NRL A-League style reboot in the 80's/90's

[CowboyFuriousFury]

With the issues facing expansion today such as constantly waiting for heartland teams to get there house in order decade after decade. What if the NRL known as the NSWRL in the 80's stay where it was as a state competition. Above it would be the ARL a truly national competition that would contain the best players from the NSWRL, QRL, etc.

NSW
North Sydney
South Sydney
West Sydney
East Sydney
Wollongong
Newcastle

QLD
Brisbane 1
Brisbane 2
Gold Coast
North Queensland

ACT
Canberra

Non-heartland
Melbourne
Perth
Adelaide
Auckland
As a result, the NSWRL remains in-tact and none of the mergers would have to occur. So those following the NSWRL can have there tribalism in-tact and unharmed while above it would be a national competition as a result everyone wins.

Would this proposal work if properly implemented back in the 80's/90's?

 

[Perth Red]

Maybe but that horse has bolted

Arguably you would probably have a 14 team "superleague" lol

Sydney x5
Brisbane. X 2
Newcastle
NQ
Perth
Melbourne
Wellington
Auckland
Adelaide

 

[The Great Dane]

Maybe but that horse has bolted

Arguably you would probably have a 14 team "superleague" lol

Sydney x5
Brisbane. X 2
Newcastle
NQ
Perth
Melbourne
Wellington
Auckland
Adelaide

What no Canberra, I'm hurt PR :lol:.

And even Wellington got a run too :lol:.

 

[juro]

Short term pain for long term gain.

Unfortunately, the short term pain in your proposal would most likely have financially crippled the sport. Could we realistically have survived with all new teams back then, when TV money was a pittance compared to today?

 

[CowboyFuriousFury]

Short term pain for long term gain.

Unfortunately, the short term pain in your proposal would most likely have financially crippled the sport. Could we realistically have survived with all new teams back then, when TV money was a pittance compared to today?

Firstly, the additional of the teams from WA/SA/Melbourne would come in the 90's. The competition would start out as a 10 team competition, the 6 NSW teams, 3 QLD Teams and ACT, over time teams would be added like the NSWRL did in the 80's/90's. Gradual growth over time.

The ARL can be sold separately or a package with the NSWRL. As a result, other TV networks can hold rugby league. For example 9 with the NSWRL and 10 with the ARL as a result TV revenue could possibly increase with an extra product.

Over time, the TV content would be the following:
1. ARL
2. NSWRL
3. Origin.
4. Internationals

The 4 can be in package or sold separate if done correctly league could gain alot from it having a clear cut four tier package available to the respective networks.

The 12 NSWRL teams now act a feeder clubs to the ARL in there catchment for example Balmain provides talent to West Sydney. Providing there a clear connection with the ARL and NSWRL clubs the ARL clubs could harness there respective catchment areas and be viable entities. Providing there a clear-flow on effect on the NSWRL to the ARL NSW teams it could work.

 

[juro]

How about we merge:
1. Cronulla and Dragons into the Hurstville Lobsters (South)
2. Wests and Canterbury into the Liverpool Reds (South-West)
3. Parra and Penrith into the Blacktown Rovers (North-West)
4. Souths and Roosters into the Bondi Vets (East)

Then move Manly to Chatswood as the Chase (North)

Piss everyone off at once. Problem solved...

 

[CowboyFuriousFury]

How about we merge:
1. Cronulla and Dragons into the Hurstville Lobsters (South)
2. Wests and Canterbury into the Liverpool Reds (South-West)
3. Parra and Penrith into the Blacktown Rovers (North-West)
4. Souths and Roosters into the Bondi Vets (East)

Then move Manly to Chatswood as the Chase (North)

Piss everyone off at once. Problem solved...

:lol:

Ideally, if this reboot occurred successful derbies such as North vs Manly, St George vs Cronulla, etc would still happen but at second tier. Best case scenario would be the best of both worlds with the NSWRL retaining it's tribalism and history and a national competition on top to expand league nationally in the long. .

The merging and culling of the NSW teams did irreparable damage to the game and hopefully through this model would have prevented that. Also, the NSWRL would be cheaper to run by staying in NSW.

A criticism would be the plastic nature of the teams but it didn't stop the A-League growing over time or the Brisbane Broncos. Every team has a beginning it's just takes time to gain a identity.

 

[Perth Red]

Many Sydney derbies are not very successful unless both teams are doing well and the game has more fans and TV audiences than ever before so the irreparable damage to the game overall was not that significant was it?

 

[Big Sam]

Football/soccer wasn't 'rebooted' because it didn't have national coverage. At the end of the NSL there were clubs in 6/8 states + territories and NZ.

 

[d3@t3h]

there was an A-League style reboot the 90's it was called super league

 

[BunniesMan]

The game would be dead. Many people support the game because they support their club. Not the other way around.

 

[Sparky 74]

A strong comp is needed to fight of the other football codes

Qld teams

Nth qld
Brisbane
Sth qld/ Gold Coast

NSW teams

South Coast
Central Coast
Newcastle

Sydney teams

Sydney City
Western Sydney

Other teams

Perth
Adelaide
Melbourne
Auckland
Wellington
Canberra

 

[RoosTah]

Football/soccer wasn't 'rebooted' because it didn't have national coverage. At the end of the NSL there were clubs in 6/8 states + territories and NZ.

Of course it was. The NSL never worked because it was almost exclusively a competition for 'effniks' of particularly anti-social an violent young men from countries with severe animosities toward eachother. You couldn't support certain clubs if you weren't a Serb, Croat or any number of other European states with troubled pasts and so the mainstream Australian public wouldn't have a bar of it.

So they dumped all those identities and started afresh - that's a reboot by any definition.

As for the NRL "rebooting", I've made the point elsewhere that the smartest way to do this would be to create a quasi-regional "rep" competition in a sort of NAB cup knock-out format. The NRL could require it's clubs to release it's players for it and then you'd be able to carve Sydney up into East, West, North and South, whilst keeping all the major teams from around the country.

This way you could let people slowly form attachments to the new entities and if the quality of the footy was high, it would form its own tribalism and could eventually supersede the current format.

 

[Dakink]

waffle

 

[RoosTah]

waffle

 

[Big Sam]

So they dumped all those identities and started afresh - that's a reboot by any definition.

Didn't say there wasn't a reboot. But the reason for it was as you point out the poor management and lack of 'mainstreamness' of ethnic clubs, not a lack of national presence which is the OP's point about the NRL.

 

[alien]

i would have preferred a promotion/relegation system instead of kicking clubs out

 

[roofromoz]

Penrith and Cronulla were both initially established as second division teams around 1962/63, along with other teams such as Wentworthville and Arncliffe. The intention was to create a promotion / relegation scheme. Penrith and Cronulla got "promoted" for the 1967 season, but I'm not sure what became of the second division... it may very well have evolved into what is now the Ron Massey Cup?

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Penrith and Cronulla were both initially established as second division teams around 1962/63, along with other teams such as Wentworthville and Arncliffe. The intention was to create a promotion / relegation scheme. Penrith and Cronulla got "promoted" for the 1967 season, but I'm not sure what became of the second division... it may very well have evolved into what is now the Ron Massey Cup?

Yeh, Its a bloody shame as well, hey.

A Wentworth team would have been a monster had they been introduced. They just missed out on a team because they had a shitty year, the Panthers/Sharks got the promotion based on that one year of on-field performances and the rest is a shitty shitty history....

 

[goodplayer]

Arncliffe Scots team, been very strong st.george junior club for decades . scotts applied inclusion in the metropolitan cup years ago . many great players from arncliffe scotts juniors , scotts would win junior and seniors championships every year