The NRL’s use of the name ‘Chiefs has exploded with New Zealand Rugby now launching legal against the Australian Rugby League Commission over the issue.
The Chiefs have competed as a professional rugby team in Super Rugby since 1996 and the NZR has previously warned the ARLC not to use the name for the expansion side in Papua New Guinea.
“New Zealand Rugby 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 to launch a new NRL side using ‘Chiefs’ in its name,” NZ Rugby said.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
“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.
“In New Zealand, NZR owns both the trademark rights for the word Chiefs and the Chiefs logo and since 1998, NZR has also held trademark protection for the Chiefs logo in Australia.
“If the NRL uses Chiefs as the name for its expansion team playing and trading in those same markets, it will cause significant confusion and damage.”
Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V’landys has previously said that his organisation has no plan to change the Chiefs name.
“Since October 2025 when the expansion side’s name was confirmed, NZR has shared its concerns with the ARLC and has sought to engage them to agree a positive outcome,” the NZR statement said.
“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.”
The New Zealand based team is known as the Gallagher Chiefs for sponsorship reasons and were previously called Waikato Chiefs.
Club CEO Simon Graafhuis said he was aware two teams could have same moniker but the issue here was the similarity of the sports and the competition in the same market.
“Here in New Zealand, when people hear ‘the Chiefs’, they think of this club and this region,” Graafhuis said.
“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’s ‘Tigers’ share the same nickname as the AFL’s ‘Tigers’, and the ‘Bulldogs’ exist in both the NRL and the AFL.
More to come …
