Master coach Wayne Bennett says the NRL should prioritise developing Pacific Islander talent over expansion.
The NRL are believed to be keen to inject up to two teams for the 2018 season when the new broadcast deal begins.
Bids from south-west and central Queensland, Perth and Wellington are among those to be considered.
Budding franchises have been frustrated by the NRL’s recent claim that they would not start their expansion review until next month and that it could take a year.
They had initially been told three years ago that expansion would be reviewed after the 2014 NRL season.
Bennett said they should be more concerned about player depth – but he believed strengthening Pacific Islander ties was the solution.
Bennett said it was encouraging for the likes of Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands, PNG and Tonga to contest a tournament like the 2013 World Cup but more had to be done to develop players in the region.
He said Samoa’s encouraging Four Nations debut last year without the likes of Anthony Milford showed the calibre of talent on offer.
“While I am a fan of expansion I don’t want to see it until we find more places we can take players out of,” Bennett said.
“The Pacific Islands is an ideal place.
“They are made for our game because they are such wonderful athletes.
“That’s what the World Cup has been about and the development of those countries has been about.
“We have done a bit there but we need to do a hell of a lot more in those areas if we are genuinely thinking about expansion.
“We need to so we can get more players coming out of there at a younger age and we can teach them how to play rugby league and all the discipline that goes with being a top rugby league player.”
Bennett also backed former Kangaroo and Fijian Test prop Petero Civoniceva’s call that each NRL team should groom one Pacific Islander player through their under 20s system.
“Yeah that could be a part of it,” he said.
“I would truly love for the NRL to grab it (Pacific Islander development) and say ‘this is what we are going to do’.”
