Queensland Rugby League boss Ben Ikin has backed the re-emergence of a central Queensland NRL bid and is fully supportive of a fifth NRL team in the state.
Ikin said he was encouraged by the desire of ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys to embrace the credentials of a 20th NRL side from Queensland, with the Ipswich-based Jets' bid in partnership with Newtown Jets the prime candidate for entry as soon as 2030.
"We absolutely back another team in Queensland because the truth of it is there is an NRL bid emerging out of central Queensland," Ikin told AAP.
"Senior people in rugby league have told me it is happening, including people from government.
"There are a whole lot of people up there rusted onto the game the same way they are in the western corridor (of Brisbane) who would love to see an NRL team out of Rockhampton. That competitive tension is great for the game."
Ikin said it was not beyond the realms of possibility that both CQ and the Jets would play in the NRL in future.
"Who knows? We might end up with six teams in Queensland. Just after COVID would you have expected we would be in Perth and PNG? No one would have," he said.
"Under the game's current leadership, growth is on the agenda because there are more participants, viewers and investments than ever."
Queensland and Canterbury legend Jason Hetherington, who hails from Baralaba in central Queensland, was on the CQ NRL bid team when it began more than 15 years ago.
He said it was a no-brainer that the region could sustain an NRL side, with its pedigree and the backing of the resource industry.
"Central Queensland has been a breeding ground of talent for 100 years and it will be for the next 100," Hetherington told AAP.
"I'm a realist. You don't win comps with locals but kids will stay and not chase dreams elsewhere if we had an NRL side.
"When I was on the Maroons coaching staff with Mal Meninga, one third of the squad were from CQ. We had Dave Taylor, Ben Hunt, Matt Scott, Corey Oates, Tim Glasby, Dane Gagai and Daly Cherry-Evans and then came the likes of Cameron Munster and Harry Grant.
"I was part of the CQ NRL bid team and I still believe in it. The business plans have been done and big business and the mining sector is on side."
The Jets bid secured $42.5 million in funding to renovate North Ipswich Reserve to NRL training standard, currently in progress.
"We have designed it so we can add a high-performance centre at low cost," Jets NRL bid chairman Steve Johnson told AAP
"The NRL side was never going to play at Ipswich other than trial games. We were always going to play at Suncorp Stadium.
"When we play in Sydney we will play in Newtown colours and we will use their magnificent facility at Henson Park after its $20 million upgrade.
"Imagine playing Bears v Jets at Henson Park."
Johnson said more than $50 million had been pledged to the Jets from a major US entity, who had invested in every major US sport and an English Premier League club, if they secured an NRL licence.
The region west of Brisbane has elite coaches and former NRL players Ben and Shane Walker in charge of Western Clydesdales in the statewide Hostplus Cup, and former Queensland star Moses Mbye captaining Ipswich Jets and working in game development. All three are vocal backers of an Ipswich-based NRL side.
"They have quality rugby league CVs and are quality people," Ikin said.
"When they are creating pathways from that region then good things are going to follow and capture the attention of Peter V'landys, who is still open to the idea of a fifth Queensland team."
