The Brisbane Tigers are pushing to place a bid to become the NRL's 20th franchise and Queensland's fifth team in the competition.
The Tigers have emerged to table a bid to Peter V'landys, with News Corp reporting the club is keen to come into the NRL in 2029 and become cross-town rivals with the Brisbane Broncos.
The club, formerly known as Easts Tigers, currently plays in the Queensland Cup and has been around for 94 years, giving them ample time to build a powerful community in the Sunshine State.
The race for the 20th team is heating up with recent emergence of a Toowoomba bid, while the Southern Orcas hailing from Christchurch also remain in the fight.
Tigers chief executive Mitch Cook says they are ready to enter the expansion fight, accompanied by a strong financial arsenal to impress the NRL head honchos.
“Yes, we're absolutely still keen to get the licence,” Cook said to News Corp.
“We want to be recognised as a leading contender because we have great financial backing.
“We're going through a process of locking in meetings so hopefully over the next couple of weeks that (talks with the ARL Commission) will happen.
“Our location is perfect - another team in Brisbane.
“It would be great to have an alternative option to the Brisbane Broncos.
“The Dolphins have created a really good tribalism with the Broncos but they are based at Redcliffe.
“The NRL would go to another level if there's another team south of the (Brisbane river) to the Broncos ... it explodes the Brisbane marketplace."
The Tigers' last attempt to join the NRL came in 2021, under the alias Brisbane Firehawks, but were pipped by the Dolphins' bid based in the outer suburbs of Redcliffe.
The largest problem lies in their branding. There is zero chance the NRL can sign-off on two Tigers franchises in the one competition.
Although Cook is open to the possibility of joining forces with another bid to continue with their expansion drive.
It includes the iconic Sydney-based Newtown Jets, or Ipswich Jets based in the western corridor of Queensland.
“We are open to being collaborative with who we are talking to and explore how the 20th licence could come to life,” Cook said.
“The name is not something we have landed on.
“We had the Firehawks last time and consensus says we probably won't go down that path again.
“But we're open to looking at who we could partner with to make that team come to life with whatever brand we needed to have.
“We still have an appetite to engage in the south-west corridor (of Brisbane) through Ipswich and Toowoomba and to keep growing the game through there.
“We are open to being innovative.
“We're very open to partnering with other expansion contenders or any interested parties to explore what a partnership can look like.”
The NRL is picking up speed in the expansion of the code, which will see Perth join the NRL next year, while the PNG Chiefs will enter the competition in 2028.
V'landys wants another franchise in the NRL by 2029 after signing off on a historic $5.3 billion TV rights deal in July.
It is expected a decision on a 20th team is going to be made by Christmas time.
