Rank the Brisbane bids

[The Great Dane]

How do you do that? I get not tuning into the sport anymore if something has really turned you off it, but I don't understand doing a 180 and declaring yourself a fan of the Benny Hill skit masquerading as a professional sport.

You don't.

I am/was a Bears fan (it's complicated), have been since I was a kid. I personally know/knew more than a dozen other Bears fans and their families to varying degrees, I can't think of one whom spontaneously switched to another sport that they didn't already have an interest in because of the SL war, the attempted relocation, the merger, or the Bears getting the arse.

I can think of plenty that were already fans of other sports, or at least had an interest in them, that receded into them once the Bears were dropped, but as I said before they were already supporting those other sports and clubs at least to some degree.

 

[taipan]

like I said their vision for a proper national comp was set in the 80’s, 2 teams in every heartland city and expansion sides in Brisbane and Sydney. They set up everything to achieve that. SL and RLs management gifted them an easy passage with no threats. The further expansion of two more proper expansion clubs was laid in the early 2000’s. Things like having a flexible grant, the draft, ticket tax on rich clubs, people who could max a Tv deal etc were put in place to make it achievable. In comparison nrl has sat on it’s hands and continued to look backwards and blame 1997 for its subsequent lack of vision and strategy, the game has had more than enough revenue in the last 7 years to have an expansion plan in place and commenced. It still has nothing and no idea., beyond the whims of one man, about what it does about it. Covid is just another convenient excuse to do nothing for the next few years.

How was their vision set, when the only reason the Swans and Lions moved interstate ,was due to many years of poor PKIs, they were shuttled off.That is matters of desperation not years ahead of planning.
Hell we had moved to Canberra ,not having to relocate anyone.

Reason being one club in particular and indeed the other, had years interstate of almost going to the wall, and having to be continually financially underpinned in some cases by private individuals.Despite the fact AFL has been around in those states for yonks.

SL management with the assistance of Perth/Auckland/Nth Qld/and of course the Sydney clubs ,gave Murdoch the numbers to skewer RL and empty the RL coffers.Coffers which were in far larger amongst than AFL.Look in your own backyard and ask yourself if Perth and the others had stayed loyal, you'd probably have a team.Instead of bitching about lack of expansion.You shoot yourself in the foot ,when in fact you deflect from one of the underlying reasons as to where we are.

If you know anything about grants in RL and Dennis Tutty court case, you might haver a clue about drafts in RL.
Rich clubs ,show me all teh rich clubs in Sydney who rely on poker machines would be agreeable to subsidising others.
One more time, as I have explained and you still don't get it.Our coffers were empty from 95 for quite some time, due in part to a sh*thouse Tv deal from Gallop.

And people in business sit on their hands when they don't have the funding to expand, let alone survive.

"The game has had more than enough revenue ",well apparently is hasn't else we'd have a stadium.Perhaps if we hadn't spent the money in the coffers your mob and other helped remove, we'd be able to expand.Or if Gallop hadn't been screwed by News, or if we hadn't had to provide 50% share of profits to News you might be near the point.You're as far away as Mars.

Your comment about COVID is bleeding ignorant and not worthy of a response.Your state has been little
affected.You need to ask the NRL staff about to be retrenched. V'Landys got the game up and running to help it survive, you try to death knell it time after time.

 

[taipan]

How do you do that? I get not tuning into the sport anymore if something has really turned you off it, but I don't understand doing a 180 and declaring yourself a fan of the Benny Hill skit masquerading as a professional sport.

Some people do that.But he's a guy (a passionate from memory Dragon;s fan) who earned a living as a media journalist ,then Editor in Chief of RLW..When a media organisation comes in and takes over the game, he'd obviously had enough, and became a Swan's member.I saw enough extreme passion at a meeting I attended, when the Sharks decided to go to SL.
TBH if my club was flicked or relocated as a matter of convenience ,couldn't go to another game, but wouldn't jump to another code.
People react differently.

 

[Perth Red]

How was their vision set, when the only reason the Swans and Lions moved interstate ,was due to many years of poor PKIs, they were shuttled off.That is matters of desperation not years ahead of planning.
Hell we had moved to Canberra ,not having to relocate anyone.

Reason being one club in particular and indeed the other, had years interstate of almost going to the wall, and having to be continually financially underpinned in some cases by private individuals.Despite the fact AFL has been around in those states for yonks.

SL management with the assistance of Perth/Auckland/Nth Qld/and of course the Sydney clubs ,gave Murdoch the numbers to skewer RL and empty the RL coffers.Coffers which were in far larger amongst than AFL.Look in your own backyard and ask yourself if Perth and the others had stayed loyal, you'd probably have a team.Instead of bitching about lack of expansion.You shoot yourself in the foot ,when in fact you deflect from one of the underlying reasons as to where we are.

If you know anything about grants in RL and Dennis Tutty court case, you might haver a clue about drafts in RL.
Rich clubs ,show me all teh rich clubs in Sydney who rely on poker machines would be agreeable to subsidising others.
One more time, as I have explained and you still don't get it.Our coffers were empty from 95 for quite some time, due in part to a sh*thouse Tv deal from Gallop.

And people in business sit on their hands when they don't have the funding to expand, let alone survive.

"The game has had more than enough revenue ",well apparently is hasn't else we'd have a stadium.Perhaps if we hadn't spent the money in the coffers your mob and other helped remove, we'd be able to expand.Or if Gallop hadn't been screwed by News, or if we hadn't had to provide 50% share of profits to News you might be near the point.You're as far away as Mars.

Your comment about COVID is bleeding ignorant and not worthy of a response.Your state has been little
affected.You need to ask the NRL staff about to be retrenched. V'Landys got the game up and running to help it survive, you try to death knell it time after time.

What a load of tosh! Afl has had a clear national strategy plan since the 80’s. RL did too until 97. At that point it gave up its national vision and retreated back into its two state mentality (thank frick for news ltd at least wanting a team in Melbourne or we wouldn’t even have that now). Since 2000, that’s now two decades, the game has li ped along blighted by poor leadership and no strategy. Even now our strat plan is an absolute joke. In that same period afl has contiued to push forward its national strategy aided and abetted by good leadership and investing its growth in expansion. I mean ffs we cant even get consolidation right and still don’t have two teams in Brisbane! What hope we could actually expand and grow the game? Broke arse clubs like yours hold it back, poor administration hold it back, poor expenditure decisions hold it back and here we are falling ever further behind afl. What’s owning a stadium got to do with investing resources in expansion? Sure if we could get one at a knock down price and had 4 clubs agree to play out of it then it make make financial sense but that’s not the case, investing in a stadium is the last thing the nrl should be doing!

 

[taipan]

What a load of tosh! Afl has had a clear national strategy plan since the 80’s. RL did too until 97. At that point it gave up its national vision and retreated back into its two state mentality (thank frick for news ltd at least wanting a team in Melbourne or we wouldn’t even have that now). Since 2000, that’s now two decades, the game has li ped along blighted by poor leadership and no strategy. Even now our strat plan is an absolute joke. In that same period afl has contiued to push forward its national strategy aided and abetted by good leadership and investing its growth in expansion. I mean ffs we cant even get consolidation right and still don’t have two teams in Brisbane! What hope we could actually expand and grow the game? Broke arse clubs like yours hold it back, poor administration hold it back, poor expenditure decisions hold it back and here we are falling ever further behind afl. What’s owning a stadium got to do with investing resources in expansion? Sure if we could get one at a knock down price and had 4 clubs agree to play out of it then it make make financial sense but that’s not the case, investing in a stadium is the last thing the nrl should be doing!

So the AFL planned to have Swans and Lions moved years before they went.I call steaming bollocks.They were shoved off out of desperation.
They may have had a strategy for WA and SA for some time on AFL states .They haven't even got a strategy for Tasmania.That's a dog's breakfast.You only have to look at the issues the Swans and Lions had in their early days for years, until SL came along.Their NZ strategy went down the sh*tcan.
Anyone with a decent strategy would have had a team in Tasmania first (an AFL state) rather than GWS or Suns.
The same expansion clubs in the North that still can't crack it for TV ratings, and the same ch7 that is trying to renegotiate its $500m plus debt.

The RL gave up because ,traitorous newcomers went over to SL .I repeat if Perth/Auckland/Nth Qld and the 3 Sydney clubs hadn't done so ,I wouldn't be arguing.
You are in denial about Perth, they didn't stay with the ARL, invited in ,then kicked the hosts in the guts.And your'e lecturing the NRL about management.Both as bad as each other.Blame yourself and other clubs for that act.
We had reasonable leadership with vision before SL.That's why you guys were invited.Sheesh.We were killing it prior to SL the AFL admitted as much.Money in the Bank,promotion via Tina Turner, and had expanded.Union was amateur.In a strong position to grow the game.

A stadium is an asset, and you have no trouble reminding us here regularly, in your typical AFL boot licking style they have such an asset. If it is so bad, stop crapping on about it ,when you continue to lick the AFLIt's cringeworthy.

With the money in the Bank prior to 95, who knows could have made a decent asset purchase or part thereof.Certainly spent it on grassroots
Mate we ended up with zero cash SL ,then for years had to pay players outlandish sums and share profits with News.Did your fumbling mates have to do that after a SL war? How long was it before News pulled outs we wouldn't have to share profits, not that long ago.

LOL "Broke arse club" that has $18m in the Bank, and at least own their ground, have the backing of a $8m grant for a Centre of Excellence,and has a 50 year history.And will have a new Leagues club already paid for, with retail centre next door .And not relying on a wealthy millionaire. And another Licenced club at Kareela.And not getting huge poker machine money.

Like that broke arse club the Swans relying on wealthy individuals to exist at times.You need to keep up with reality.
These same expansion clubs TV ratings are nothing to write home about in the Nthn States, with all money spent.

Club that doesn't cost the NRL a fortune in airfares.I'll give you one point for trying.That's why a 2nd Brisbane side is a must.

NB we've already had joint ventures involving 4 clubs, has that solved crowd numbers and infrastructure ? No.

And you're still embarrassingly carrying on about expansion, whilst we have COVID and a shattered economy to deal with,and the 5 years to get back I proposed a couple of months back ,is looking more like 10 years plus to get the economy and business back to normality.
Imagine the costs for the NRL now if there was a Perth side involved.

 

[The Great Dane]

So the AFL planned to have Swans and Lions moved years before they went.I call steaming bollocks.They were shoved off out of desperation.
They may have had a strategy for WA and SA for some time on AFL states .They haven't even got a strategy for Tasmania.That's a dog's breakfast.You only have to look at the issues the Swans and Lions had in their early days for years, until SL came along.Their NZ strategy went down the sh*tcan.
Anyone with a decent strategy would have had a team in Tasmania first (an AFL state) rather than GWS or Suns.

You are simply wrong, dead wrong, on basically every point.

The VFL had been pressuring smaller Melbourne clubs to relocate for a few years before the Swans took the jump, in fact they had been organising regular games in Sydney for a few years and had brokered a deal for the Lions to relocate to Sydney before they turned it down and the Swans took up the idea. BTW, they have continuously tried to get smaller Melbourne clubs to relocate right up to this day.

They haven't had a strategy for Tasmania because it's a tiny divided market that they already have a dominant market share of.
In other words operating a team there would be difficult and wouldn't be very profitable, they already dominant the market without having a team there, and they are interested in growing their share of the national market and seeing a return on their investment, neither of which a Tasmanian team would achieve. Tasmania is to the AFL what the CC is to the NRL, a fanciful pipe dream that is totally unrealistic but is emotionally pleasing to some people.

As far as I know the AFL it's self has never really made a concerted push for a professional club into NZ, St Kilda organised a deal with Wellington for a few years, and the AFL backed it, but St Kilda did it largely independent of the AFL.
The AFL has been way more involved with Port Adelaide's dealings with Huawei to play games in China, on a similar offer to the one that was made to the Raiders to play in Shenzhen but the NRL refused to back. The AFL were pushing that to the hilt until covid got in the way.

 

[mongoose]

i can remember in the 90s the AFL was pushing for North Melbourne to relocate to Canberra, it never happened obviously...

 

[The Great Dane]

i can remember in the 90s the AFL was pushing for North Melbourne to relocate to Canberra, it never happened obviously...

That was in the early 2000s, in the 90s it was the Lions that were being pushed this way.

 

[flippikat]

As far as I know the AFL it's self has never really made a concerted push for a professional club into NZ, St Kilda organised a deal with Wellington for a few years, and the AFL backed it, but St Kilda did it largely independent of the AFL.

Yeah, the AFL's flirtation with us here in NZ reminds me a lot of the NRL with.. well, almost anywhere outside of existing club home bases. St Kilda took a couple (maybe 3?) games over here to Wellington off their own bat, and.... just kinda lost interest basically.

Just like Manly with Christchurch, or the Bulldogs with Wellington, or Roosters with Adelaide.. heck I even seem to remember the Sharks looking to take some games here to NZ (wasn't it Taupo? *shrugs*).

Sometimes it sticks - the Central Coast & Perth have regularly had clubs taking home games there - but it's a bit of a movable feast rather than ONE club hitching their "home away from home" wagon there - and it's all at the mercy of the clubs, rather than anything brokered or led by the NRL.

 

[Perth Red]

So the AFL planned to have Swans and Lions moved years before they went.I call steaming bollocks.They were shoved off out of desperation.
They may have had a strategy for WA and SA for some time on AFL states .They haven't even got a strategy for Tasmania.That's a dog's breakfast.You only have to look at the issues the Swans and Lions had in their early days for years, until SL came along.Their NZ strategy went down the sh*tcan.
Anyone with a decent strategy would have had a team in Tasmania first (an AFL state) rather than GWS or Suns.
The same expansion clubs in the North that still can't crack it for TV ratings, and the same ch7 that is trying to renegotiate its $500m plus debt.

The RL gave up because ,traitorous newcomers went over to SL .I repeat if Perth/Auckland/Nth Qld and the 3 Sydney clubs hadn't done so ,I wouldn't be arguing.
You are in denial about Perth, they didn't stay with the ARL, invited in ,then kicked the hosts in the guts.And your'e lecturing the NRL about management.Both as bad as each other.Blame yourself and other clubs for that act.
We had reasonable leadership with vision before SL.That's why you guys were invited.Sheesh.We were killing it prior to SL the AFL admitted as much.Money in the Bank,promotion via Tina Turner, and had expanded.Union was amateur.In a strong position to grow the game.

A stadium is an asset, and you have no trouble reminding us here regularly, in your typical AFL boot licking style they have such an asset. If it is so bad, stop crapping on about it ,when you continue to lick the AFLIt's cringeworthy.

With the money in the Bank prior to 95, who knows could have made a decent asset purchase or part thereof.Certainly spent it on grassroots
Mate we ended up with zero cash SL ,then for years had to pay players outlandish sums and share profits with News.Did your fumbling mates have to do that after a SL war? How long was it before News pulled outs we wouldn't have to share profits, not that long ago.

LOL "Broke arse club" that has $18m in the Bank, and at least own their ground, have the backing of a $8m grant for a Centre of Excellence,and has a 50 year history.And will have a new Leagues club already paid for, with retail centre next door .And not relying on a wealthy millionaire. And another Licenced club at Kareela.And not getting huge poker machine money.

Like that broke arse club the Swans relying on wealthy individuals to exist at times.You need to keep up with reality.
These same expansion clubs TV ratings are nothing to write home about in the Nthn States, with all money spent.

Club that doesn't cost the NRL a fortune in airfares.I'll give you one point for trying.That's why a 2nd Brisbane side is a must.

NB we've already had joint ventures involving 4 clubs, has that solved crowd numbers and infrastructure ? No.

And you're still embarrassingly carrying on about expansion, whilst we have COVID and a shattered economy to deal with,and the 5 years to get back I proposed a couple of months back ,is looking more like 10 years plus to get the economy and business back to normality.
Imagine the costs for the NRL now if there was a Perth side involved.

afl aren’t stupid, they dont put teams in small population areas. Tassie is never getting a team.

Afl stadium purchase has a chance of working for them because they got it at a knock down price and they have numerous clubs playing out of it. Nrl wouldn’t have either so where’s the roi?

how much did sharks lose last year? And year before? And year before? How long is that money going to last? Reality is sharks are just one of a number of broke arse clubs that are a reason of why the nrl hasn’t been able to expand from a solid base, unlike AFL who hav e numerous clubs making large profits that they can tax and give smaller grants to, meaning they can afford the high cost of expansion.

im not talking about expanding now, loony vlandys is the only one doing that, I’m talking about having an expansion strategy and vision for the game now. Sadly something that is 15 years overdue.

 

[flippikat]

afl aren’t stupid, they dont put teams in small population areas. Tassie is never getting a team.

While I'd never say never, if 2 more teams are to be added to bring that league up to 20, then surely Canberra & a 3rd WA team are ahead of Tassie.

Even after that, there's probably gonna be pressure from SA for a 3rd Adelaide team.. or the rough chance of another NSW team (Sydney 3 or Newcastle? Don't laugh.. Newcastle is a pretty big population centre in it's own right).

As "feel good" as Tassie would be, money talks.

 

[greenBV4]

While I'd never say never, if 2 more teams are to be added to bring that league up to 20, then surely Canberra & a 3rd WA team are ahead of Tassie.

Even after that, there's probably gonna be pressure from SA for a 3rd Adelaide team.. or the rough chance of another NSW team (Sydney 3 or Newcastle? Don't laugh.. Newcastle is a pretty big population centre in it's own right).

As "feel good" as Tassie would be, money talks.

I think same as CC is, (or atleast should be) with the NRL, tassie is being reserved for a relocation as the market is too small for a stand alone new club, but a relocated one would still maintain a decent melbourne following (swans still have a fairly big following, and fitzroy)

Canberra would be on the radar, with GWS being used as a "warm up", or perhaps its being left for a GWS relocation if West Sydney doesnt work out for them

Sunshine Coast seems to have a lot of Vic-expats, I was surpised how many placed sold the herald sun and age in Noosa, maybe they could end up with a 3rd qld team or relocated suns (do the Lions interact much with that area?)

Im honestly surprised they havn't thown their money at NZ like they have the other exapnsions, I don't think you could say they have failed there when the AFL themselves havn't really tried all that much

 

[The Great Dane]

On places like Bigfooty the current general drift of the AFL fans thinking about expansion seems to be that Perth 3, Tasmania, NT, Sydney 3, and Brisbane 2 are the next most likely.
Other places like Newcastle, another Qld club in somewhere like Cairns or Townsville, or NZ, get brought up as well, but not as much.

They all either think that Canberra is GWS's territory and should remain as such until GWS no longer needs/wants Canberra (which is genuinely insulting as a Canberran, but I guess you reap what you sow), or they think Canberra is a waste of time in a similar way to how many NRL fans treat Adelaide.

The main two expansion teams that people seem to argue for the most are Perth/WA 3 and Tasmania. What's interesting about it is that each are analogous to how people argue for Bris 2 and the CC in RL circles, with Perth 3 being their Brisbane 2 and Tasmania being their CC.

Believe it or not the NT is normally the next name that gets thrown around after those two, but that just seems like a ridiculous pipe dream to me.

They generally don't seem to actually want Sydney 3 or Brisbane 2 to happen (at least not any time soon), but seem convinced that it's inevitable that the AFL will add those teams eventually.

Anyway it's interesting reading what other sports' fans are thinking about in expansion of their sports. You should read soccer fans opinions on A-league expansion, it gets really ridiculous.

 

[mongoose]

How many teams do they think the AFL can sustain? anything more than 20 teams in a country the size of Australia is just silly IMO. You are really diluting the talent with that many, even at 18 they are stretching it thin. But I guess AFL has no other competitions to compare itself to so it's hard to judge.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Quayle and Arthurson didn’t have a clue. They included Western Reds but saddled them with travel costs for visiting teams, which put them under and out of business after the 1995 season. News Ltd bailed them out in 1996 on the provision they join Super League. They had no choice. Join Super League or fold.

I am not convinced Perth is viable. Crowds turned to shit for the Reds in 1996 with a decent team. I cannot see the 16 NRL clubs agreeing to dip into the game’s revenue to cover travel costs for a Perth team. The Reds couldn’t cover travel costs in 1995. I fail to see how a team would do so today. Unless they’re getting AwFuL style crowds there won’t be enough cash in the piggy bank.

 

[taipan]

afl aren’t stupid, they dont put teams in small population areas. Tassie is never getting a team.

Afl stadium purchase has a chance of working for them because they got it at a knock down price and they have numerous clubs playing out of it. Nrl wouldn’t have either so where’s the roi?

how much did sharks lose last year? And year before? And year before? How long is that money going to last? Reality is sharks are just one of a number of broke arse clubs that are a reason of why the nrl hasn’t been able to expand from a solid base, unlike AFL who hav e numerous clubs making large profits that they can tax and give smaller grants to, meaning they can afford the high cost of expansion.

im not talking about expanding now, loony vlandys is the only one doing that, I’m talking about having an expansion strategy and vision for the game now. Sadly something that is 15 years overdue.

Tasmania has a population of 500k ,they have the backing of a couple of breweries and Cadburys.It is an AFL state.With an AFL team, they would pack out their Hobart stadium week in week out.They would also get the TV ratings from the Island, certainly a lot better than NRL ratings in Adelaide and Perth.

If you own a stadium or have management rights in the case of rectangular ones ,you can rent them out to other sports ,or have yourself cheap rental.A comment in yesterday's Australian ,was made the NRL couldn't;t afford to pay for a WS style stadium,but with 3 or 4 boutique ones that is different.
We have been over ,many times, the geography of the 2 cities, and why centralised stadiums works in Melbourne,wouldn't in Sydney.

The figures that the Sharks lost last year has already been allowed for in their current figures and money on hand ,and fines.
They have already a licensed club at Kareela last reports doing better than expected ,and the new one at Shark Park will bring in better revenue than the tired old, weather beaten one we had.How's your licenced club going BTW?
And they will have more sponsors boxes available.Plus the C of E grant .They will be in a better position than a few other NRL clubs.

If Perth get in with private backing, they going to stay in for the long haul, or if it gets too expensive want to pull out.Same question you pose for the Sharks.If COVID continues for 5 years, tell me where football codes will be? I wouldn't pretend to guess.
Revenue from the old licensed Shark's club was minimal ,because it was hardly one you'd want to attend .The licences club with decent restaurants and facilities ,will have a stack of residentials surrounding it in addition.

"Broke ar'ed clubs" LOL surely you jest,like GWS,Suns that the AFL have been pouring huge sums into, because they cannot financé themselves.St Kilda and Nth Melbourne are hardly gushing with money.Like the money Lions have been losing.Like the Swans lost year after year until SL came in.nd still have years on teh knife edge, and need to get into final series.

Like the money wasted on the Wellington NZ experiment?And the Swans worrying about this year .

The only reason V'Landys mentioned now, because dumb reporters keep bringing it up.Ever thought he and the Commission just may be keeping their cards close to their chest.There are far more important and many issues for the RL to worry about, all involving survival.

 

[Perth Red]

1. Tassie is too small to fund a $50mill a year afl club, afl don’t see value in it so won’t pay for it, ergo tassie is not getting a club anytime soon lol
2. Stadiums don’t make good investments, why do you think there aren’t a plethora of private equity firms offering to build stadiums? It only worked for afl, if it actually does, because they got it at a cellar price and have numerous teams using it. It won’t work for nrl as it has neither of those things.
3. Sharks and others are a big reason the game is still in no position to expand. Whilst the Afl has rich clubs it could leverage off to invest in expansion, nrl does not and does not have the level of control to do so if it did, gws and suns are where they are spending their expansion money off the back of these successful clubs lol.
4. You’re still losing money hand over fist, that once in a lifetime asset sell off will soon be gone, you’d better hope people moving into these new apartments are pokie addicts lol.
5. AFL didn’t waste money on nz, it was a deal between the afl club and the city. And if they did, you could have such follies when you’ve got as much revenue as them.
6. Vlandys came out couple of weeks ago and said expansion wasn’t off the table lol.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Tasmania has a population of 500k ,they have the backing of a couple of breweries and Cadburys.It is an AFL state.With an AFL team, they would pack out their Hobart stadium week in week out.They would also get the TV ratings from the Island, certainly a lot better than NRL ratings in Adelaide and Perth.

If you own a stadium or have management rights in the case of rectangular ones ,you can rent them out to other sports ,or have yourself cheap rental.A comment in yesterday's Australian ,was made the NRL couldn't;t afford to pay for a WS style stadium,but with 3 or 4 boutique ones that is different.
We have been over ,many times, the geography of the 2 cities, and why centralised stadiums works in Melbourne,wouldn't in Sydney.

The figures that the Sharks lost last year has already been allowed for in their current figures and money on hand ,and fines.
They have already a licensed club at Kareela last reports doing better than expected ,and the new one at Shark Park will bring in better revenue than the tired old, weather beaten one we had.How's your licenced club going BTW?
And they will have more sponsors boxes available.Plus the C of E grant .They will be in a better position than a few other NRL clubs.

If Perth get in with private backing, they going to stay in for the long haul, or if it gets too expensive want to pull out.Same question you pose for the Sharks.If COVID continues for 5 years, tell me where football codes will be? I wouldn't pretend to guess.
Revenue from the old licensed Shark's club was minimal ,because it was hardly one you'd want to attend .The licences club with decent restaurants and facilities ,will have a stack of residentials surrounding it in addition.

"Broke ar'ed clubs" LOL surely you jest,like GWS,Suns that the AFL have been pouring huge sums into, because they cannot financé themselves.St Kilda and Nth Melbourne are hardly gushing with money.Like the money Lions have been losing.Like the Swans lost year after year until SL came in.nd still have years on teh knife edge, and need to get into final series.

Like the money wasted on the Wellington NZ experiment?And the Swans worrying about this year .

The only reason V'Landys mentioned now, because dumb reporters keep bringing it up.Ever thought he and the Commission just may be keeping their cards close to their chest.There are far more important and many issues for the RL to worry about, all involving survival.

The Lions were about $14 million in debt a few years ago. That's without the expensive airfares that will hamstring a Perth NRL team and just having one NRL team to compete against for the best part of 30 years. Lions also have a sizeable junior base to draw players from. RL in Perth is much smaller.

I don't think Perth is ready for a team. Going on the Storm's example, I estimate it would require an extra $200 million over 20 years to work. The NRL either doesn't have that money and, if it does, the clubs won't want it wasted on what is only the 4th largest market in the country.

 

[flippikat]

On places like Bigfooty the current general drift of the AFL fans thinking about expansion seems to be that Perth 3, Tasmania, NT, Sydney 3, and Brisbane 2 are the next most likely.
Other places like Newcastle, another Qld club in somewhere like Cairns or Townsville, or NZ, get brought up as well, but not as much.

They all either think that Canberra is GWS's territory and should remain as such until GWS no longer needs/wants Canberra (which is genuinely insulting as a Canberran, but I guess you reap what you sow), or they think Canberra is a waste of time in a similar way to how many NRL fans treat Adelaide.

Yeah, I can't understand why the AFL community generally accept Canberra as just a secondary market for the Giants - surely if they want a truly national league, the nation's federal capital deserves a stand-alone team?

 

[jim_57]

How many teams do they think the AFL can sustain? anything more than 20 teams in a country the size of Australia is just silly IMO. You are really diluting the talent with that many, even at 18 they are stretching it thin. But I guess AFL has no other competitions to compare itself to so it's hard to judge.

I feel like once you look past Perth 3 and maybe Tassie the options for AFL look stretched pretty thin.

NRL has more viable options going forward but as someone said either going past 20 for a country the size of Australia is a stretch, even with NZ thrown in for us. Bris 2, Perth, NZ 2, Adelaide, SEQ4 - Bris 3/Sunny Coast/Ipswich, Central Coast, NZ 3 and maybe CQ are all worth looking at for the NRL.

In saying that the "not enough talent" argument is purely subjective. I'd be interested to know if AFL fans ever use it as an argument against expansion. When you factor in that NRL soon should be able to draw more players from PNG, Fiji and the Pacific with better pathways coming in to place, added to the existing QLD, NSW, NZ & a handful of the best from England. Compare that to the AFL who really just have Vic, SA & WA and far larger squads.