Source : the age
NRL supremo Peter V’landys has vowed to take on New Zealand Rugby in court after it launched legal action which could force the Australian government-backed expansion side the PNG Chiefs to be renamed.
The decision to call the NRL’s incoming 19th team the Chiefs has been contested by authorities in the 15-a-side game given there has long been a Super Rugby franchise by the same name based in New Zealand’s Waikato region.
This masthead revealed last month that NZ Rugby had written to the NRL warning it would take it to court if it did not reconsider branding the historic PNG entry to the competition as the Chiefs.
It has now instigated proceedings after V’landys, the Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman, responded that the NRL had no intention of changing the name.
“New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has today moved to protect the Chiefs brand and is filing proceedings in the High Court of New Zealand against the decision by the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) to launch a new NRL side using ‘Chiefs’ in its name,” NZ Rugby said in a statement on Thursday.
“NZR is seeking both an interim and final injunction which stops the use of the names ‘PNG Chiefs’, ‘Chiefs’ or any other similar names in New Zealand.
NZ Rugby said if the NRL used Chiefs as the name for its expansion team playing and trading in Australia and New Zealand, “it will cause significant confusion and damage”.
V’landys said the NRL would “defend this vigorously”.
“The hypocrisy is mind-blowing, considering the Auckland Blues in 1996 used the NSW Blues name without any consultation or approval. The NSW Blues had been the Blues for in excess of 50 years before that,” he said.
“Rugby union is obviously feeling threatened by rugby league in New Zealand, with sell-outs at most rugby league games.”
The NRL has maintained that having sporting clubs with the same name is not unusual, citing the many teams that are called the Chiefs in multiple sports around the world as well as the clash between the Auckland Blues and the NSW Blues.
NZ Rugby said it had shared its concerns with the ARL Commission, which owns the NRL, after the PNG Chiefs name was unveiled last October.
The PNG Chiefs logo and jersey is due to be revealed at an event in Port Moresby this month, but those plans could be thrown into disarray with NZ Rugby seeking an urgent hearing that may take place as soon as next week.
NZ Rugby said rugby’s Chiefs had built a strong identity and fan base across New Zealand, Australia and internationally in the 30 years since they were founded and owned the trademark rights for the word Chiefs and the Chiefs logo in New Zealand as well as trademark protections for the logo in Australia.
“Regrettably, NZR has been unable to engage with the ARLC constructively towards a resolution and it is now clear that, unless NZR takes this step, there will be no change to the team’s name ahead of the official launch on 21 October 2026,” NZ Rugby said.
“The identity carries significant cultural meaning and connection to the region and its people.”
Simon Graafhuis, chief executive of rugby’s Chiefs
Australia’s Labor government committed $600 million over 10 years to support the Chiefs entry into the NRL from 2028.
NZ Rugby chief executive Steve Lancaster said rugby officials had a “responsibility to protect the Chiefs brand”.
“We want to be absolutely clear, this is not about rugby league’s growth in the Pacific,” he said.
“We welcome the development of the Pacific region through sport and the passion that the people of Papua New Guinea have for both rugby and rugby league.”
Simon Graafhuis, the chief executive of rugby’s Chiefs, said in the same statement: “Here in New Zealand, when people hear ‘the Chiefs’, they think of this club and this region.
“The identity carries significant cultural meaning and connection to the region and its people, we know it means a great deal to our players and coaches past and present, fans and supporters here and around the world.
“Teams in different sports and markets can exist alongside one another with the same name, but the issue here is the similarity of our sports competing in the same market, for the same fans, in overlapping windows.”
The NRL attempted to register the trademark PNG Chiefs days after the name was announced by PNG Prime Minister James Marape last year but the application has been repeatedly blocked amid opposition from NZ Rugby.
On September 28, the PNG Chiefs trademark was accepted, but only after three key commercial classes were removed from its application that cover items such as clothing, sports bags and coaching and education material.
The NRL filed a separate application for those classes which is under examination by IP Australia.
The trademark classes which were accepted give the NRL permission to use the PNG Chiefs name on products like magnets for fridges, mobile phone cases, towels, trading cards and equipment such as kicking tees, goal posts and tackle pads.
The NRL owns the PNG Chiefs, as well as fellow expansion team the Perth Bears.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
