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Cameron George lifts lid on New Zealand’s future NRL expansion and pathways
Sport Nation • July 30th, 2026 10:32 am
Warriors chief executive Cameron George | Photo: Jono Searle/Photosport
The Warriors believe rugby league is reaching a new level in New Zealand, with growing school engagement, stronger pathways and increased commercial momentum all strengthening the game’s future.
As talk continues around NRL expansion and the possibility of a second New Zealand team, the club’s chief executive Cameron George urges the priority must remain continued strong foundations.
George told Sport Nation Afternoons, “I genuinely feel now we're having a lot more contact and a lot more engagement with the younger generation that would have normally just gone and played rugby.
“The schools are interested in what we're doing and how we do it. There's a lot of phone calls now coming our way about young, talented kids that want to get into our pathway system.”
Cameron George at a training academy and community partnership between Logan City Council and New Zealand Warriors | Photo: Jono Searle/Photosport
That growth is being felt across the country, with the Warriors seeing a great level of interest across the nation.
“I genuinely feel the cut through and the impact we're having with the future talent in New Zealand, we haven’t seen that level of interest before.”
The club also believes it is making major commercial ground in a crowded New Zealand sporting market.
“We're up against five or so franchises, if that's what you call them in New Zealand with the Super Rugby teams but, you've only got to see where we go around the country. We're selling out our stadiums well before anyone else.”
NZ Warriors | Photo: Photosport
The NRL is also beginning to invest more directly in the New Zealand market, particularly through schools and grassroots development.
“I know the NRL are really getting in now, starting to get in behind us around that and they've employed someone permanently now to be based in New Zealand to really drive rugby league through the school systems.
“We're being embraced as a real opportunity to connect with all communities around the country and allow people to have the opportunity to grow in the sport of rugby league in New Zealand opposed to leaving all the time.”
However, when it comes to a second New Zealand NRL team, the view from inside the Warriors is more complicated, with George sharing it would’t be ideal to have a second team, however he can see the benefits.
Warriors CEO Cameron George shakes hands with Pathways Trust Founder Steven Adams | Photo: Alan Lee/Photosport
“We've worked so hard and we've had some really tough lean years and we worked really hard to get back to where we've got to. That's looking at it just through the lens of our club, our business and so on.
“But when you look at the way the game is funded and the way it grows and the funding that that can provide for the future, expansion is a very, very important part and if New Zealand is the right option, it seems to have a lot of upside,” he explained.
“If it is, it is, that's what the game's got to do and I understand that part of it as well.”
The key concern is whether New Zealand has the domestic structure needed to support another professional side.
“I've never said no to a second team in New Zealand. All I've ever said is we need to make sure that we invest very much now in the pathway structure to create domestic competitions that will underpin a second team as well as the Warriors."
Full steam ahead for NZ NRL expansion team | Running It Straight
Christchurch has been tipped as a possible expansion option, particularly with its new stadium, but George believes the location alone cannot be the deciding factor.
“Geographically, it probably makes sense but just because you've got a new shiny stadium which is fantastic, it doesn't mean that it's an automatic.
“There's so many other considerations, structures underneath an NRL club, the commercial support, all those things I'm not 100% sure what it sits like down there.
“What I do know and you know everyone knows that there's a huge amount of population north of Taupo and I know they've had some interest from the Waikato region as well, so whether that's Hamilton, that might be another option they can consider.
“But if you look at the north versus south, there's a real thing about that and it makes sense on paper, but you've got to dive into much more detail or just because of a new stadium,” George shared.
Is expansion really the right move for the NRL? | Sport Nation
A second Auckland or wider Waikato team could also make sense on population and commercial grounds, but the concern is whether it would create new fans or take support away from the Warriors.
“I think population wise, commercial wise and everything, absolutely, the size and shape of Auckland/Waikato region lends itself to any number of investments in this regard.
“Whether the NRL want to go down that path or not, I'm not sure whether they want to see an incremental new fan base. You can't just take the fans off the Warriors and put them into a new set of colours.
“What the NRL will want to say is a new fan base that’s born and bred more or less so you'll need to ensure that if you're going to be in Auckland that you're our fan base, not just take our fan base.”
Listen to the full interview below:
