Perth club in Super League '˜wouldn't at all surprise' Lenagan

Ian Lenagan has raised the prospect of clubs based in Perth and New York joining Super League.
Ian Lenagan is in Wollongong with WiganIan Lenagan is in Wollongong with Wigan
Ian Lenagan is in Wollongong with Wigan

The Warriors chairman was the driving force behind the decision to take Saturday’s home match against Hull FC to Wollongong, New South Wales.

And he believes this bold venture is just the start, leaving the door ajar for future ‘on the road’ games - and even top-flight clubs based in America and Australia.

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This year’s launch of direct flights between London and Perth could see a Western Australia-based outfit operate on a similar basis as Championship outfit Toronto, playing home and away games in blocks.

“Who knows, we could in the future be playing in New York or somewhere else and I just wish the NRL would pick it up with the same degree of innovation the Super League does,” Lenagan told the Illawarra Mercury.

Businessman Lenagan, who is also the chairman of the Football League, took Wigan to Sydney in 2014 for the World Club Challenge and was instrumental in creating the World Club Series the following year.

He and other Super League club bosses have forced through changes at the RFL, and he believes the rise of Toronto and Toulouse, and talk of a US franchise, point to an ‘international competition’ in five years.

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“I believe at that time, as well as the English clubs, we’ll have Toulouse, we’ll have Perpignan, we’ll have Toronto, we’ll probably have New York within that time scale,” said Lenagan, who previously took a Wigan home game to London.

“The Super League is doing a lot of innovative things to take the game forward. Who knows, if the NRL don’t do something about Perth, with a single flight back to England it wouldn’t at all surprise me if they became interested in playing in a competition of that scale.”