Star Papua New Guinea and Melbourne Storm centre Justin Olam has spoken out around Papua New Guinea's bid to become the NRL's 18th team, suggesting the nation isn't ready.
The NRL are preparing to move to 17 teams in 2023 with the addition of the Dolphins, however, CEO Andrew Abdo and Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'Landys have spoken openly about the need for an 18th team, perhaps as soon as 2025, to counter the need for a bye.
2023 will be the first season to have byes in the competition since the arrival of the Gold Coast Titans.
Bids for an 18th licence have already sprung up, with news during the week that Perth are interested, while the North Sydney Bears, more teams in Queensland, a second New Zealand team, and Papua New Guinea have been floated as options.
The Papua New Guinean bid - where rugby league is the national sport - has come off the back of the nation entering a team in the QLD Cup, and is being backed by former Bulldogs CEO Andrew Hill, and has received support from members of Australian government.
Despite that, Olam told the media that the country needs better pathways before it moves to an NRL team.
"We're not ready to have an NRL team yet," Olam said.
"We still need to develop our pathways for younger generations. We only have the Digicel Cup competition and that is it.
"We don't have anything younger, like schoolboys competition, so players can develop and come up.
"That is something we should focus on first before we worry about having an NRL team.
"We don't want to have a PNG team and have players come in from other countries and dominate our team."
It's believed Perth could be the front-runner for the 18th spot in the NRL in the coming years, with a timezone advantage for TV a major benefit.
