... and what of the 9 current Sydney sides, and an ARLC member recently saying the market is saturated in Sydney?
The Bears offer the game more than what some of the current Sydney clubs are offering.
Some of these Sydney clubs are struggling to get 10,000 to games yet when you suggest that they take games to other areas some people snap. That doesn't bother me, the numbers are what they are they're just too proud to admit it.
The fact is Manly won't work playing 6 games in Brookvale and 6 at Gosford. Manly just isn't that well liked on the Coast. They have their fans but not enough to make a long term transition. And since the Northern Eagles fiasco, I doubt anybody would take it seriously as it would be perceived to be just another cash grab.
Another team might fully relocate there but then it doesn't have the benefit of addressing North Sydney. And it just creates the North Sydney problem in yet another part of Sydney. I don't want to see any Sydney clubs totally relocated.
I'd rather see 2 Sydney teams merge and create a team bigger than what they currently would if they were to remain seperate. In time they'd gain more than what they'd lose in the short term and if people are blinded to see the truth for what it is then so be it. As soon as the merged club starts performing on the field you see those people drift back.
If this were to happen you would no longer be able to use the NSW licence excuse against the Bears as the number of licences would remain the same and in fact be directly covering a greater area.
- or -
Extend the comp by one week.
Every team plays 25 games.
In a 20 team comp this results in 10 additional games.
Some/all these game venues could be given to 1 Sydney team that partially relocates (other than Gosford) or split over 2 Sydney team that partially relocate (other than Gosford).
Some of these Sydney clubs are struggling to get crowd interest for 12 games a year. If they had 6-7 in Sydney and then 9-10 or so at their new base, they'd benefit from a consolidation effect.
I agree that there are other areas that are more urgent but the question has to be asked will the Bears be there 5-10 years from now.
If they aren't, then you lose the whole benefit of the North Sydney re-engagement. None of your other permutations address that. People might claim that North Sydney is as a league mad as it ever was but it's just not the case. Manly have failed on this front because they have remained confined to their own enclave (likewise why they won't work on the Coast).