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Organisers of the rebel Rugby 360 competition have advised NRL player agents that the breakaway league has secured the financial backing and playing stocks to begin next October.
Multiple player managers contacted by this masthead confirmed R360 powerbrokers had been in contact on Tuesday night, advising of plans for a competition kick-off on October 2, 2026.
Long-form contracts were presented to agents for review last week, with organisers claiming to have secured funding for an initial three-year competition across 2026, 2027, and 2028.
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys remained sceptical of the concept when asked on Tuesday, though NRL clubs have raised concerns of player raids in CEO meetings with the NRL.
The likes of Melbourne stars Ryan Papenhuyzen, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Warriors veteran Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Parramatta flyer Zac Lomax have been targeted as potential recruits.
“Anything that doesn’t have a business model or a financier or a backer, you can’t take seriously,” V’landys said.
Ryan Papenhuyzen has been a high-profile target of R360.Credit: Getty Images
“If someone shows me a business plan, how they’re going to pay for this and how they’re going to pay for the players, how they’re going to promote it.
“I saw that they were looking at YouTube; YouTube’s a great channel, but it’s certainly not going to generate the revenues that they would like.”
Despite focusing on Sunday’s grand final showdown against the Broncos, the Storm have privately prepared for both Papenhuyzen and Asofa-Solomona to take up the R360 riches on offer should the venture get off the ground.
Papenhuyzen told this masthead on Monday that he is open to a code-switch, having played rugby as a schoolboy.
“I’m open to anything, really,” he said. “You don’t know when your last game will be – my last game could be this weekend. You need to keep that perspective on things.
“For what I’ve had to go through, I know how close it is sometimes to it being the end.
“I don’t know too much more about [R360]. You can attach yourself to something, but what if it doesn’t happen?
“I’ve always heard people say, play every game like it’s your last, and I reckon that’s resonated with me. I took that mentality into the Sharks game [Friday’s preliminary final], I’ll take it into the Broncos game, and whatever happens after that, we’ll see.”
More to come
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