National Rugby League side Penrith Panthers GM Phil Gould believes it has taken the club to play its A$22M ($16.9M) "trump card to make the NRL finally realise how important western Sydney is to the future of rugby league," according to Christian Nicolussi of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. The Panthers unveiled the state-of-the-art Panthers Rugby League Academy on Wednesday, with PM -- and Sydney Roosters supporter -- Malcolm Turnbull "even popping up at the foot of the mountains to unveil the state-of-the-art facility." Gould said that there was a "real battle going on" in the suburbs with the emergence of the GWS Giants and Western Sydney Wanderers, but "we hope this facility puts us right back in the game." In a "not-so-subtle" swipe at the game’s powerbrokers, Gould said, "The NRL should have a big presence in western Sydney, not just the eastern suburbs." The club claimed the NRL had "initially promised to stump up" A$6M ($4.6M) for the new academy, which features two full fields, a gym, plunge pools and a high-tech video room. Penrith even met NRL demands "to include office space" for up to 12 of its support staff, only for the governing body to "pull the deal off the table when Penrith refused to sign a 10-year deal" to compete in the competition beyond '18. A spokesperson said that the NRL was "now looking at how they could become involved in the project" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 3/30).
