18th club, whose next?

[Brian potter]

And then the government decides it wasn't needed, discontinues funding, and the club goes from the richest to the poorest overnight

Either way it’s just another reason why the NRL should give pasifika a wide berth.

 

[Wb1234]

odds are even if this bastardised team gets green lit Perth would still be team 19 or 20, with NZ 2 (hopefully) or Brisbane 3 being the other

It's Adelaide that misses out

Maybe or maybe it’s nz2 and the brisbane jets

 

[greenBV4]

Arl commissioner comes out highlighting need for another brisbane nrl team

Didnt realise the AFL had plans for a team in the western corridor of brisbane, I'll let all the fumble fans in the office know tomorrow they're all wrong in their expansion guesses

Fear mongering and lack of faith in our game, qld is as rugby league as rugby league gets, why we would need 3 teams in brisbane to combat their 1 beats me

 

[Wb1234]

Maybe.

All depends on how Beijing answers AUKUS.

You honestly think the arl should turn down the 25 million a year in funding ?

 

[greenBV4]

Maybe or maybe it’s nz2 and the brisbane jets

NZ 2 is probably my personal preference tbh, would be great to have a kiwi derby, but given the warriors track record they are probably an even riskier bet than Perth in the NRLs eyes

 

[Wb1234]

Didnt realise the AFL had plans for a team in the western corridor of brisbane, I'll let all the fumble fans in the office know tomorrow they're all wrong in their expansion guesses

Fear mongering and lack of faith in our game, qld is as rugby league as rugby league gets, why we would need 3 teams in brisbane to combat their 1 beats me

Well

NZ 2 is probably my personal preference tbh, would be great to have a kiwi derby, but given the warriors track record they are probably an even riskier bet than Perth in the NRLs eyes

‘An enormous market’: Abdo backs New Zealand for 18th NRL team

While the NRL boss insists that the Dolphins becoming competitive when they join in 2023 is paramount, there is a growing need to broaden the game’s talent pool.

amp.smh.com.au

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I dont disagree, Id love to see a proper PNG NRL team in Port Moresby. But whats being proposed is a very long way from that, it would seem.

Further to your point, which I agree with. The Pasifika thing is a slap in the face to PNG (even though they are supposedly part of it). If we are handing licences to Pacific nations (which we shouldn't do at this point in time, just to be clear), there is no one more deserving of it that PNG as a stand-alone team due to their passion for and service to the game over a long period of time. These guys have one of the best domestic competitions in the world, great pathways setup and an ever improving international side increasingly serviced by those pathways.

To lump them in with Tonga and Samoa who have done little in comparison towards growing the game on the islands themselves is criminal.

 

[Brian potter]

You honestly think the arl should turn down the 25 million a year in funding ?

Normally no but for a hopscotch nonentity know as pasifika yes.

 

[Perth Red]

Correct

Same if Perth comes in signs some 17-18 year olds from the East Coast.

They become FGers 9/10 times they are coming home to play around family.

It is what we currently see with the Regional teams the inability to attract talent and moreso to keep it

Like melbourne? Oh hang on

 

[Perth Red]

Arl commissioner comes out highlighting need for another brisbane nrl team

Queenslander advocates for two new queensland based clubs, so rugba league.

 

[greenBV4]

You honestly think the arl should turn down the 25 million a year in funding ?

Has the government actually ever tabled this supposed 25 mil or did the media just take an off handed comment by a politician during a political visit to a pacific island and run with it

If they have then I'd be countering and asking them to instead spend the 25 mil on grassroots, scholarships, training & welfare programs and RL facilities in PNG

The NRL and the clubs get the most out of increased player pathways and quality from png, and the best way to gain this is to invest in the actual game in PNG, not send a team based in Aus there on a fifo basis - a PNG team today has no financial value outside of accepting the gov on their word for grants

I'm sure Port Moresby will one day have a team of its own in the NRL, but that day should not be today, especially one lumped together with the rest of the pacific, and based in regional aus

 

[Wb1234]

Normally no but for a hopscotch nonentity know as pasifika yes.

Well that’s crazy

it’s at least 250 million assuming it lasts only 10 years

they will have a minimum turnover of 42 million and probably closer to 50 million pa

 

[Wb1234]

Queenslander advocates for two new queensland based clubs, so rugba league.

Perth red waiting for support for Perth

(tumbleweeds)

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Who foots the bill once that stops?

That money will be soaked up pretty quick for a team that will make a loss on every home game and have to travel for every game day, a lot of times 2 or more flights plus set up costs of everything an NRL side needs in Cairns and game day facilities wherever they decide to play.

Pissing money up the wall, that money could be prioritised so much better than just giving “Pacifika” an NRL team. PNG I could live with even if they were FIFO to start, this is trying to please everybody and pleasing nobody.

We should be trying to steer it in a direction to accept the money but use it more productively on development throughout these countries.

Agreed, I think taking the money and using it on pathways for PNG, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

They should provide funding for each nation for:
- contribution to the domestic competition
- A QLD / NSW Cup level team
- An under 21 team
- An under 19 team
- An under 16 team

This would give them the same pathways that the current NRL teams have and from there, each nation could link with NRL clubs to provide that final step. This would do way more for the game and those nations than a Pasifika team based out of Cairns would do. Probably be cheaper too.

 

[greenBV4]

Perth red waiting for support for Perth

(tumbleweeds)

Avoiding discussion around everyone's responses detailing why this bastardised pacific concept it riddled with issues and instead randomly bringing up Perth repetitively to rile up another poster for the sole reason of being a troll

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

saying League has no chance in Perth is not being honest, it's just speculation and not based on any compelling evidence. Your reasons are that Perth already failed during Super League war, which was over 25 years ago now...You don't take into account that Perth has doubled in population since then. You also seem to think people can't follow more than 1 code at a time and that every single person in Perth is a rusted on AFL fan... Perth has its challenges for sure but if you don't think League can be successful there then you can't have much faith in the product....

Don't forget the burden of having to fund the travel and accommodation bills of their opponents. The same stipulation was heaped on the Cowboys. Both clubs went bust midway through 1995 and were bailed out by News Ltd. Cowboys are now the second richest club in the NRL, generating more revenue from football operations than everyone bar the Broncos. Perth could be just as strong and valuable to the NRL.

 

[Wb1234]

Queenslander advocates for two new queensland based clubs, so rugba league.

“We are going to look at all options, but as I have said in the past and as the chairman (V’landys) reiterated today, Pasifika is very strongly in our mind.

"The Federal Government is very keen to see that expansion and want to put their money where their mouth is. We also have 50 per cent of our players from Pacific nations, so that's a great talent base."

 

[greenBV4]

Agreed, I think taking the money and using it on pathways for PNG, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

They should provide funding for each nation for:
- contribution to the domestic competition
- A QLD / NSW Cup level team
- An under 21 team
- An under 19 team
- An under 16 team

This would give them the same pathways that the current NRL teams have and from there, each nation could link with NRL clubs to provide that final step. This would do way more for the game and those nations than a Pasifika team based out of Cairns would do. Probably be cheaper too.

This
Also upgrade grounds and facilitys and build a national high performance centre on each of the main islands, then hire scouts/DOs to find the best gems in the local competitions, schools, and union, and set them up with training scholarships at the centres, where they can then be linked up with an NRL club

All that takes effort though and the NRL would probably rather just accept the money with no negotiations, and hope the club does a good job of this themselves

 

[Brian potter]

Well that’s crazy

it’s at least 250 million assuming it lasts only 10 years

they will have a minimum turnover of 42 million and probably closer to 50 million pa

quite possibly but I just don’t think and see how a pasifika team could work.

 

[Perth Red]

Well that’s crazy

it’s at least 250 million assuming it lasts only 10 years

they will have a minimum turnover of 42 million and probably closer to 50 million pa

There’s an awful lot of assumptions in that!
1. Does the $20-25mill quoted by a news ltd journo have any basis in reality?
2. we dont know the duration of proposed funding
3.your assuming the club will get all the funding and that the nrl wont keep some of it to make up for lost revenue from bringing in an expensive to run club that tv and sponsors aren’t interested in.
4. your assuming the club, despite having the poorest fanbase in the rugby world and ltd corporate appeal, will somehow generate more revenue from football operations than some current nrl clubs in sydney
5. That the facilities for this club will be available eg stadium is up to nrl standards and training base in cairns exists