 Three expressions of interest came out of Victoria for new Super licence- the Vic Super 15 headed by Mark Ella and backed by Kevin Maloney along with three former VRU directors, a Belgravia Group bid led by Geoff Lord (on behalf of the Melbourne Victory) and the Melbourne Rebels bid from the Victorian Rugby Union with backing from media magnate Harold Mitchell with assistance from corporate consultants, including KPMG.On 12 August 2009, the Australian Rugby Union endorsed Victoria as Australia's sole candidate state for the new licence in the Australian conference in the expanded 2011 Super Rugby competition.They attempted to broker a deal that would consolidate the three bids as a singular entity that they hoped would be "overwhelmingly successful".