Why do merged clubs perform so poorly?

[beave]

Merged clubs?

I'd be more concerned with clown clubs like mine.

-Absolute league heartland
-Fan base that has some that will travel up to 8 hours each way (Mt Isa) for a home game
-Best sub 30K stadium in the country
-Brand new state of the art CoE


and been utterly shithouse for 75% of its existence.........

 

[Captain Apollo]

how did they go in the 80s?

St George played in the 1985 Grand Final losing 7-6 to Canterbury after finishing as Minor Premiers.

They were knocked out in the Minor Semi Final in 1980 after finishing 3rd in the regular season.

Lost in the Minor Semi-Final 26-24 in 1983 against Canterbury after finishing the regular season in 5th.

Lost the Preliminary Final 8-7 to Parramatta in 1984 after finishing the regular season 3rd (on for and against, Parramatta were 2nd due to better differential).

No too shabby to be honest.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Because mergers are a terrible idea which hasn’t been done in any other sport and for good reason. St George Illawarra is the only one that has made sense and that is a takeover rather than a merger. There should have just been relocations to the areas that were killed off i.e Perth, Adelaide, 2nd Brisbane, GC etc could have bought the Sydney clubs that were failing and just moved them there.

The only one that has worked out is probably the Brisbane Lions which was a merger and part-relocation. The advantage they had though was that AFL was extremely niche at the time so no one in Brisbane really cared too much about the Brisbane Bears when they merged.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Whats the magic number

7

1 & 2: A city / north derby (any combo of Roosters, Manly, Norths)
3 & 4: A southern derby (any combo of Souths, Sharks or Dragons)
5 & 6: A western derby (any combo of Tigers, Eels and Dogs)
7. Penrith because of the large junior base and projected growth of the area

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Eh, they're the same as every other club to be honest. The only big issue I have with the merged clubs is the multiple home grounds need to be in one place. No more splitting the Tigers across 3 grounds. Choose one and that's it. Same for the Dragons, they should just be in Wollongong and take the ANZAC day game to the SFS but there's no need for Kogarah home games, especially when the Illawarra is where they're getting all their juniors.

If they were to relocate permanently to Wollongong then they should rebrand as the Illawarra Dragons.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I follow Wests Tigers and apart from 2005 it’s been a mess. Although we made the finals in 2010 and 2011 they still didn’t have complete seasons.
Issues
Lack of identity
Don’t know what areas they represent
Poorly managed
Horrible junior retention
After 20 plus year the Balmain v Wests mentality is still there with supporters and boards
No real home ground to make a fortress
Both traditional home grounds never seem to receive any government funding for a decent upgrade.
The tigers probably have the most marketable colours and logo, their player strips are horrible most of the time (although 2020 was good)
Previously scared to have to much gold in away strip to upset former magpie fans
No long term vision or plan to build a dynasty

Relocating the club to Perth will solve the problems.

Predominantly gold jersey with black chevron. Same colours as WA.

West Coast Tigers.

Permanent home ground at Perth Oval.

It's better to live in Perth than Campbelltown.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I wish history and tradition were valued. It's not about being pro Sydney but it's about valuing a century of history over a club that was in the comp for 2 years.

So why weren't you demanding the Fortitude Valley Diehards get a spot in the NRL in 1998?

 

[titoelcolombiano]

If they were to relocate permanently to Wollongong then they should rebrand as the Illawarra Dragons.

Question for anyone in the know... why were they called Illawarra when the city / town is called Wollongong? The only reference I can find to Illawarra is the lake.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

So why weren't you demanding the Fortitude Valley Diehards get a spot in the NRL in 1998?

Because history and tradition only matter if it is Sydney's history and tradition. Have you learnt nothing on here mate?

 

[Dogs Of War]

Question for anyone in the know... why were they called Illawarra when the city / town is called Wollongong? The only reference I can find to Illawarra is the lake.

The Region is called Illawarra.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Question for anyone in the know... why were they called Illawarra when the city / town is called Wollongong? The only reference I can find to Illawarra is the lake.

Illawarra - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

It is a bit like Wide Bay.

 

[BunniesMan]

So why weren't you demanding the Fortitude Valley Diehards get a spot in the NRL in 1998?

NSW history

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

NSW history

I don't care about NSW history. Neither does anyone else from outside of NSW. The only reason your mob is doing well these days is because of Russell Crowe.

 

[Valheru]

Question for anyone in the know... why were they called Illawarra when the city / town is called Wollongong? The only reference I can find to Illawarra is the lake.

Illawarra is more inclusive of Shellharbour and Kiama

Wollongong essentially stops at Dapto

Pretty similar to Nth Queensland not simply being called Townsville.

 

[_Johnsy]

So why weren't you demanding the Fortitude Valley Diehards get a spot in the NRL in 1998?

Using a false dichotomy in an attempt to make a point. 2/10

To answer the OP question, the biggest issue with the merged NRL clubs is internal politics/bickering.

 

[kdalymc]

Question for anyone in the know... why were they called Illawarra when the city / town is called Wollongong? The only reference I can find to Illawarra is the lake.

Its a region. You won't find a town called Gold Coast on the map either. Or North Queensland.
Or Wests.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Its a region. You won't find a town called Gold Coast on the map either. Or North Queensland.
Or Wests.

There is a city called Gold Coast with its own City Council and 600k permanent residents. Just south of Logan.

 

[kdalymc]

There is a city called Gold Coast with its own City Council and 600k permanent residents. Just south of Logan.

There is not one person that has "Gold Coast" written on their licence. You can have Brisbane, you can't have gold coast.
Yes it's a council, same as it's neighbour "scenic rim" but there is no town called scenic rim.
Like it or not, it's the same example as Illawarra and North Qld. Which was his question/my point.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

There is not one person that has "Gold Coast" written on their licence. You can have Brisbane, you can't have gold coast.
Yes it's a council, same as it's neighbour "scenic rim" but there is no town called scenic rim.
Like it or not, it's the same example as Illawarra and North Qld. Which was his question/my point.

Scenic Rim is a Regional Council, like Moreton Bay. Gold Coast is a city in its own right, the sixth largest in the country in fact.

 

[kdalymc]

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