Hunt backs Perth bid to unlock talent pipeline

Cronulla forward Royce Hunt has thrown his support behind the Perth NRL expansion bid, declaring there is enough interest for a team in Western Australia. 

Perth is one of multiple contenders for the next NRL franchise as the league looks to expand to 20 teams throughout the next decade. 

Hunt grew up in Kalgoorlie and was forced to travel more than six hours to the Western Australian capital to play rugby league as a child. It's a situation he hopes changes in the future, and he said the city has a proven appetite for an elite team. 

"There's a lot of people who moved from [NSW] or Queensland to WA for work and they're taking their kids with them," Hunt said. "They're young, they've got a lot of talent, and they can play footy. 

"[The support] will be massive. When they had the Pirates Western Australian 18s in the SG Ball competition, they were treated like NRL players. They were the only league team that would travel interstate and play against other top-notch clubs. There would be a big following over there."

Perth is one of a number of areas looking to enter a team in the NRL in the coming years, with a Papua New Guinea franchise also in the mix. 

There is interest from multiple New Zealand groups and a push for a fifth Queensland-based side. 

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V'landys has previously expressed his support for the Perth bid to link up with the North Sydney Bears to create an emotional attachment to one of the sport's most historic franchises. 

There has been no elite rugby league team in Perth since the Western Reds folded in 1997.

Inaugural Reds coach Peter Mullholand coached Hunt's father at the Moorebank Rams before he moved to Kalgoorlie to work in the Rams. 

It was this link that allowed the late mentor to identify Royce and recruit him to play in the Bulldogs SG Ball side, before later luring him to Canberra. 

Hunt recognises how fortunate he is, having seen countless kids transition from rugby league to union when they realised there was no pathway to the NRL in Western Australia. 

"There was no pathway for league, so you'd see a lot of talent jumping over to union," he said. "Not so much to AFL, it's a different game. Most of the kids would jump to union to have a crack at something. 

"I've been saying it for years, there's lots of talent over there. There's a big talent pool, there's just no pathway for them. If there's going to be a pathway, the kids coming up can finally get their shot at fame."

While Hunt would love the opportunity to play for a Perth NRL team, he has no current plans to leave the Sharks and revealed his preference is to finish his career at Cronulla. 

The club gave the prop a lifeline in 2020, three years after he made his NRL debut with a solitary game for the Raiders in 2017. Since then, he has played in a further 67 games and developed into an impact player.