We would all assemble at Tullamarine before an interstate game, a bunch of big blokes in uniform.
People would be looking at us, tilting their heads a bit, trying to figure out who we were.
Then you’d get the tug on the sleeve.
Excuse me, are you basketballers?’
‘No, sir. We’re the Melbourne Storm. We play rugby league.’
Those days – the 2003 and 2004 seasons in my case – are long gone now in Melbourne. Twenty years of on-field success and off-field educational and promotional work has turned once foreign territory into a new market for rugby league. That’s been massive for the code, broadcasters and junior development.
I see similar opportunities over here in Perth.
We’ve been staying in Scarborough for the last four days ahead of our season opener against the Bulldogs, part of a big double-header to open the NRL season at the new Perth Stadium.
The appetite for rugby league here is huge. People know who we are, what we’ve done and are asking us all the right questions like, ‘When’s Billy back?’ and ‘Can you guys go back-to-back?’ More than 40,000 tickets had been pre-sold as of Friday.
It’s a lot further advanced than those early seasons at the Storm. That stands to reason. An NRL franchise in Western Australia wouldn’t be starting from scratch. This is a city that was once home to the Western Reds in the old ARL competition. And, until a few months ago, it had the Western Force.
The withdrawal of the Force from Super Rugby makes the timing of these games particularly interesting. I’ve played about half a dozen games in Perth through the years, including a Test match against the Kiwis in 2016, but this is the first time we’ve done so with no Force.
It’s a great time to talk about setting up an NRL team over here.
Cameron Smith
Read more at
https://www.playersvoice.com.au/cameron-smith-expansion-lessons-we-must-learn/#7yYCahpx3zuDqBKp.99
