Subject: South Australia deserves a place in rugby league’s future
Dear Editor,
For many South Australians, rugby league is more than a game watched on television. It is a sport with a history in our state and a passionate supporter base that still remembers what it was like to have an Adelaide team competing at the highest level.
That is why the Adelaide Wants Their Team Back – Working Group has been established.
The group’s purpose is to keep the conversation about a future NRL team in Adelaide alive, engage rugby league supporters across South Australia and gather the community support, ideas and evidence needed to demonstrate what rugby league could mean for our state.
The timing of that conversation is important.
The NRL is entering a period of significant expansion, with the Perth Bears joining in 2027 and the Papua New Guinea Chiefs scheduled to enter in 2028. The Australian Rugby League Commission has also announced a new seven-year, $5.3 billion media-rights agreement from 2028 and says the game is positioned for further growth.
South Australia should not simply watch those developments from the sidelines.
Adelaide is a major Australian city with sporting infrastructure, a diverse population and a community of people who have connections to rugby league through family, work, migration and interstate relocation.
The Adelaide Wants Their Team Back Working Group isn’t claiming that bringing an NRL team to Adelaide will happen overnight. We are asking for the conversation to begin.
We want South Australians to have their say.
If rugby league is serious about growing its footprint in Australia, Adelaide deserves to be part of that conversation.
#BRINGEMBACK
Yours sincerely,
Darren James Andrews
Adelaide Wants Their Team Back – Working Group