The race for a 17th NRL club is well and truly alive, with ARLC boss Peter V'landys stating the league's newest license will be out of Brisbane, per Fox Sports. 

Despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, V'landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo remain confident in expanding the league in the coming seasons, with four main candidates in line for the call-up.

Speaking to Triple M, Abdo said discussions remained ongoing in regards to any addition to the NRL.

“It’s not off the table, it’s very much in consideration,” he said.

“The commission and the commission chair are very determined to make sure the game continues to grow. We need to look at the business case for having more clubs.

“A 17th club has been spoken about, the analysis of what that might look like having a club in Brisbane. It’s part of a long-term consideration for growth.

“It’s very much at the top of the mind for the commission.

“We need to ask all the right questions and provide the data so they can make the right decision.

“It’s on the table but we are still in the process of working out what that might look like and how that will unfold and what the timetable for that might be.”

V'landys doubled down on Abdo's comments, stating there will be a new Brisbane club joining the league, it's just a matter of when.

“If there is a 17th team, it will be in Brisbane, no doubt about that,” V’landys said, per Fox Sports.

“That’s where the market is, that’s where we are strong. No good spending a lot of money in rusted on AFL states in my view.”

The Brisbane Bombers, Western Corridor, Brisbane Firehawks and Redcliffe Dolphins are some of the strongest contenders to become the 17th league side if and when the newest Queensland club is announced.

The Bombers would likely be the only side that are starting from nothing, having no affiliation with any current club and being backed by a lucrative private consortium.

Now entering its tenth year in existence, the Bombers made a bid for expansion in 2013 and have been able to remain in contention ever since.

 

The ideology behind the club would be to poach fans who aren't tied to the Broncos, with the Bombers' home games likely to be placed at Suncorp Stadium.

While being one of the least financially stable bid's out of the runners, Western Corridor remain to have a handy backing as the bid comes from the Ipswich Jets.

The Jets have moved to have their expansion club based close to the Ipswich, Logan and Toowoomba area, keeping away from Broncos fans and building a base of their own in a football-mad region of Queensland.

The North Ipswich Reserve Stadium would need a major upgrade on its current 10,000 seat holding, with a redevelopment to cost more than $200 million.

In a partnership with Easts Tigers, the Firehawks made headlines last year following the backing of a rich consortium to gain the NRL's newest license, hoping to create a close inner-city rivalry with the Broncos.

The Tigers are already a feeder club for the Melbourne Storm and would become the first Indigenous club to compete at the elite-level in Australia.

The tipped front-runner is the Dolphins, who have the financial backing and history to match it with the Broncos.

While they would still reside some home games at Suncorp Stadium, Dolphin Stadium has come under development to be a boutique ground for Redcliffe and places the club as 'NRL ready'.

Add in a 40,000-member league club, $100 million in financial support and a likely landing spot for Wayne Bennett and you can see why the Dolphins have a bid as strong as any.