US Professional Rugby League Coming Soon!!

[Poul]

Number of Voters : 2267

Was a bit skeptical at first as the number of votes felt like it had stagnated at around 600, but over 2k votes now so looking more encouraging

no surprise that Jacksonville is in front

Philly is well in front at the moment :?
But, yes it does look good in terms of the numbers who are voting.
Keep them coming :crazy:

 

[Poul]

There were only two west coast options and they're relatively close to each other.

I know that from a purely geographical defintion, LA and San Diego are the only true west coast cities in the poll, so that is why I had "west coast" in inverted commas, as Phoenix fits the bill descriptively, and Denver and Houston and probably even Chicago conferentially ;-) So, really there are 6 "west coast" options

 

[Chook Norris]

Philly is well in front at the moment :?
But, yes it does look good in terms of the numbers who are voting.
Keep them coming :crazy:

lol :lol: woops
well that surprised me :shock:

 

[Poul]

By creating a youtube video full of highlights from internationals/SoO/ESL and NRL with a little ticker across the bottom directing people to the nrlus site. Post it in response to some American football highlight videos.

Someone on here would have to know how to pull that off.

The only thing that I've ever been able to pull off was , well, er .....
I'm really a bit of a Luddite, so I would have no idea of how to achieve this, but yes it would be great if someone,.... anyone , was able to get this poll out there.

 

[Evil Homer]

Am I missing the significance of this poll or what? :?

 

[cumberlandsashes81]

Am I missing the significance of this poll or what? :?

Appearances. I guess it looks good if lots of people have voted...

 

[Poul]

Am I missing the significance of this poll or what? :?

Don't let anybody tell you that appearances aren't important :shock:
I think that when people vote on an internet poll, it's only human nature to go back every now and then to check its progress ( I know I do )
If potential fans and sponsors come back to the site to check the poll results thay are also likely to read the new updates, and I believe more likely to become engaged by the new competition. That's my theory anyhow, and I'm sticking to it

 

[Chook Norris]

Appearances. I guess it looks good if lots of people have voted...

numbers won't be very accurate though.. cause i've voted twice

 

[Evil Homer]

Appearances. I guess it looks good if lots of people have voted...

Surely they aren't pitching to potential sponsors based on an internet poll though? It's pretty pathetic if they have to do that, especially as people can vote more than once. The game is far more marketable than that.

 

[Poul]

numbers won't be very accurate though.. cause i've voted twice

I hope you voted for somewhere other than Philly or Jax, at least second time round :shock:. Those two locations are certainties I believe. irrespective of the poll result, although it doesn't do them any harm to score a good vote. Locations such as Phoenix and Hartford are currently struggling in the poll, and I do believe this definitely does them no good. Denver's relatively poor showing in this poll (so far) might give administrators something to ponder. So, I don't believe the final franchise locations are a done deal, and the poll may in fact have some influence on the final selections.

 

[Evil Homer]

I hope you voted for somewhere other than Philly or Jax, at least second time round :shock:. Those two locations are certainties I believe. irrespective of the poll result, although it doesn't do them any harm to score a good vote. Locations such as Phoenix and Hartford are currently struggling in the poll, and I do believe this definitely does them no good. Denver's relatively poor showing in this poll (so far) might give administrators something to ponder. So, I don't believe the final franchise locations are a done deal, and the poll may in fact have some influence on the final selections.

It won't!! ](*,)

 

[yankeeboy]

I know that from a purely geographical defintion, LA and San Diego are the only true west coast cities in the poll, so that is why I had "west coast" in inverted commas, as Phoenix fits the bill descriptively, and Denver and Houston and probably even Chicago conferentially ;-) So, really there are 6 "west coast" options

Houston is closer to the East coast than it is to the west coast...

and in all honesty, Houston would be an all right choice but they could do much better. They don't have a decent ground to play at--only college football stadia which are too short and too narrow. The weather there is TERRIBLE: in the spring when they want to play the league there are torrential rainstorms, and as you get later in the year you get 35+ degree weather and 100% humidity, and then it moves into hurricane season.

Plus they have a tradition of not supporting their professional sports teams very well, and the college sports atmosphere in Houston is a joke.

 

[LeagueXIII]

sorry for having a opinion you know best............................of course what do you want me to post league does not fail 2000 world cup, letting russia drop off the map, paris sant germain should i go on.

How about the success of the 1995 World Cup, or 2008 World Cup - both brilliant entertaining tournaments, Toulouse, Catalans, Harlequins now developing their own international standard players, the rise of Fiji since the games inception in 1992, the fact the Victory Cup will be played in Russia on May the 9th between junior teams in Kazan

http://www.google.com/translate?u=http://www.rrlf.ru/kubok_pobedy_-_2009&hl=ru&ie=UTF8&sl=ru&tl=en

It's not all doom and gloom.

 

[winnyason]

the poll is quite irrelevant rlr has stated that the 8 teams will be philly, new york, jackonville, boston, denver, san francisco, san diego and la i have to say no doubt the tv deal has to do with having that national comp look.

I think in the future mid west teams have to be looked pittsburgh, dallas, chicago and green bay have massive football(american) history i have no doubt they would get behind league.

 

[Poul]

the poll is quite irrelevant rlr has stated that the 8 teams will be philly, new york, jackonville, boston, denver, san francisco, san diego and la i have to say no doubt the tv deal has to do with having that national comp look.

I think in the future mid west teams have to be looked pittsburgh, dallas, chicago and green bay have massive football(american) history i have no doubt they would get behind league.

It's interesting then that San Francisco was not included in the poll :?
It really won't surprise me, that when the final franchise locations are announced, that they won't necessarily include all those cities which have been put forward previously in RLR.

 

[Poul]

With over 3500 votes cast in the poll, Philly is well out in front of Jax who in turn are well out in front of an improving DC, followed by LA and NY.
Keep them votes coming :crazy: (www.nrlus.com)

 

[Coastbloke]

Has this been posted..??

Seems to be still a goer...

http://www.lasttackle.com/news_1979-nrl-us-announces-player-plans.html

The NRL USA has announced its strategy for finding players for its inaugural season which is set to kick off in March next year.

The competition, which is expected to have eight teams, will be primarily made up of American players, many of whom currently play in the existing domestic competition, the AMNRL.

They are also hoping to attract players from other professional sports, but also collegiate athletes.

A salary cap style system and quota limit for non-US players will also be enforced, and there will be certain procedures for teams to follow in regards to signing, drafting and trading players.

Overseas players such as Brett Kimmorley have expressed interest in the American project, and although such big moves are unlikely in the short term, the league are open to players joining the league from abroad.

A statement said: "The NRL does not intend to enter a bidding war for international players, but would consider international players who are willing to play under the NRL USA's proposed compensation structure and whose presence would add value to the league.

"The League is committed to creating opportunities for United States athletes to play professional rugby league in America, to cultivating a popular group of players in their local markets, and to taking reasonable measures to ensure that teams are competitively balanced."

"The NRL USA plans to hold tryouts that will be administered by the coaches, who will have been hired in
advance and employed by the NRL USA, and by executives of the League. The coaches will focus on
evaluating player talent while the League executives will assess character through personal interviews."

"Some accommodations will be made to enable teams to draft players in their respective geographic
areas to capture local interest. The draft will also be used to stimulate interest in the League in
anticipation of the March 2010 kickoff."

 

[Poul]

CB, I don't believe that had been previously posted :thumn

I'm pleased to hear that there will be a quota for non-American players which will be enforced. I believe that for the competition to survive in the long term, it has to have "local identity" which will come from having home grown players. A few Aussies, Poms and Kiwis in each team will give the perception (at least) that the competition is "world class". I have been a bit dubious about the proposed draft (although without knowing exactly how drafts work in American sports), but am also pleased to hear that there will be some "accommodations" in the draft to enable teams to recruit players from their respective geographical areas. After all, I expect the competition to really only be semi-pro, so it would be difficult if a player were to be drafted from say LA to Jacksonville.
I got the impression from previous announcements from the US NRL that there would be a strictly enforced salary cap with players from all teams receiving specific set salaries according to their draft ranking in their team.
I can't wait for next month's Rugby League Review, which I hope will shed further light on this audacious project :crazy:

 

[Big Picture]

CB, I don't believe that had been previously posted :thumn

I'm pleased to hear that there will be a quota for non-American players which will be enforced. I believe that for the competition to survive in the long term, it has to have "local identity" which will come from having home grown players. A few Aussies, Poms and Kiwis in each team will give the perception (at least) that the competition is "world class". I have been a bit dubious about the proposed draft (although without knowing exactly how drafts work in American sports), but am also pleased to hear that there will be some "accommodations" in the draft to enable teams to recruit players from their respective geographical areas. After all, I expect the competition to really only be semi-pro, so it would be difficult if a player were to be drafted from say LA to Jacksonville.
I got the impression from previous announcements from the US NRL that there would be a strictly enforced salary cap with players from all teams receiving specific set salaries according to their draft ranking in their team.
I can't wait for next month's Rugby League Review, which I hope will shed further light on this audacious project :crazy:

I can explain how drafts work. Drafts are the way every pro sports league in North America allows its' member teams to stock their rosters. Every league has an annual entry draft of players looking to go pro, and expansion drafts are always held when new teams join to help them build a competitive roster. Only those not chosen in the draft can be signed directly as free agents, and only after the draft is over.

In the NFL entry draft that was just held, the 32 teams picked in reverse order of their finish, except where teams traded one or more picks for established players, other picks of some combination thereof. For example, the New York Jets traded for 5th pick overall so they could take USC QB Mark Sanchez.

The US NRL draft will no doubt be just like an entry draft, but with more rounds since none of the teams has any players signed at this point. If I were in David Niu's shoes, the teams would draft in the order of taking up their franchises, i.e. the first ownership group to put up their franchise fee and performance bond would pick first, the second group to do that second, and so on. That would reward those who get in earliest.

 

[CarlU]

I emailed through the NRLUS for sponsorship details. I wanted to know their rates as I wanted to promote a company but I could only afford a 5 figure total.

My reply was very interesting, I got extra details back

"We are in search of an exclusive apparel sponsor for the league at 6 figures including TV broadcast inventory (NBC Universal for regular season and NBC Sports for Grand Final July 4th following Wimbledon)."

The interesting part is about NBC.