The Western Force's history of financial woes shouldn't scare the NRL away from introducing a team into the Perth market, according to WA Rugby League chief executive John Sackson.
The Force are on the brink of extinction after being axed from the Super Rugby competition by the ARU.
The looming exit of the rugby union franchise will open the door for the re-introduction of an NRL team in Perth.
But the move wouldn't come without risks in a State where AFL rules with an iron fist.
The Force found this out the hard way, with dwindling crowds in recent years sending them broke.
The situation got so bad they had to be bailed out by the ARU last year - a situation that played a key role in their axing.
The NRL will consider expanding into new markets once the next broadcast deal expires in 2022.
The only way Perth will get a team before then is if a current NRL outfit hits a financial brick wall and needs to be relocated.
Sackson has been the driving force behind WA's push for an NRL outfit.
He predicts it will take about $25 million per year to run a rugby league team in Perth.
Sackson doesn't believe the Force's financial struggles should deter the NRL from establishing a team in Perth.
"I don't think they would be scared off," Sackson said.
"They've clearly identified there's an appetite for rugby league in WA, and that's reflected in the number of elite rugby league events that have been coming to Perth on a regular basis."
South Sydney have played a game in Perth for nine consecutive years, while Australia hosted NZ in a Test match at nib Stadium last October.
Perth will play host to a World Cup rugby league double header on November 12, and the new Perth Stadium will host a State of Origin game in 2019.
Sackson said if the Force left the sporting landscape, it would open new opportunities for rugby league.
"For a long time, rugby league's No.1 competitor in Perth and in WA has been rugby union," Sackson said.
"For quite a period of time rugby union has had the ability to cherry pick a lot of the best young rugby league talent coming through the system.
"We haven't been able to compete on a level playing field given that rugby league hasn't had that elite pathway in our own backyard."
Sackson said plans were in the pipeline for a WA side to enter the NSW rugby league under-20s competition in 2019.
Two years after that, he hopes WA will have a team in the NSW Cup.
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