Gold Coast Bears/Nth Sydney/Gosford

[The Great Dane]

Interesting point re Kelly. One that hasn't really been explored.

How long has he been involved, and what was his level of involvement? Obviously I know he was on the board, but did he make any key decisions? From what's been said in the media it was the board who wanted Jarryd Hayne for instance. So they sound like they're pretty hands on.

Kellys' been around the Titans on and off since about 2014, he's saved them from bankruptcy multiple times and poured tens of millions into the club to do it, and to be fair he hasn't been one of the Titans problems (neither has Frizelle, in fact they're probably the two people most responsible for the Titans continued existence, and the only reason that the Titans aren't a piece of sporting history right now), but by and large he's been unable to make the changes necessary at the Titans to make them sustainable, and in my opinion he'll never be able to do it because the place needs to be completely cleared out and the business restructured for it to ever be long term sustainable and successful, and he's simply too emotionally connected and invested in the place to be able to see that or do that properly, I could be completely wrong though.

I'm sure he's a great bloke, he loves his RL, he's a genuine champion of the game for doing what he's done for RL not just on the GC but in country NSW as well (particularly in Wagga), and I wish him all the best, but in my opinion the best thing he could do right now is call it job done and hand the club over to another group so that they can build something on the foundations he's made, unless the only other option is the Bears in which case he should double down and make sure that the club stays a wholly GC club.

No matter who ends up buying the Titans, if they ever win a premiership they should send him a ring for what he's done for that club.

 

[taipan]

For me, aside from "Gold Coast" being a tainted name in RL thanks to the 4 dead brands that came previously, its just too narrow a fanbase to claim...

"South Queensland" encompasses many more potential fans and declares to the world that the Titans want to be THE major SEQld team. "Gold Coast", on the other hand, declares that they forever want to be the insignificant little brother to the Broncos.

Imagine if the VFL called their second Sydney team the "Blacktown Giants" or the "Campbeltown Giants". Imagine if, after the NEW ZEALAND Warriors, the next NZ was called "Dunedin Orcas". Theres a reason SuperLeague called their Newcastle team the "Hunter Mariners" rather than the "Maitland Mariners".

Clubs need to declare that they want to be the dominant team in their region, no one else is gonna do it for them. If they dont stake their claim, they will only ever be the insignificant little brother...

(i genuinely think this is the major reason why the Titans-Broncos rivalry is just non existent. Its like the the Taree Panthers trying to challenge the QLD Maroons, no one would ever take it seriously)

Put it this way, if I lived on the GC in an apartment or whatever and I followed that team, the Gold Coast name has an aura for some tacky, for some lifestyle, for others (Internationally holiday destination.
The Gold Coast encompasses a huge coastal near coastal area ,just like North Sydney.Comparing it to Blacktown or Campbelltown is chalk and cheese .
South Queensland on the other hand still does not really define a particular area.Western Reds now looking at Perth Pirates

Then the fumbling mob the Sunburns ,I can see it now will flog the" We are the real Gold Coast team that represent the sunshine strip area".

The Gold Coast has already stake a claim to that specific region, pulling up stakes just defeats the whole purpose of their existence.
The problem with our game,it has been trying to chop and change ,remove ,join together clubs and the effect has been either damaging or plain negligible, as recent crowds have shown.

I'm for stability ,plus expansion.Maybe I'm too soft,seeing clubs lose identity and the reaction of their fans.

I'll add a rider ,if the winning consortium happens to be GC domiciled and they are happy with the Sth Old name(which I doubt) then that's a fait accompli.

 

[Perth Red]

Actually we aren't, the name is West Coast Pirates. Only in SL did the name Perth get used.
95-96 Western reds
97 Perth Reds
2008- WA Reds
2012-West Coast Pirates


GC has a pop of 660kish, more than enough to build a successful NRL team around. Leave SQ for the next Brisbane based club.

 

[herbert henry1908]

GC has a pop of 660kish, more than enough to build a successful NRL team around. Leave SQ for the next Brisbane based club.

If you're going to go with a non city name people need to identity with it.

Are there any Queenslanders that can comment if people think of themselves as 'south Queenslanders'

 

[Diesel]

In Brisbane, you hear "the South East" or "SEQ" used a lot which emcompasses the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast and out to Toowoomba or the Lockyer Valley.

The only time I've ever heard South Queensland was when the Crushers used the name or when the News Ltd need to sell a few papers and talks about South/ern Queensland for daylight saving or splitting the state into two separate states.

 

[magpie_man]

I always liked Marlins.
I remember the "fan poll" well and I remember Scott Sattler - who was heavily involved in the setting-up process at the time - being interviewed on one of the NRL television shows and being asked which mascot was his preference. He answered coyly that it was the Titans.

 

[herbert henry1908]

In Brisbane, you hear "the South East" or "SEQ" used a lot which emcompasses the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast and out to Toowoomba or the Lockyer Valley.

The only time I've ever heard South Queensland was when the Crushers used the name or when the News Ltd need to sell a few papers and talks about South/ern Queensland for daylight saving or splitting the state into two separate states.

Is the western corridor bid still around? I presume the people that live in that area don't really consider it Brisbane? Interesting to see which name they'd use.

 

[Diesel]

They've been quiet. I assume there's some part of it still around.

I can't speak for the people of Ipswich as I'm not in that area, but talking to the ones that are from the older, more established Ipswich city area, they consider themselves Ipswich and not Brisbane while the ones around Springfield that are in the Ipswich City Council area refer to themselves are more Brisbane.

From what I understand, Ipswich and Springfield are both viewed as CBD's of the ICC

 

[Vee]

Do people indetify as "south Queenslanders" though?

I mean the hunter valley is a widely used name, does south Queensland get used up there?.

No. Never heard it before or since the Crushers.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Do people indetify as "south Queenslanders" though?

I mean the hunter valley is a widely used name, does south Queensland get used up there?

Just seems a bit contrived, similar to 'Greater Western Sydney'

Yeah calling the Titans South Queensland would encompass more people, but like Herbert says nobody considers themselves a 'South Queenslander' so it'd come off as contrived and plastic, it'd be a classic case of trying to represent everybody and only achieving to represent nobody.

Besides, using your logic wouldn't it be best simply to not have a geographical connection at all (for example re-brand the Titans as the Titans RLFC), that way you encompass everybody on the planet.

These names need to begin somewhere....

Id be surprised is ANYONE called themselves a "North Queenslander" before they Cowboys turned up. A Football club doesnt need to always latch onto an existing cultural identity, it is possible to create new ones.

Who would have associated Canberra with Lime green before the Raiders arrived. Now, i reckon most people would say green is the colours for the Canberra City council.

South Queenslander may not be widely used, but given the success of "North Queensland" as an identifier, i think we can be pretty confident it would catch fairly quickly.

Plus wouldn't adding Queensland to the title possibly put off some northern NSW fans?

Just spitballing.

Honestly, i reckon the Titans could use a bit of that Queenslander nationalism in their brand...

Id guess most northern NSWer wouldnt care (i find their is more hatred for Sydney in these areas) and even if people do get upset, its not really a bad thing.

Its better for people to actively hate a team than not care. Its not a coincidence that the biggest NRL games are the rivalries; as much as people like watching their own team win, it is much sweeter watching them beat a team they hate...

 

[The Great Dane]

These names need to begin somewhere....

Yeah but you can't force it either, it's got to happen naturally, otherwise you get miss steps like GWS.

I can't think of one sports team that's name has influenced anywhere to take on a new regional name anywhere ever.
I also can't think of any that have attempted such a thing and been financally successful.

Id be surprised is ANYONE called themselves a "North Queenslander" before they Cowboys turned up. A Football club doesnt need to always latch onto an existing cultural identity, it is possible to create new ones.

Far North Queenslander, North Queenslander and Central Queenslander were all a thing before the Cowboys (admittedly people a little further North and South of North Queensland call themselves North Queenslanders then they once did since the Cowboys came around).

People from that part of the world still say they're from North Queensland and considered themselves different from 'southerners', but I've never heard a person say that they are from 'South Queensland', I've heard South East Queensland, but even then I've never heard a person refer to themselves as a South East Queenslander before.

Who would have associated Canberra with Lime green before the Raiders arrived. Now, i reckon most people would say green is the colours for the Canberra City council.

Anybody that says Canberra City councils' colours are green would be an idiot, because there is no Canberra City council (the ACT government serves as the council as well), and nobody in, or around, Canberra, would say that the ACTs' colours are green.

Maybe people from other parts of the country might think that, but what they think doesn't matter.

South Queenslander may not be widely used, but given the success of "North Queensland" as an identifier, i think we can be pretty confident it would catch fairly quickly.

Except that North Queensland was around before the Cowboys, and South Queensland isn't a thing except maybe in the minds of people from outside the area, kind of like the Canberra City council is lol.

Honestly, i reckon the Titans could use a bit of that Queenslander nationalism in their brand...

Id guess most northern NSWer wouldnt care (i find their is more hatred for Sydney in these areas) and even if people do get upset, its not really a bad thing.

Its better for people to actively hate a team than not care. Its not a coincidence that the biggest NRL games are the rivalries; as much as people like watching their own team win, it is much sweeter watching them beat a team they hate...

Yeah maybe they could use more Queensland "nationalism" (for lack of a better word) in their brand, I don't think it'd make much of difference either way personally, simply sticking with a brand long enough to let it establish it's self is what needs to happen, a little bit of success would go a long way too, but I guess if they wanted they could add more Queensland "nationalism" if they wanted, but personally I don't see how calling themselves a contrived name like South Queensland does that.

 

[adamkungl]

Proposal: Bears to Adelaide

Why?
It's harder and harder to see the Central Coast coming into the comp unless as a relocation of an existing Sydney team.
Rumour has it the Titans bid has fallen through.
There's nowhere else to go for the Bears - Brisbane and WARL would both be very reluctant to take on a Sydney brand in their already strong expansion bids. They have little to gain from a partnership.

But Adelaide?
I believe it is a given that one day, be it in 10 or 30 years, the NRL must expand to Adelaide.
There is no existing expansion bid in Adelaide, and the SARL is barely functional.
South Australian Rugby League requires football expertise, drive to succeed, and funds - all of which the Bears have.
The Bears need a new home to call their own should they ever return to the top flight, and Adelaide is the last viable option in Australia.

How?
Start a club in the local comp and raise the standard and stability. Push the NRL to sort out the funding and governance issues in the SARL.
Short term, step up to junior reps and RM Cup with the growing SARL feeding players.
Medium term, step up to NSW Cup.
Long term, bid for Adelaide Bears to enter the NRL.

 

[Perth Red]

Bears to stay in NS in NSW cup would be more logical.

 

[adamkungl]

Bears to stay in NS in NSW cup would be more logical.

If they were willing to invest in the Rugby League wasteland that is SA you'd be petty to be against it.

 

[Perth Red]

But they aren't, and they won't. Well not until the nrl starts to throw out crumbs that Adelaide has any hope of a club then the vulture bears will start hovering.

I don't blame them, nrl,has no expansion plan so why would you waste time and money trying to get an area ready for expansion?

 

[Diesel]

Proposal: Bears to Adelaide

Why?
It's harder and harder to see the Central Coast coming into the comp unless as a relocation of an existing Sydney team.
Rumour has it the Titans bid has fallen through.
There's nowhere else to go for the Bears - Brisbane and WARL would both be very reluctant to take on a Sydney brand in their already strong expansion bids. They have little to gain from a partnership.

But Adelaide?
I believe it is a given that one day, be it in 10 or 30 years, the NRL must expand to Adelaide.
There is no existing expansion bid in Adelaide, and the SARL is barely functional.
South Australian Rugby League requires football expertise, drive to succeed, and funds - all of which the Bears have.
The Bears need a new home to call their own should they ever return to the top flight, and Adelaide is the last viable option in Australia.

How?
Start a club in the local comp and raise the standard and stability. Push the NRL to sort out the funding and governance issues in the SARL.
Short term, step up to junior reps and RM Cup with the growing SARL feeding players.
Medium term, step up to NSW Cup.
Long term, bid for Adelaide Bears to enter the NRL.

Have you heard anymore about the big falling over or more details of the rumour?

 

[papabear]

If they were willing to invest in the Rugby League wasteland that is SA you'd be petty to be against it.

Nobody would be against it.

But why should NSRL or the North Sydney Leagues Club which already supports a much larger junior operation then ESDRL be the ones to fund RL in adelaide and not the more wealthier ESDRL who already has pocketed lots of adelaide cash from taking a game there?

Would that be because clubs like Easts and Manly dont have to give a shit about RL anywhere or everywhere whilst all the other clubs fly the flag?

 

[papabear]

But they aren't, and they won't. Well not until the nrl starts to throw out crumbs that Adelaide has any hope of a club then the vulture bears will start hovering.

I don't blame them, nrl,has no expansion plan so why would you waste time and money trying to get an area ready for expansion?

The vulture bears?

The bears were apart of what made the NRL what it is today.

Fair dinkum.

 

[adamkungl]

Nobody would be against it.

But why should NSRL or the North Sydney Leagues Club which already supports a much larger junior operation then ESDRL be the ones to fund RL in adelaide and not the more wealthier ESDRL who already has pocketed lots of adelaide cash from taking a game there?

Would that be because clubs like Easts and Manly dont have to give a shit about RL anywhere or everywhere whilst all the other clubs fly the flag?

Because Easts and Manly already have an NRL team

Seriously?

 

[adamkungl]

Have you heard anymore about the big falling over or more details of the rumour?

Not really, just a Titans fan saying he heard from someone involved. Take it with a grain of salt I guess