Why little mention of the CQ NRL bid?

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Just read on the local paper's fb that Rockhampton State MP Bill Byrne will be minister for agriculture, fisheries, SPORT and Racing. Basically rewarded for being one of 7/8 labor mps left in qld after the 2012 election. No excuses not to get the stadium funding now. But probably won't affect it

A) thats the interm group, Labor probably hadnt planned a ministry considering how rediculously unlikely their win was. So this guy probably wont be there long.

B) having the local member as Sport minister means no more for the locals than having the Treasurer or literaly any inner-circle minister. As long as they can throw their weight around with the discretionary funds....

 

[Perth Red]

Yeh having the prime minister as a fan has hardly benefitted manly!

 

[Perth Red]

THE Gold Coast Titans could soon become rugby league nomads under a bold plan that would see them play some home games in central Queensland.

The NRL will consider selling the Titans to highly respected construction magnate Geoff Murphy who wants the team to play several matches each season in Rockhampton and Mackay.

Murphy, managing director of construction company JM Kelly Group, told The Courier-Mail he was genuinely interested in owning or part owning the Titans.
He said he would do so in order to play several home games in central Queensland each year so the region could experience regular top flight rugby league.

ZILLMAN FINDS HIS PURPOSE

The Titans were placed in voluntary administration in February with investors losing millions.

The NRL is aware of Murphy’s interest and said while it wanted to sell the club it would not do so in the short term.

The NRL are currently negotiating a new deal with Cbus Super Stadium and it is understood playing a set amount of games outside the Gold Coast is being considered as part of the package.

The Courier-Mail’s rich list ranked Murphy, 73, as worth $109 million last year, a $16 million increase in his 2013 worth.

JM Kelly Builders is now one of the largest privately owned construction companies in the country.

Murphy is an old school gentleman and regarded as the type of man needed to help run NRL clubs.
“I have indicated that I am prepared to step in and help the Titans if the situation arose,” Murphy said.

“It is in its infancy at the moment.

“I am looking at the options and this is something I see as a good option.”

Murphy was previously sounded out about merging his CQ NRL bid with the Sharks when Cronulla appeared to be at death’s door.

Murphy is yet to enter formal negotiations to buy the NRL-owned Titans and his ultimate goal is an NRL expansion team based in Rockhampton.

However, expanding the NRL with a Rockhampton team appears to be years away from occurring and buying the Titans could present an alternative for Murphy.

If an agreement to host the Titans in Rockhampton for roughly four games a year was reached, it could yet trigger a State government pledge to help build a stadium in the city.

“We are looking at a 15,000 to 20,000 seat stadium and we have a promise from both sides of politics to build a stadium in Rockhampton if we get an NRL team there,” Murphy said.

“The new government has confirmed that promise.
“Ultimately, something has to be done because the NRL can’t continue to ignore the heartland of rugby league between Brisbane and Townsville.

“The NRL sooner or later has to consider that area. They can’t continue to ignore us.

“I am hoping to meet with (NRL strategy boss) Shane Richardson in the near future.”

The NRL said they were determined to ensure financial stability at the Titans before selling.

“The NRL don’t want to be long-term owners of the Titans but we want to first make sure the club is on a sound financial footing,” an NRL spokesman said regarding Murphy’s interest.

England based billionaire and Salford owner Marwan Koukash has also flagged his intent to buy the Titans.

There is also a secret committee of Queensland businessman and former NRL players who are working on their own buyout bid but are not ready to go public.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...mpton-and-mackay/story-fnp0lyn6-1227349401753

 

[taipan]

Yeh having the prime minister as a fan has hardly benefitted manly!

Having Peter Costellos's wife( a Sharks fan apparently) ,helped that club get $10m towards their Sthn Stand from the feds

 

[Diesel]

No way the Qld Govt is going to build a 20k stadium in Rocky, the states broke and there's more important things that need funding. Haven't heard anything more about the new Townsville stadium

 

[Perth Red]

A central Queensland NRL team would capture the region by storm the same way the North Queensland Cowboys have done, says bid leader Geoff Murphy.
The success of the North Queensland Cowboys has only strengthened the case for a central Queensland team to join the NRL, according to bid chairman Geoff Murphy.
Despite ARL Commission boss John Grant's claims last week that a team from south-east Queensland is in line to become the NRL's 17th club, Murphy says the push for a side based out of Rockhampton is still very much alive.
Murphy, a leading central Queensland business figure, said he sought immediate clarification from Grant following his comments and was told no decisions regarding NRL expansion will be made until Shane Richardson's whole-of-game review is completed.
And just as well - Murphy insists a Rockhampton team would take the region by storm, the same way the Cowboys have captured hearts throughout the north of Queensland.
"I don't think there's any doubt," Murphy told AAP.
"We are the heartland of rugby league.
"They're now saying Townsville is, and they're certainly part of that.
"But we're more heartland than Townsville are. We have nothing else. We don't have any other sports, aside from rugby league."
Grant told reporters at a revealing press conference in Brisbane last week rugby league was "not taking advantage" of its dominance in Queensland and that another team from the south-east was part of the provisions in the new broadcast agreement with Channel Nine, which begins in 2018.
Murphy said Grant told him those comments were his own personal views, not those of the NRL.
"I don't think there's any way they will go for just one team - it won't be just 17, it will certainly be 18," Murphy said.
"I'd be hopeful that because Queensland's so underdone that we can have two more teams in Queensland, then I could see maybe one down in the south-east corner and one in central Queensland.
"We've got a better argument than New Zealand, Central Coast and Perth."
Murphy said the viability of a central Queensland side was not in question, with the region enjoying a fractionally greater population than Townsville when accounting for a four-hour travel radius.
"In the last few days, (Johnathan) Thurston has made comments about what difference it makes playing at home and how far their supporters travel for games," he said.
"Four hours, when you get away from the south-east corner, is nothing to drive. We have the same situation in Rockhampton."
Murphy also revealed his proposal to invest in the NRL-owned Gold Coast Titans, with a view to playing several games per year in Rockhampton, has fallen flat.
"I've said all along if I have to relocate a team or get involved with another team and play games in Rockhampton, I'd look at that. I'm open to anything," he said.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/09/29/central-qld-team-would-be-another-cowboys

 

[Dogs Of War]

I can't see a problem with taking 4 matches from tjr titans to play in central qld. Means the titans get more support and hopefully better attendance's in the gold coast due to less games.

 

[League guru]

A central Queensland NRL team would capture the region by storm the same way the North Queensland Cowboys have done, says bid leader Geoff Murphy.
The success of the North Queensland Cowboys has only strengthened the case for a central Queensland team to join the NRL, according to bid chairman Geoff Murphy.
Despite ARL Commission boss John Grant's claims last week that a team from south-east Queensland is in line to become the NRL's 17th club, Murphy says the push for a side based out of Rockhampton is still very much alive.
Murphy, a leading central Queensland business figure, said he sought immediate clarification from Grant following his comments and was told no decisions regarding NRL expansion will be made until Shane Richardson's whole-of-game review is completed.
And just as well - Murphy insists a Rockhampton team would take the region by storm, the same way the Cowboys have captured hearts throughout the north of Queensland.
"I don't think there's any doubt," Murphy told AAP.
"We are the heartland of rugby league.
"They're now saying Townsville is, and they're certainly part of that.
"But we're more heartland than Townsville are. We have nothing else. We don't have any other sports, aside from rugby league."
Grant told reporters at a revealing press conference in Brisbane last week rugby league was "not taking advantage" of its dominance in Queensland and that another team from the south-east was part of the provisions in the new broadcast agreement with Channel Nine, which begins in 2018.
Murphy said Grant told him those comments were his own personal views, not those of the NRL.
"I don't think there's any way they will go for just one team - it won't be just 17, it will certainly be 18," Murphy said.
"I'd be hopeful that because Queensland's so underdone that we can have two more teams in Queensland, then I could see maybe one down in the south-east corner and one in central Queensland.
"We've got a better argument than New Zealand, Central Coast and Perth."
Murphy said the viability of a central Queensland side was not in question, with the region enjoying a fractionally greater population than Townsville when accounting for a four-hour travel radius.
"In the last few days, (Johnathan) Thurston has made comments about what difference it makes playing at home and how far their supporters travel for games," he said.
"Four hours, when you get away from the south-east corner, is nothing to drive. We have the same situation in Rockhampton."
Murphy also revealed his proposal to invest in the NRL-owned Gold Coast Titans, with a view to playing several games per year in Rockhampton, has fallen flat.
"I've said all along if I have to relocate a team or get involved with another team and play games in Rockhampton, I'd look at that. I'm open to anything," he said.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/09/29/central-qld-team-would-be-another-cowboys

I hope Murphy doesn,t try and run his NRL team in the same dictatorial manner that he runs the Capras.
They have no chance of getting a licence. That's why he wants Grant to quantify his statements about Brisbane. Then he can pack up and walk away.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

I can't see a problem with taking 4 matches from tjr titans to play in central qld. Means the titans get more support and hopefully better attendance's in the gold coast due to less games.

The Titans are making real moves to try and reconnect with the GC supporters who have drifted away in the last couple of years. Taking four of the GC's twelve games away would be the exact opposite of what they need to do.

The teams taking games on the road should all be from Sydney. Their fans may lose four home games but they still get plenty of 'away' games to see their teams play other Sydney teams. Would help the smaller Sydney teams expand their brand and get more coverage in the media.

 

[DlEHARD]

Should link with Brothers NRL bid.

 

[CQ Italia]

I hope Murphy doesn,t try and run his NRL team in the same dictatorial manner that he runs the Capras.
They have no chance of getting a licence. That's why he wants Grant to quantify his statements about Brisbane. Then he can pack up and walk away.

The writing has been on the wall for a while. Grants comments are very clear;

"We have provisions (in the free-to-air broadcast agreement) for a 17th team in Brisbane."

 

[Roy80]

Hmmm... After seeing that cowboys victory and the effect on the game and their region, central qld could be a good addition. Could they potentially be another north qld? Or is rockhampton too small?

 

[Perth Red]

Population less than 85k. Even within an hours drive you'd be struggling to reach 200k.

 

[alien]

sunshine coast's population is around 3 times that of rocky

 

[RugbyLeagueStartedIn1988]

CQ Capras need to be dominant in the Intrust Cup first, right now they're a laughing stock.

 

[Johnnie Red]

IMO a CQ team will suffer the same problems that Canberra are experiencing. They will have to pay overs to attract players to the club because who really wants to live Rocky?

Sure they will have a decent supporter base and local juniors but as soon as a local becomes of a good NRL standard they will switch to a city team. CQ will have great difficulty trying to attract a marquee signing that isn't a local also.

 

[Perth Red]

Queensland NRL fans have much to look forward to with the bid for a new team in a strong position following Sunday’s historic all-Queensland grand final between the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys.
Following the qualifying final between the Broncos and the Cowboys earlier in the season, ARL Chairman John Grant publicly supported a new Brisbane based club.
Brisbane Bombers CEO Nicholas Livermore said that Queensland’s strong development pathways put the state’s bid for a new team at an advantage to others from around Australia and New Zealand.
“When you have a look at the talent pool that’s coming through, I think as a whole Queensland’s in a really strong position,” Mr Livermore said.
“In the weekend’s grand final, out of 34 players, 28 of them have come through our second tier competition in the Intrust Super Cup, so that speaks volumes in terms of what a strong position the NRL is in thanks to Queensland production wise.”
Mr Livermore recognises that apprehension exists about a second team, following the collapse of the South Queensland Crushers in 1997.
“We’ve looked at the mistakes of the past to ensure those mistakes aren’t repeated and that’s the most important thing for the NRL if they were to have another team, they would want that confidence that those mistakes wouldn’t be repeated.”
The Bombers have made it their mission to prove that the Brisbane sport market is able to sustain two NRL franchises.
“We wanted to highlight at the start of last year that there was a demand, so we brought the Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs to Brisbane and ran a match in February,” Mr Livermore said.
“We’ve put it to the test and shown that there’s definitely the support there – an appetite for rugby league.”
CQ NRL Bid Finance Manager Dominique McGregor strongly believes the CQ area is still the best option for an expansion team and said the push for a new Brisbane team only holds precedence in South East Queensland media circles.
“The NRL and the Independent Commission have always told us to keep doing what we are doing and that is working within our community and developing the game of rugby league from the grassroots,” Ms McGregor said.
Grand final stars Matt Scott, Ben Hunt, Corey Oates and Jake Granville all hail from CQ and Ms McGregor said the introduction of a local team gives these established players the opportunity to play close to home and further aid talent development in the area.
“Not only is Central Queensland the heartland of rugby league fans, it also a nursery for many great players and it’s because of this, the Bid has always promised that if successful we would ensure 75% of our players would be locally born and bred,” she said.
“You can be guaranteed there will be a great supporter base and a stadium that will fill week in and week out during the NRL season.”
“The Central Queensland community is much like Townsville’s was before the Cowboys entered the NRL competition so a team will do immense amounts for the community… Not only financially but a great moral booster to unite everyone in this region.”
The Brisbane Bombers and CQ NRL Bid have accumulated healthy supporter groups through Facebook and online memberships.

http://thesourcenews.com/2015/10/07...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[Shorty]

Hmmm... After seeing that cowboys victory and the effect on the game and their region, central qld could be a good addition. Could they potentially be another north qld? Or is rockhampton too small?

Way too small.

 

[Perth Red]

NRL PREMIERS 2015Last week the Mayor of Rockhampton invited the Cowboys to take the NRL trophy to Rockhampton as part of their celebrations and tours which they have undertaken to thank supporters. The Cowboys travelled to Mackay, Mt Isa and Cairns last weekend, and are planning a western tour including the likes of Longreach and Emerald. We are all very grateful to the Cowboys for the tours but their initial response to the Rockhampton request again highlights the need for an NRL team to represent those of us outside of the Cowboys and Broncos footprint. The original response from a Cowboys spokes person was that they had no intention of travelling to Rockhampton as the city is outside of their “footprint”. While opposing the CQ NRL Bid the Cowboys have consistently forwarded the argument that if there is a team in Central Queensland it will take away from their supporter base which includes Central Queensland. Clearly this is not the case as they are unwilling to travel to Rockhampton as it is “not a part of their footprint” – what are the chances of them heading any further south to Gladstone, Bundaberg and the like?

We are of the view that the Cowboys cannot have it both ways and that they are correct in saying that CQ is not really a part of their footprint. It is certainly not our place to dictate or question where the Cowboys consider to be their heartland, but we are concerned about the hundreds of thousands of rugby league supporters in the Central Queensland region who do not have a club of their own and have been told by the Cowboys that they are not a part of their footprint.

Last week it was also interesting to note that the Courier Mail wrote about 3 viable Queensland bids – all of them are in the South east corner with no mention of the CQ NRL Bid. Again, the Courier Mail has shown that as far as they are concerned if its north of Caboolture it doesn’t count. Fortunately, we at the Bid are not of this view and are doing all we can to secure an NRL team for the vast area that is CQ.

The all Queensland NRL Grand Final, won by the regional team, highlighted that a regional Queensland team can compete and win at the highest level of the best rugby league competition in the world. The interstate challenge won convincing by the Queensland team (Ipswich Jets) shows that Queensland has access to the best footballers in the world. The Central Queensland television audience as well as the number of people who regularly travel to Townsville or Brisbane to support our Queensland NRL teams shows that we have the supporter base. And the excellent programs already being run by the CQ NRL Bid shows the financial and practical commitment that the Bid is prepared to commit.

The CQ NRL Bid has 40 692 members; South Sydney has the biggest NRL membership with 30 000.

http://www.cqnrlbid.com.au/2015/10/...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

[dangerousdave]

NRL PREMIERS 2015Last week the Mayor of Rockhampton invited the Cowboys to take the NRL trophy to Rockhampton as part of their celebrations and tours which they have undertaken to thank supporters. The Cowboys travelled to Mackay, Mt Isa and Cairns last weekend, and are planning a western tour including the likes of Longreach and Emerald. We are all very grateful to the Cowboys for the tours but their initial response to the Rockhampton request again highlights the need for an NRL team to represent those of us outside of the Cowboys and Broncos footprint. The original response from a Cowboys spokes person was that they had no intention of travelling to Rockhampton as the city is outside of their ?footprint?. While opposing the CQ NRL Bid the Cowboys have consistently forwarded the argument that if there is a team in Central Queensland it will take away from their supporter base which includes Central Queensland. Clearly this is not the case as they are unwilling to travel to Rockhampton as it is ?not a part of their footprint? ? what are the chances of them heading any further south to Gladstone, Bundaberg and the like?

We are of the view that the Cowboys cannot have it both ways and that they are correct in saying that CQ is not really a part of their footprint. It is certainly not our place to dictate or question where the Cowboys consider to be their heartland, but we are concerned about the hundreds of thousands of rugby league supporters in the Central Queensland region who do not have a club of their own and have been told by the Cowboys that they are not a part of their footprint.

Last week it was also interesting to note that the Courier Mail wrote about 3 viable Queensland bids ? all of them are in the South east corner with no mention of the CQ NRL Bid. Again, the Courier Mail has shown that as far as they are concerned if its north of Caboolture it doesn?t count. Fortunately, we at the Bid are not of this view and are doing all we can to secure an NRL team for the vast area that is CQ.

The all Queensland NRL Grand Final, won by the regional team, highlighted that a regional Queensland team can compete and win at the highest level of the best rugby league competition in the world. The interstate challenge won convincing by the Queensland team (Ipswich Jets) shows that Queensland has access to the best footballers in the world. The Central Queensland television audience as well as the number of people who regularly travel to Townsville or Brisbane to support our Queensland NRL teams shows that we have the supporter base. And the excellent programs already being run by the CQ NRL Bid shows the financial and practical commitment that the Bid is prepared to commit.

The CQ NRL Bid has 40 692 members; South Sydney has the biggest NRL membership with 30 000.

http://www.cqnrlbid.com.au/2015/10/...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Sadly, these guys are just embarrassing themselves at this point.