ARLC chairman Peter V'landys confirms 'tax incentive' enticement for PNG expansion bid

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys has confirmed the competition is looking into tax incentives for players to entice them into playing for Papua New Guinea.

Speaking on Nine's 100% Footy, V'landys stated the PNG bid is part of nine bids for expansion but said there is still "a long way to go".

V'landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo stressed the possible expansion into PNG is not just about the team playing in the competition but about "changing peoples' lives" too.

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"There's a lot of misinformation about Papua New Guinea as well," V'landys said.

"People think we're getting the $600 million, no we're not. What we're actually doing is implementing pathways in Papua New Guinea.

"Gus Gould is the one who told me ... kids don't normally go to school in Papua New Guinea, they just avoid it. And that's the beginning of the cycle of poverty, if you don't get an education, everything else falls apart.

"Once you take rugby league player to a school, they all turn up. If you can encourage those kids to go to school, play sport, play rugby league, that country could turn itself around in 10 to 20 years."

V'landys added the population in PNG means there could be "the best, biggest pathways" along with more revenue through a bigger audience.

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However, the big issue that comes with the PNG bid has been whether players can be attracted to live in Port Moresby.

Reports have suggested the NRL could build a compound for players to live in, along with offering tax breaks.

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Abdo confirmed the NRL is looking at a centre of excellence and accommodation for players, coaching staff and families before V'landys revealed the logistics behind a tax benefit.

"One of the thing that'll attract the players, not so much the players but staff over there, is having a tax benefit. If we can make a tax incentive to go over, even no tax for the first 12 months, you'll get a lot of people go there," he said.

"Some people are on 49 per cent tax, if you can save that 49 per cent tax, it's an incentive to go over there perhaps more for the people who are going to be working in the pathways etc, but (also) some of the players if they get that tax benefit."

V'landys also confirmed an amalgamation between Western Australia and the North Sydney Bears was well and truly "in the mix".