What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

WA BEARS

Messages
12,413
like I said depends on the terms.
change of brand, WA ownership and min 11 games in perth and I think WA fans will go with it. Anything less and I dont think they will and it should never happen.
How will the Bears explain to Western Australians that one of the team's home games will be played in Sydney?

Western Australians believe they're ripped off by the east coast. Taking a game away from Perth and giving it to Sydney will reinforce their concern.



The NSWRL big-wigs had been talking tepidly about rationalisation and a truly national top tier for years, but paralyzed by indecisiveness and fear of the Sydney clubs going into open revolt.

It took an outside organization - in this case News Ltd - to actually DO SOMETHING, because of that indecision & paralysis inside the establishment.

Yes Perth & Auckland were good moves, but the execution was horrible (4 teams at once? Host pays travel/accom? And no clear plan for Melbourne and Adelaide???)

TV rights were part of the issue, sure.. but they capitalized on a lot of frustration from all parts outside NSW as well.
NSWRL fans don't realise that their insularity and self-interest is killing the game everywhere, including Sydney. There's no way the Cronulla Sharks can compete with the Sydney Swans. We need to get rid of the also-rans in Sydney and introduce strong clubs that can rival the Swans.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
How will the Bears explain to Western Australians that one of the team's home games will be played in Sydney?

Western Australians believe they're ripped off by the east coast. Taking a game away from Perth and giving it to Sydney will reinforce their concern.
I think most will accept it as a fair trade off for the benefits the partnership will bring which I've mentioned. Especially if NS LC is chipping in actual cash. it'd be in effect them buying a game off the Perth club. Would be fun as well, I'd have a weekend in Sydney to watch it. I'd rather it was at SFS to maximise attendance but that's up to NS to decide if they are paying for the game.
Lets say NS LC pay $500k to WC Bears for a game a year, They get to choose where its played and keep the ticket sales etc. That'd be fair I'd say.
 
Messages
12,413
I think most will accept it as a fair trade off for the benefits the partnership will bring which I've mentioned. Especially if NS LC is chipping in actual cash. it'd be in effect them buying a game off the Perth club. Would be fun as well, I'd have a weekend in Sydney to watch it. I'd rather it was at SFS to maximise attendance but that's up to NS to decide if they are paying for the game.
Lets say NS LC pay $500k to WC Bears for a game a year, They get to choose where its played and keep the ticket sales etc. That'd be fair I'd say.
That's not how born and bred Western Australians will see it. You'll accept it as you're an Englishman starved of NRL content. Western Australians will continue to support the Eagles and Dockers if the WA Bears is linked to NSW. This club has to appeal to Western Australians' pride and parochialism. The Bears only care about the parochial North Sydney contingent that haven't moved on.
 

Canard

Immortal
Messages
34,147
I think most will accept it as a fair trade off for the benefits the partnership will bring which I've mentioned. Especially if NS LC is chipping in actual cash. it'd be in effect them buying a game off the Perth club. Would be fun as well, I'd have a weekend in Sydney to watch it. I'd rather it was at SFS to maximise attendance but that's up to NS to decide if they are paying for the game.
Lets say NS LC pay $500k to WC Bears for a game a year, They get to choose where its played and keep the ticket sales etc. That'd be fair I'd say.

You do realise that if a WA team comes into the comp you have at least 12 games a year on the East Coast to travel for? The Bears are irrelevant to that fact.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
That's not how born and bred Western Australians will see it. You'll accept it as you're an Englishman starved of NRL content. Western Australians will continue to support the Eagles and Dockers if the WA Bears is linked to NSW. This club has to appeal to Western Australians' pride and parochialism. The Bears only care about the parochial North Sydney contingent that haven't moved on.
Having been here 23 years I've got a fair idea of how RL fans here see things lol
Majority of current RL fans here are not from Perth, thats the reality. Perth will get behind a team that is its own, as long as the WC Bears does that it wont have a problem with support here. How that perception gets created will be the make or break. "Selling" 1 game to NS LC for $500k makes sense to everyone and wont feed a different perception. Change brand, WA owners, 11 games in Perth. That is what will create perception.

I mean going by your logic THE Dolphins arent going to be accepted by Brisbane, beyond people in redcliffe, or on the Sunshine coast.
 

Wb1234

Referee
Messages
21,765
Sham
Forget China. That was bluster.

The fact remains that Superleague pulled bigger crowds than the AFL comp - the market was there in 1-team cities like Perth, Adelaide & Townsville.. and it did damn well.
Shame news ltd killed then off when it didn’t need them anymore hey

you might want to compare the warriors crowds from their first season to post super league

many of the super league clubs lost a big chunk of their fan base going back to the arl.
 
Messages
12,413
Having been here 23 years I've got a fair idea of how RL fans here see things lol
Majority of current RL fans here are not from Perth, thats the reality. Perth will get behind a team that is its own, as long as the WC Bears does that it wont have a problem with support here. How that perception gets created will be the make or break. "Selling" 1 game to NS LC for $500k makes sense to everyone and wont feed a different perception. Change brand, WA owners, 11 games in Perth. That is what will create perception.

I mean going by your logic THE Dolphins arent going to be accepted by Brisbane, beyond people in redcliffe, or on the Sunshine coast.
If we want a Perth team to draw support from AwFuL fans -- like Melbourne Storm has achieved -- it'll need to be a dyed in the wool Western Australian team. Melbourne wouldn't have accepted a Sydney team. Neither will Perth.

The Dolphins might struggle to draw a fan base in Logan, Redlands, Ipswich and southern Brisbane.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
If we want a Perth team to draw support from AwFuL fans -- like Melbourne Storm has achieved -- it'll need to be a dyed in the wool Western Australian team. Melbourne wouldn't have accepted a Sydney team. Neither will Perth.

The Dolphins might struggle to draw a fan base in Logan, Redlands, Ipswich and southern Brisbane.
Like Sydney or Brisbane wouldnt accept Melbourne clubs?
Or other parts of Brisbane wont accept a redcliffe club?
Or Wollongong wont accept a Sydney club?
You might be right but history suggests otherwise.
 

flippikat

Bench
Messages
4,378
Sham

Shame news ltd killed then off when it didn’t need them anymore hey

you might want to compare the warriors crowds from their first season to post super league

many of the super league clubs lost a big chunk of their fan base going back to the arl.
Indeed it WAS a shame, but that was the reality of the badly flawed peace deal. Both sides were happy to axe (or abandon) teams in Perth & Adelaide, and no one in the nascent NRL's administration fought for them.

The fact that News Ltd betrayed/ abandoned their own superleague teams for sake of a peace settlement (and all the benefits that brought them) is separate from the fact that resentment of the NSWRL establishment CREATED the atmosphere where so many interstate & NZ people jumped at the chance to link with a new organization.

If the NSWRL/ARL had engaged more positively with Queensland, "Affiliated States", NZ and the Pacific - as true champions of the sport SHOULD have - then the long built feelings of resentment wouldn't have been there for Superleague to capitalize on.

It needed a vision to create a truely national/trans Tasman top tier, a clear plan to get there, and determination to revamp the Sydney map so it's "fit for purpose" for such a competition.

They missed the boat.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
You do realise that if a WA team comes into the comp you have at least 12 games a year on the East Coast to travel for? The Bears are irrelevant to that fact.
Yeh but a 'home' game would be more fun. I'd def be heading to Brisbane and Melbourne for away games and pick a coupe of Sydney ones at decent stadiums for sure. My FF's would get a good work out lol.
 

siv

First Grade
Messages
6,546
There seems to be too much rust over the Nullabour

Bears on the Central Coast will be the low risk option
 

MugaB

Coach
Messages
11,821
The Dolphins might struggle to draw a fan base in Logan, Redlands, Ipswich and southern Brisbane.
Logan and ipswich IS southern brisbane, and thats the point, so that titans and bronx aren't as impacted, logan for tits, ipswich for bronx
Redlands and pine rivers for fins
 

Canard

Immortal
Messages
34,147
Yeh but a 'home' game would be more fun. I'd def be heading to Brisbane and Melbourne for away games and pick a coupe of Sydney ones at decent stadiums for sure. My FF's would get a good work out lol.

We all know that deep down inside, this is all piss and wind from the Bears and a compliant media.

Perth, for mine, should go it alone.
 

Wb1234

Referee
Messages
21,765
Indeed it WAS a shame, but that was the reality of the badly flawed peace deal. Both sides were happy to axe (or abandon) teams in Perth & Adelaide, and no one in the nascent NRL's administration fought for them.

The fact that News Ltd betrayed/ abandoned their own superleague teams for sake of a peace settlement (and all the benefits that brought them) is separate from the fact that resentment of the NSWRL establishment CREATED the atmosphere where so many interstate & NZ people jumped at the chance to link with a new organization.

If the NSWRL/ARL had engaged more positively with Queensland, "Affiliated States", NZ and the Pacific - as true champions of the sport SHOULD have - then the long built feelings of resentment wouldn't have been there for Superleague to capitalize on.

It needed a vision to create a truely national/trans Tasman top tier, a clear plan to get there, and determination to revamp the Sydney map so it's "fit for purpose" for such a competition.

They missed the boat.
So news ltd idea was rugby league played in China

but once they got the tv rights they killed off rugby league in Perth and Adelaide

oh and killed their Newcastle club too

that’s some vision
 

Colk

First Grade
Messages
6,331
Why are we talking about the Super League war? It was what it was but it is not really an excuse to continue to play it safe; or the general misdirection and mismanagement of the game over the past 20 years.

Hopefully that changes or if changing and the game finally reaches its potential
 
Messages
12,413
Why are we talking about the Super League war? It was what it was but it is not really an excuse to continue to play it safe; or the general misdirection and mismanagement of the game over the past 20 years.

Hopefully that changes or if changing and the game finally reaches its potential
It's embarrassing that every NRL club in Sydney is dwarfed by the Swans.

  • Operating revenue increasing year-on-year by 39% to $42.5 million
  • 50,144 Swans members
  • Sponsorship and hospitality revenue of $15.2m [up from $10.8m in 2020]


The only way we'll get a Sydney club to beat the Swans on all of these metrics is by getting rid of 3 or 4 clubs so whoever is left can grow over the next 30 years. It took the Swans decades to get to this point. The same will hold true for NRL.
 

flippikat

Bench
Messages
4,378
So news ltd idea was rugby league played in China

but once they got the tv rights they killed off rugby league in Perth and Adelaide

oh and killed their Newcastle club too

that’s some vision
You're missing my point.

News cynically pandered to the frustrations of the non-NSW RL community.

It matters not whether they meant to fulfill their whole hype, the point is that they exploited GENUINE grievances to get that disgruntled section of the game on their payroll.

In an ideal world, the organizers of the rebel comp would have backed their clubs more, and not sold some of them out through sheer self-interest.

The point is, enough people felt so deeply frustrated with the lack of a coherent vision & strategy from the ARL that they were prepared to ally with a snake like Murdoch.... now does THAT demonstrate how frustrated they were?
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Top