R360 League Athletes Hit With 10-Season Ban from National Rugby League

Australian rugby league's administration has declared that players who sign with the “counterfeit” R360 competition will be banned for 10 years.

R360, set to start in October 2026, is seeking to lure rugby union and rugby league players with hefty contracts and a slimmed-down playing schedule.

Prominent NRL athletes have allegedly been contacted by the new league, which will include six or eight men's sides and four women's sides located in large metropolitan areas around the world.

Samoa's the player, who represents his NRL club in the league, has confirmed he has had talks with the breakaway league.

Ryan Papenhuyzen, Zac Lomax, Payne Haas and Jye Gray are also believed to be thinking about signing R360.

A group of union nations, such as Australia, earlier imposed a prohibition on athletes signing with R360 appearing in international matches.

“We heard our clubs and we've responded strongly,” said the league's head the official.

“Regrettably, there will continually be organizations that seek to pirate our game for monetary profit.

“They don't invest in talent pipelines or the development of players. They merely capitalize on the efforts of other organizations, endangering athletes of monetary damage while profiting themselves.

“Essentially, they are, copying the game.”

R360 is established by former England World Cup winner Mike Tindall and funded by commercial backers.

After the prospective union bans were declared recently, it said: “We want to work in partnership as integrated into the worldwide fixture list.

“The series is structured with bespoke schedules for men's and women's teams and the organization will permit participants for test matches, as specified in their deals.”

The new league will request authorization for its initiatives from rugby union's governing body, union's administrative organization, at its official gathering in 2026.