So where to from here?

[Perth Red]

Ok so the dust has settled, the tv deal is done, the Richardson report is out and clearly there will be no new teams added to the NRl anytime in the next few years. So where does that leave the growth of the game at both NRL and lower/jnr grades into new areas?

It is clear with the massive cash hand out that clubs are getting that there will be no relocations or mergers needed anytime soon. The best hope seems to be better financial support for the non heartland state bodies to grow the game at grass roots and aim for jnr rep sides like the Pirates have done. Possible funding to develop teams in the platinum league though I have serious doubts that will happen. Finally one thing the NRl must do if it is to keep building on the interest for the game in new areas is take control of NRL games played "on the road".

They should be looking to either foster states with NRL clubs so that a club plays 2-3 games there a year and has other tangible presence and link up including membership drives or ensures that there are a package of games and sells an NRL membership for attendance at all games in that state. The sporadic nature of on the road games now is doing nothing to grow the interest and if anything is causing frustration for some areas such as perth when we sell it out and can see what it could be but have to wait another 12 months to see another game.

If any club committed to three games a year in perth I would be at the front of the line to buy a membership, even if it was a club I didn't particularly like.

 

[toomuchsoup]

The time to expand is now!

AFL, Union and A-League and the Big Bash are all truly national competitions

Why are the NRL so comfortable with their little market. Brisbane Needs 2 more teams, plus Central QLD, Perth, a second NZ team, and should be trying to eventually have a team in adelaide.

and the titans should become the Gold Coast Bears. haha

 

[adamkungl]

Reserve grade might expand :lol:

 

[BuffaloRules]

John Grant's wallet might expand.

 

[Ourimbah Magpies]

Titans become the Gold Coast Bears haha then the NRL would get their wish of the Bears not existing.

 

[siv]

No expansion until after next tv deal and revised reserve grade/tier 2 has been running for a few years

 

[Ourimbah Magpies]

No expansion until after next tv deal and revised reserve grade/tier 2 has been running for a few years

This is exactly what David Gallop and the NRL said back in 2011 when the last tv deal was signed off on.

 

[Diesel]

Interesting article about relocation of NFL teams to LA. I realise the U.S. is totally different from Australia http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-relocate-to-la-chargers-first-option-to-join

The Los Angeles Rams are back.

NFL owners in Houston voted 30-2 to ratify the Rams' relocation application for an immediate move to L.A., where the team will eventually begin play at owner Stan Kroenke's proposed stadium site in Inglewood in 2019. It's a seismic decision that returns the highest level of professional football to the country's second-largest media market after a 21-year absence.

The Rams could be joined by the Chargers, who have a one-year option to decide if they want to relocate and join the Rams in Inglewood. Per NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the Chargers will have up until the conclusion of owners meetings (March 20-23) to decide if they're playing in L.A. or San Diego in 2016. The window creates the possibility -- however slight -- that the Chargers could remain in San Diego. The city is hosting a June vote for $350 million in public funding toward a new facility to replace Qualcomm Stadium. It is possible that the Chargers put off a final decision until that vote takes place.

The Raiders -- the third team that had L.A. aspirations -- withdrew their application for relocation on Tuesday and will work with the league toward a stadium solution, most likely in Oakland. If the Chargers do not exercise their option to move to Los Angeles, the Raiders will have a one-year option to join the Rams in Inglewood.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said during a Tuesday night news conference that the league will provide $100 million to both the Chargers and Raiders if they remain in their current home markets.

"I will be working over the next several weeks to explore these options that we have now created for ourselves to determine the best path forward for the Chargers," said Chargers owner Dean Spanos.

The Chargers and Spanos had been in a partnership with the Raiders for a proposed stadium site in Carson, Calif., but NFL Media's Judy Battista reported that there was "strong opposition" for a Silver & Black return to Los Angeles.

The win for Los Angeles is very much a loss for NFL fans in St. Louis. The NFL had not had a team relocate since the Houston Oilers moved to Nashville in 1997. On Tuesday, St. Louis lost their second NFL team, as the Rams followed in the footsteps of the Cardinals, who left the city for Phoenix before the 1988 season.

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REPLAYCommissioner Goodell talks about Rams' move to L.A.00:00/03:09
The Los Angeles Rams are back.

NFL owners in Houston voted 30-2 to ratify the Rams' relocation application for an immediate move to L.A., where the team will eventually begin play at owner Stan Kroenke's proposed stadium site in Inglewood in 2019. It's a seismic decision that returns the highest level of professional football to the country's second-largest media market after a 21-year absence.

The Rams could be joined by the Chargers, who have a one-year option to decide if they want to relocate and join the Rams in Inglewood. Per NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the Chargers will have up until the conclusion of owners meetings (March 20-23) to decide if they're playing in L.A. or San Diego in 2016. The window creates the possibility -- however slight -- that the Chargers could remain in San Diego. The city is hosting a June vote for $350 million in public funding toward a new facility to replace Qualcomm Stadium. It is possible that the Chargers put off a final decision until that vote takes place.

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REPLAYSpanos: I will be exploring all options00:00/00:46
The Raiders -- the third team that had L.A. aspirations -- withdrew their application for relocation on Tuesday and will work with the league toward a stadium solution, most likely in Oakland. If the Chargers do not exercise their option to move to Los Angeles, the Raiders will have a one-year option to join the Rams in Inglewood.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said during a Tuesday night news conference that the league will provide $100 million to both the Chargers and Raiders if they remain in their current home markets.

"I will be working over the next several weeks to explore these options that we have now created for ourselves to determine the best path forward for the Chargers," said Chargers owner Dean Spanos.

The Chargers and Spanos had been in a partnership with the Raiders for a proposed stadium site in Carson, Calif., but NFL Media's Judy Battista reported that there was "strong opposition" for a Silver & Black return to Los Angeles.

The win for Los Angeles is very much a loss for NFL fans in St. Louis. The NFL had not had a team relocate since the Houston Oilers moved to Nashville in 1997. On Tuesday, St. Louis lost their second NFL team, as the Rams followed in the footsteps of the Cardinals, who left the city for Phoenix before the 1988 season.

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REPLAYTop takeaways from the NFL's move to L.A.00:00/05:01
"The NFL ignored the facts, the loyalty of St. Louis fans, who supported the team through far more downs than ups, and the NFL ignored a strong market and viable plan for a new stadium," St. Louis mayor Francis Slay said in a statement. "I am proud of our effort and what St. Louis was able to accomplish in an extraordinarily short period of time. I thank everyone who worked so diligently on this project, especially the Governor's Task Force."

"Relocation is a painful process," Goodell said. "It's painful for the fans, the communities, the teams, for the league in general. Stability is something that we've taken a great deal of pride in and in some ways a bittersweet moment because we were unsuccessful in being able to get the kind of facilities that we wanted to get done in their home markets."

The Rams played in the Los Angeles area for 48 years before moving to St. Louis prior to the 1995 season. St. Louis made a strong effort to keep the Rams, submitting a plan to the league for a $1.1 billion venue on the city's riverfront. Rams owner Stan Kroenke was determined to return the franchise to L.A., however.

"We understand the emotions involved of our fans and it's not easy to do these things," Kroenke said. "They are purposely made hard, but we're here today. We made a decision and we worked long and hard at the various alternatives. When they didn't succeed we worked to this point."

 

[alien]

one of the reasons the nrl doesn't want more than 16 clubs is because they believe there aren't enough quality players, and that the quality of the games wouldn't be as good. i believe there should be 2 relocations from syd and another merger. there should only be 6 sydney clubs (including wollongong and central coast) and they should be from these areas:

- inner city
- parramatta
- penrith
- liverpool, macarthur
- st george, cronulla sutherland, illawarra
- north sydney, manly warringah, central coast

roosters would have to move to perth, bulldogs to adelaide, st george illawarra and sharks to merge to create "st george illawarra sharks". manly should invest in the central coast like what the roosters are starting to do and play half their home games there too, and also take the north sydney area and be known as the "manly-central coast sea eagles" or just the "northern eagles" again. the bears to come back as the 2nd brisbane club "south queensland bears". oh and f**k the wests tigers off because it was meant to be a joint venture but it looks like it won't be soon. if balmain have no money to put into the joint venture then the joint venture is dead. balmong don't deserve a free ride forever

16 teams still:

north queensland cowboys
brisbane broncos
south queensland bears
gold coast titans
newcastle knights
northern eagles
south sydney rabbitohs
st george illawarra sharks
macarthur liverpool magpies
parramatta eels
penrith panthers
canberra raiders
melbourne storm
adelaide bulldogs
perth roosters
new zealand-south pacific warriors

warriors should play more games in christchurch and wellington than what they are doing now, and maybe even play some trial games in places like samoa, tonga, fiji, cook islands. maybe call themselves "new zealand-south pacific warriors". they would still be based in auckland, but only play 50% of their home games there

 

[Pommy]

one of the reasons the nrl doesn't want more than 16 clubs is because they believe there aren't enough quality players, and that the quality of the games wouldn't be as good. i believe there should be 2 relocations from syd and another merger. there should only be 6 sydney clubs (including wollongong and central coast) and they should be from these areas:

- inner city
- parramatta
- penrith
- liverpool, macarthur
- st george, cronulla sutherland, illawarra
- north sydney, manly warringah, central coast

roosters would have to move to perth, bulldogs to adelaide, st george illawarra and sharks to merge to create "st george illawarra sharks". manly should invest in the central coast like what the roosters are starting to do and play half their home games there too, and also take the north sydney area and be known as the "manly-central coast sea eagles" or just the "northern eagles" again. the bears to come back as the 2nd brisbane club "south queensland bears". oh and f**k the wests tigers off because it was meant to be a joint venture but it looks like it won't be soon. if balmain have no money to put into the joint venture then the joint venture is dead. they don't deserve a free ride forever

16 teams still:

north queensland cowboys
brisbane broncos
south queensland bears
gold coast titans
newcastle knights
northern eagles
south sydney rabbitohs
st george illawarra sharks
macarthur liverpool magpies
parramatta eels
penrith panthers
canberra raiders
melbourne storm
adelaide bulldogs
perth roosters
new zealand warriors

warriors should play more games in christchurch and wellington than what they are doing now, and maybe even play some trial games in places like samoa, tonga, fiji, cook islands

How can you justify relocating Sydney leading side in terms of attendance?

 

[sensesmaybenumbed]

one of the reasons the nrl doesn't want more than 16 clubs is because they believe there aren't enough quality players, and that the quality of the games wouldn't be as good. i believe there should be 2 relocations from syd and another merger. there should only be 6 sydney clubs (including wollongong and central coast) and they should be from these areas:

- inner city
- parramatta
- penrith
- liverpool, macarthur
- st george, cronulla sutherland, illawarra
- [/B]orth sydney, manly warringah, central coast

roosters would have to move to perth, bulldogs to adelaide, st george illawarra and sharks to merge to create "st george illawarra sharks". manly should invest in the central coast like what the roosters are starting to do and play half their home games there too, and also take the north sydney area and be known as the "manly-central coast sea eagles" or just the "northern eagles" again. the bears to come back as the 2nd brisbane club "south queensland bears". oh and f**k the wests tigers off because it was meant to be a joint venture but it looks like it won't be soon. if balmain have no money to put into the joint venture then the joint venture is dead. balmong don't deserve a free ride forever

"

Lol. You'll never be a real souffs fan as long as there is that chip on your shoulder. You're not motivated by a love of souffs, but a woeful and petty self important bitterness. You poor dear.

How can you justify relocating Sydney leading side in terms of attendance?

Logic. Don't expect it from the fan for hire.

 

[adamkungl]

Failure to expand as far as Perth is an embarrassing failure, moreso considering Super Rugby is going to Japan this year.

 

[Perth Red]

In tne period we've "expanded" to Gold Coast super rugby has added Perth and Melbourne and about to add Japan and Argentina! bit of a joke really, no one could ever accuse rugby league of having vision.

Either you accept a short term dilution of talent and add more teams or there needs to be relocation or culling ofbsydnwy teams to allow the competition to grow without the number of clubs growing.

 

[alien]

In tne period we've "expanded" to Gold Coast super rugby has added Perth and Melbourne and about to add Japan and Argentina! bit of a joke really, no one could ever accuse rugby league of having vision.

Either you accept a short term dilution of talent and add more teams or there needs to be relocation or culling ofbsydnwy teams to allow the competition to grow without the number of clubs growing.

well which option do you think is best??? what did you think of my post just above??? i'm not really a fan of culling clubs (unless they are completely screwed financially). i usually believe relocations are better than mergers, although cronulla's area is basically in the middle of st george illawarra's 2 areas, so going by locations, it makes sense to merge them. i can see them both surviving on their own, but i believe most years they'll miss the finals and just be making up the numbers.

 

[alien]

How can you justify relocating Sydney leading side in terms of attendance?

lol, that would be very difficult. they are a strong club financially and are very well supported. they can easily survive in sydney. the way i'm thinking about this is which areas the nrl need to have a team in

 

[dangerousdave]

lol, that would be very difficult. they are a strong club financially and are very well supported. they can easily survive in sydney. the way i'm thinking about this is which areas the nrl need to have a team in

Well then f**k Souths off to Perth.

Clearly you're saying that 1 team out of ANZ is enough.

 

[alien]

Well then f**k Souths off to Perth.

Clearly you're saying that 1 team out of ANZ is enough.

i wasn't talking about where they play. if they were the inner city team, like i suggested, they would probably play at the upgraded sfs.

 

[BuffaloRules]

I never see anyone proposing their own team to relocate interstate.

 

[Pommy]

lol, that would be very difficult. they are a strong club financially and are very well supported. they can easily survive in sydney. the way i'm thinking about this is which areas the nrl need to have a team in

Then why not ship the basket case that is wests tigers(magpies) out of the city and make Bulldogs western Bulldogs? Makes no sense to ship out a performing club. From my observation of living in the Liverpool area I would guess Bulldogs are already the prevailing team in this area.

 

[BuffaloRules]

Because he is a Wests Magpies fan and he is proposing some convulted strategy to get them back in the comp- even one as ridiculous as moving the Bulldogs to Adelaide.