Another team from Aotearoa in the NRL sounds lovely, it's what the semi-rugby league fan will clutch on to. It's what the silly bugger news reporters will love and it's what the radio personalities who watch one NRL game a week will get a cheeky erection over. It's a fantastic idea in theory, but we seem to be jumping the gun a wee bit.

Not jumping the gun in terms of the vision. We know rugby league is in a great position at the moment with the Kiwis beating the Kangaroos three times on the trot and there are so many kiwi-born players running around in the NRL and Holden Cup that it comes as a shock to the semi-NRL fan. The Warriors are the Warriors, but that's ok because half of your mates support an Australian NRL team anyway. Rugby league's doing alright.

A second NRL team, based in Wellington has got a bit of traction in the media over the past six months. This shouldn't get anyone super excited. As soon as one possible future NRL team gets in the news, they all do, it just makes sense. They're all trying to show the NRL that they can do it and to do that, they need plenty of hype. You hear that Wellington's got a bid, then the Brisbane Bombers pop up etc.

That's assuming that the NRL is going to expand, which I'm not 100 percent convinced will happen in the next five years. David Smith, the NRL head hauncho has stated that the NRL would probably look at moving a current NRL team to a new part of Australia, possibly Aotearoa before bringing in a new team.

Smith has many flaws, mainly the on-field stuff but he's made it his mission to get the NRL and the respective teams all in a solid financial position. NRL expansion doesn't really align with that.

I reckon we should try get a team in the NSW Cup or the Intrust Super Cup in Queensland. NSW is closer, so that makes more sense and I say we because I don't really know who would be responsible. It would be nice if the group of rich folk who are in behind the Wellington bid would show some planning and brains to fund a NSW Cup team out of Wellington, it would cost a fair bit of coin, but less than any NRL bid.

Alternatively, New Zealand Rugby League could set this up. I don't imagine that they're flush with cash so they could team up with the Wellington crew and work together, working together is a foreign concept to many of these people but it would be nice.

It makes more sense to start at the bottom and work your way up. Look at the Papa New Guinea Hunters who joined the Intrust Super Cup last year and went very well. They may hold distant hopes of having an NRL team one day, but they have showed some initiative and got their foot in the door quickly. All their players train, sleep and eat together and it offers local lads a glimpse at professional footy and what it takes to be successful.

A second kiwi NRL team would need at least five major signings to be competitive, then throw in another 20 odd NRL calibre players to make up the squad. There's just not that much talent in the NRL, let alone enough high quality local players to fill the spots.

Having a team in the NSW Cup, with a bit of money behind it would allow local players to work their way up to that level. I say a bit of money because they need facilities; a gym, a field, all the best gear and what not, similar to what an NRL side requires albeit slightly downgraded. You can bring up local players and I'm sure that many of the kiwi players in reserve grade who aren't aligned to an NRL club would think about joining a Wellington based NSW Cup side ... if everything is on point.

In the age of the internet, it's really not that hard to earn a bit of coin instead of relying on financial backers. Sell some sponsorship, get a Youtube channel and get some ads in front of the content, show some general fucking imagination!

It would also give young kiwi players a different pathway. In Aotearoa, the best young players are scouted at intermediate school or high school tournaments and shipped across the ditch to begin their journey to the NRL. The Warriors pick up a few of the best, but their net isn't cast across all of Aotearoa, highlighted by the fact that they have open trials for their non-NRL teams. The Warriors also like to play favourites which leaves many kids out in the wilderness, with no where to go besides Australia.

A team in the NSW Cup would provide talented youngsters from outside the northern region who have missed the prying eyes of Australian clubs a chance to further their careers. Having an academy would help bring through young players and when they are ready, they can play reserve grade or top grade for the kiwi team.

A mix of the best players doing the rounds in local leagues and the best young players available, will offer the team/club/franchise the chance to work their way into being competitive. It would develop more rugby league talent locally and it would provide players another avenue to chase their dreams.

NRL teams would scout these games, as they do with any reserve grade game and you could even find an NRL side aligning themselves with this Aotearoa based NSW Cup side. Take the Melbourne Storm for example, they don't have a reserve grade side after their tandem with the Cronulla Sharks (the Sharks NSW Cup side consisted of half Cronulla players, half Storm players) was cut. They now send players to play in the Intrust Super Cup with the likes of Easts Tigers or Sunshine Coast Falcons, who they are both aligned with.

Not to mention the stadium situation. We'll roll with the Wellington example where a second NRL side would need to either fit in around all the other fixtures at the Cake Tin or find another home. There would be huge pressure on crowd numbers and us kiwis have a reasonably shit record at attending live sport. A reserve grade side based out of a city like Wellington or Christchurch could play at a smaller venue with $5 tickets (or free) and not stress about having to get x amount of people through the gate.

Another kiwi team in the NRL sounds great, it's our dream but we're skipping so many steps that would ultimately benefit everyone along the way. Not only does it seem far-fetched that the NRL will expand to Aotearoa in the mid-term future, but is it really best for rugby league in Aotearoa? I don't think so. We can kill a few birds with this one stone; developing players, offering a semi-professional opportunity and showing everyone that rugby league is on the rise in Aotearoa. Do it.