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NRL strategic plan 2018-2022 as it relates to expansion

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
5,276
Anyone ignoring Adelaide is just out of touch with the realities of the Australian market and what is in the interests of broadcasters, advertisers, sponsors, etc.

Sure Adelaide doesn't have a strong RL culture but they represent basically a whole untapped market, and it's inevitable that in pursuit of advertisers and sponsors money that a club will eventually be based there, and in a sensible world they'll get a club long before your CQ's, CC's, and Pacific clubs happen (realistically none of those places should ever get a club unless there is a total restructure of the competition) even if the Adelaide club resembles clubs like GWS, the Sun, or Lions in AFL, cause they'll be their purely for commercial reasons and not necessarily cause people want them there.

Also the idea that places like Adelaide, Perth, etc, need to prove that they deserve a club by begging for one or whatever is completely out of touch with reality and how you build fan bases, you simply can't expect them or anyone else to want something when they don't even know that it exists or understand what it is, and the only way they are going to learn about it is to be introduced to it, in Perth or CQ case people have taken RL with them into those communities when they've moved there, in Adelaides' case for reasons outside of their or our control that hasn't happened.
There's also the realities of the market, RL is never going to be able to compete in a market like Perth and Adelaide where they have clubs in other sports national competitions unless RL has a big time professional club in a national competition based there, in the long run a top down approach is the only way that the sport is going to compete in markets like that.

Well said
 

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
5,276
Oh and BTW, anyone talking about the CC, CQ, or PNG getting a club in at least the next 35-50 years is simply out of touch with the realities of those markets and the position that the NRL is in (unless they are talking about relocation), it shouldn't happen and almost certainly isn't going to happen and it's all for reasons outside of the NRL's control.

The CC market would be to reliant on the Sydney market to support the club, and due to oversaturation in Sydney the NRL can't afford to add pressure on that market, also there will almost always be better options out there.

CQs' population is to small and spread-out over to large an area without a large central location to support a club, and there'll always be better options for expansion on the table.

And where do we start with PNG! Lets just say that it's a third world country that has heaps of issues that it needs to fix before the idea of ever having a club based there is entertained.
Maybe if the club was based in Cairns (or another Australian city) it could work, but I imagine that would blow out costs, and again there will always be more lucrative options on the table.

and again well said!

There are certain areas that are perfect for the second teir and some that are essential to the national league.

In some cases certain heartland areas peak at second teir level and other expansion areas will be given an NRL licence for the good of the game commercially and for their potential for growth and expansion of TV viewers, participants and members.
 

The Great Dane

First Grade
Messages
7,723
adamkungl said:
Yeah I have to agree that expansion of the NRL in the foreseeable future will almost certainly look like

Brisbane 2 + Perth
NZ 2 + Adelaide


Central Coast is a Sydney relocation candidate.
The rest just aren't feasible.

Well yeah, but you never know and there are other realistic possibilities that could happen.

I can easily think of realistic scenarios where the next four clubs into the comp end up being any combination of Perth and Perth 2, Brisbane 2 and 3, NZ 2 and 3, Adelaide, Melbourne 2, multiple different Asian countries or cities, Hawaii, South African cities, London and even other places that I'd strongly advise against like the aforementioned CC, CQ, PNG, etc, etc, (though in saying that I'd advise against some of the places that I mentioned just before as well like London, South Africa, Bris 3, etc.).
So though it's highly unlikely and/or a really bad idea many things could still happen.

But you are correct when you say that as things stand it's most likely that the next four clubs into the comp will be a Brisbane club, a Perth club, a NZ club, and a club in Adelaide, unless we are massively underestimating the incompetence of the NRL and/or ARLC.
 

mistertaylor

Juniors
Messages
409
Yeah I have to agree that expansion of the NRL in the foreseeable future will almost certainly look like

Brisbane 2 + Perth
NZ 2 + Adelaide

Central Coast is a Sydney relocation candidate.
The rest just aren't feasible.

Swap out Adelaide for an SEQ 4 and I would have to agree with your post.
 

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,955
Well yeah, but you never know and there are other realistic possibilities that could happen.

I can easily think of realistic scenarios where the next four clubs into the comp end up being any combination of Perth and Perth 2, Brisbane 2 and 3, NZ 2 and 3, Adelaide, Melbourne 2, multiple different Asian countries or cities, Hawaii, South African cities, London and even other places that I'd strongly advise against like the aforementioned CC, CQ, PNG, etc, etc, (though in saying that I'd advise against some of the places that I mentioned just before as well like London, South Africa, Bris 3, etc.).
So though it's highly unlikely and/or a really bad idea many things could still happen.

But you are correct when you say that as things stand it's most likely that the next four clubs into the comp will be a Brisbane club, a Perth club, a NZ club, and a club in Adelaide, unless we are massively underestimating the incompetence of the NRL and/or ARLC.

Not at all a fan of inter-continental club comps really. Look at the mess Super Rugby is in. No thanks.

Swap out Adelaide for an SEQ 4 and I would have to agree with your post.

There's definitely scope for another club around Brisbane. One West one North, perhaps.

If I was to extend to 22 I'd say Brisbane 3 and Melbourne 2. Or you could look at them if someone else falls over.
 

The Great Dane

First Grade
Messages
7,723
Not at all a fan of inter-continental club comps really. Look at the mess Super Rugby is in. No thanks.

Well get used to it cause just from a commercial point of view it's an inevitability given time...
With maybe the exception of sports that are established globally like Soccer every competition/sport that can pull it off will pull it off as the global market becomes more important.

As an aside I wouldn't say that Super is in the mess it is in cause of the fact that it is an inter-continental club, but cause it has spread it's self way to thin, beyond the capabilities of modern technology to support it, and that SANZAAR is to willing to grow and support some areas at the expense of others.

There's definitely scope for another club around Brisbane. One West one North, perhaps.

If I was to extend to 22 I'd say Brisbane 3 and Melbourne 2. Or you could look at them if someone else falls over.

There's no way that I'd be giving any city more then two clubs under the current structure of the competition, simply cause to do that you'd have to be forgoing an opportunity in another new market, but of course if the competition was to be restructured and/or Sydney was rationalised then all bets would be off.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
We will have been waiting 15 years to bring in Perth and brisbane2 by the time it happens, if it happens, god only knows how many decades it will take for the nrl to expand again after that!
 

taipan

Referee
Messages
22,402
We will have been waiting 15 years to bring in Perth and brisbane2 by the time it happens, if it happens, god only knows how many decades it will take for the nrl to expand again after that!

I'd say the NRL is looking a way ahead yet.Timing it the for weekend after you cark it.They want only happy people ,to celebrate the arrival of the Perth Buccaneers. Hi ho me hearties.
 

Springs09

Juniors
Messages
1,903
Well get used to it cause just from a commercial point of view it's an inevitability given time...
With maybe the exception of sports that are established globally like Soccer every competition/sport that can pull it off will pull it off as the global market becomes more important.

As an aside I wouldn't say that Super is in the mess it is in cause of the fact that it is an inter-continental club, but cause it has spread it's self way to thin, beyond the capabilities of modern technology to support it, and that SANZAAR is to willing to grow and support some areas at the expense of others.



There's no way that I'd be giving any city more then two clubs under the current structure of the competition, simply cause to do that you'd have to be forgoing an opportunity in another new market, but of course if the competition was to be restructured and/or Sydney was rationalised then all bets would be off.

lol weren't you going on about how the Denver Test was unreasonable because business this and business that and now we should have clubs from London and 'multiple Asian cities'. It is not an inevitability, don't be stupid.

Also we do not have to deal in absolutes here. Expansion does not mean new clubs on top of the existing 16. It means expansion to new areas in any way. Central Coast is absolutely an option for an existing Sydney club to move to, and an option if a couple of Sydney clubs fall over.

When it comes to PNG, no one has said for a while now that PNG should have its own full club. The talk is about basing the club in Cairns and playing half in Cairns and half in PNG, which I see no problem with and would definitely prefer it over Adelaide.

And has anyone talked about Central Queensland in the last 5 years?

And this rubbish that Adelaide needs a club because people don't know the game exists there and how else are we going to get fans unless we make up some bullshit club like GWS and plant it in Adelaide without no support? How the hell have Perth done it then? They have a bid, they have a team in the U18s and they have good support. There's nothing stopping Adelaide from doing the same thing. We don't need plastic shit teams cluttering up the comp, the Titans are bad enough.
 

flippikat

Bench
Messages
4,378
One thing to think about, long term is that from a timezones point-of view, having 2 teams in Perth adds more than having 2 teams in Melbourne.

If they alternate home games, it means a guaranteed late night timeslot - 9:30pm Eastern Time on Friday or Saturday night every single round.
 

The Great Dane

First Grade
Messages
7,723
Well you haven't understood a thing in that post, it's very carefully worded as well...

lol weren't you going on about how the Denver Test was unreasonable because business this and business that

This is a total aside and I don't really want to get into it, but the Denver Test is unreasonable, not because England and NZ want to hold a test in the US, or cause it's during the NRL season, or anything like that, but because of the way that it's being handled...
For the test to go ahead the way that it's organised it's necessary for the NRL clubs as businessess' to take a hit without anything to show for it (no hope of a return and no compensation for their loss), that is just wrong on a moral level, it sets a precedent that will eventually come back to bite us in the arse, and it's completely unnecessary, with some minor changes to the planning of it and the rules about availability for internationals it's %100 avoidable and the match could still go ahead effectually as it's been planned

Anyhow this isn't the time or the place...

and now we should have clubs from London and 'multiple Asian cities'. It is not an inevitability, don't be stupid.

Firstly I never once said that we 'should' have clubs from London, Asian cities, Hawaii, South Africa, or anywhere outside of Australia or NZ, not once!

The most that I said was that they were reasonable possibilities, and they are, I also said that I'd advise against most of them being in the competition, and that many of them were just outright bad ideas!
I didn't even say that it was an inevitability that those particular places would get clubs, I said that it was an inevitability that the competition would eventually become transcontinental, and unless it falls over it is an inevitability that it'll become a transcontinental competition given time.

It's only a matter of time before a group of rich business men or a government from somewhere outside of Aus/NZ tries and is successful in launching an NRL club, there're already rumblings it about from all over the world, there's been interest in the comp from the Middle East and Hawaii in particular though nothing concrete about a bid from either region, but the best example is Marwan Koukash and a "British" NRL club- https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...l/news-story/a220f7c3367554f75edeb0b2bc827d66

I mean seriously 5 years ago if you said there'd be a professional club based in Toronto playing in the RFL system everyone would have said you were mad, but now we have the Wolfpack, and it's only a matter of time before the NRL has it's own club similar to the WP pop up out of nowhere, it might happen tomorrow, or it might happen in 150 years, but it is inevitable given time.

Also we do not have to deal in absolutes here. Expansion does not mean new clubs on top of the existing 16. It means expansion to new areas in any way. Central Coast is absolutely an option for an existing Sydney club to move to, and an option if a couple of Sydney clubs fall over.

Actually this is a thread about the "NRL strategic plan 2018-2022 as it relates to expansion", in the "NRL Expansion forum, and the talk was mainly about the NRL...

And frankly if a Sydney club falls over there're plenty of better options than the CC, like dropping them down to a lower tier where they are more sustainable and introducing a new club from Perth, Brisbane, or NZ, but whatever man.

When it comes to PNG, no one has said for a while now that PNG should have its own full club. The talk is about basing the club in Cairns and playing half in Cairns and half in PNG, which I see no problem with and would definitely prefer it over Adelaide.

I see a massive problem with it- cost!

The cost of running and team based in Carins but playing home games in PNG would be enormous, you've got to pay for a shit ton more travel, extreme amounts of security in PNG, the rent for two home stadiums, a Cairns/PNG team isn't going to be worth shit to broadcasters, sponsors, investors, etc, etc, etc, and frankly there are simply better much more commercially viable options for expansion destinations and their almost certainly always will be...

And has anyone talked about Central Queensland in the last 5 years?

Yep, they get brought up semi regularly, not as much as CC but they still get mentioned whenever expansion is talked about. In fact you yourself brought them up in this very thread-
And so is PNG, Fiji, Central Coast, Central Queensland etc.

And this rubbish that Adelaide needs a club because people don't know the game exists there and how else are we going to get fans unless we make up some bullshit club like GWS and plant it in Adelaide without no support? How the hell have Perth done it then? They have a bid, they have a team in the U18s and they have good support. There's nothing stopping Adelaide from doing the same thing. We don't need plastic shit teams cluttering up the comp, the Titans are bad enough.

Just WTF, seriously.

I said that the reason that Adelaide will inevitably get a club is cause of commercial reasons, cause having a club based there would be incredibly valuable to broadcasters, advertisers, sponsors, etc, etc. That's the reason they'll get a club, and why they'll get a club long before other places that are being mentioned are even seriously in the conversation, it's got nothing to do people not knowing that the game exists down there...

What I said about people not knowing the game down there was that it's unreasonable to rule them out for expansion cause they don't have a strong league culture there cause the only way they are going to build one is if we introduce it to them, or in other words you can't want for something if you don't know that it exists and by and large they really don't know that it exists.

How the hell have Perth done it then? They have a bid, they have a team in the U18s and they have good support. There's nothing stopping Adelaide from doing the same thing. We don't need plastic shit teams cluttering up the comp, the Titans are bad enough.

I can explain that for you as well...

It's rather simple actually, the amount of migration to Perth compared to Adelaide is huge (particularly from the East Coast, NZ, and England), when some of those people migrate to Perth they take RL with them and eventually enough get together that a culture of RL starts to build. That hasn't happened in SA simply cause migration to SA is basically nonexistent, in fact (IIRC) SA's population is slowly but steadily ageing and shrinking, and more people are leaving SA then moving into it, 200-300 years from now SA will have been left behind population wise by the rest of the country (except Tas) if things don't change (and they almost certainly will change, some industry will eventually be based there looking for cheap housing or whatever and that inductry will draw people there), but until that point Adelaide and SA will be a crucial market in Australia.

So basically cause of those circumstances it's extremely unlikely that Adelaide will ever build a league culture like Perth has without help from outside of SA, and the only people that really have the power to do that is the NRL.
 
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Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
One thing to think about, long term is that from a timezones point-of view, having 2 teams in Perth adds more than having 2 teams in Melbourne.

If they alternate home games, it means a guaranteed late night timeslot - 9:30pm Eastern Time on Friday or Saturday night every single round.

Is a 9.30pm time slot that great? Assuming the key market is the east coast. Most Friday’s I’m dead on my feet by about 10 and a good few cans deep if the footy is on. I’m not sure I would be watching much past 10/10.30 for a neutral game.
 

DC_fan

Coach
Messages
11,980
Before it is decidedly on how many expansion teams are added to the competition, and where they come from, we need to know how many teams our game can cater for. Some suggestions, such as for 22 teams are way way over the top. We struggle to have enough quality players for 16 teams let alone for anymore than that. For mine it is quite obvious that 16 is the limit. So to keep it at that number and have expansion means we have to cut back the numbers of Sydney teams. This has to be involved in any expansion plans. If not than it is a waste of time in even discussing expansion.
 

Hello, I'm The Doctor

First Grade
Messages
9,124
Not at all a fan of inter-continental club comps really. Look at the mess Super Rugby is in. No thanks.

.

I dont think intercontinental comps are intrinsically bad, they just need to be done well. It is possible to fall ass-backwards into a successful local comp, but i dont think its possible for that to work across continents.

Id love to see a business plan for a team in indonesia. That feels like the big possible market no one looks at. There are plenty of Stadiums sizes and locations to pick from, im sure there would be at least enough of an expat market somewhere to sustain a team.
 

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