their captaincy at Henson Park.
Newtown Jets would be co-owners of the club.
The Newtown Jets are an iconic club that has produced legends such as the late Tommy Raudonikis.
The Newtown Jets were formed in 1908 and are Australia’s oldest rugby club.
The expansion bid points to supercoach Wayne Bennett to shape the new Jets team.
The bid has multiple millionaire backers, including businessman and Newtown life member John Singleton, and funding is not an issue as it was with the Brisbane Jets.
The Brisbane Jets lost out to the Dolphins on the chance to become the league’s 17th team.
The chairman of the Jets’ NRL bid, Steve Johnson, also boss of the Ipswich Jets, has signed a confidentiality agreement with the NRL. Johnson is chairman of Ipswich Group Ltd, which has submitted the bid, and cannot comment publicly.
Scott Sattler, who won the championship in 2003 with Penrith, was on the Brisbane Jets committee and is free to speak about the Jets’ bid.
“In Ipswich, heading towards Toowoomba, the Scenic Rim and the Darling Downs, there’s a jaded population begging to support their own NRL team, much like when the Cowboys had their own team,” Sattler said.
‘Newtown Jets bring a famous name, a nostalgic angle and a ready-made fanbase that it would be foolish not to re-engage with the NRL.
‘Yes, we have to look to the future, but we can’t forget the past, and that’s why Western Australia has linked up with the Bears and that’s why we’ve linked up with the Newtown Jets.
‘The Jets would bring new subscriptions to Kayo and Fox, which is a major focus.
“There’s also the threat from the AFL, which is also very important to the NRL. There’s a consensus within the NRL that the western corridor (of Brisbane), with the AFL training facilities in Springfield, has really eaten away at the heart of rugby league, and we don’t want that to become a wasteland for the NRL.”
The Newtown Jets celebrate their victory over the Burleigh Bears in the 2019 State National Championship
Former Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale celebrates victory with Jets’ Richard Pandia after the Queensland Cup Rugby League Grand Final in 2015
Dolphins coach Bennett owns a farm in the Western Corridor catchment area, grew up there and played there.
By the end of 2027, he will have completed his three-year stint at South Sydney. Bennett, a seven-time champion, has a “never say never” philosophy when it comes to coaching.
He would have coached the Brisbane Jets had they won their 17th NRL licence in 2022.
“Wayne will never lose his passion for the game and is in good physical and emotional shape,” Sattler said.
“With Wayne the discussion would be, ‘Do you see yourself still coaching?’ Wayne might be 78 in 2028, but the principles and standards he sets and his ability to communicate one-on-one and with the masses are second to none.”