18th club, whose next?

[taipan]

True which is why it is unrealistic to expect the same for a nrl club in perth as an afl club got in tassie. But that’s doesn’t mean the nrl shouldn’t be going as hard as possible to get as much as possible and be communicating what min would be to guarantee perth as next club in.

I'd suggest the NRL will be pushing for expansion in which it can gain the best Tv ratings, that in turn provides the better revenue.National expansion will take 2nd choice, IOW what it's worth to selling ads in the Perth market, what the effect it will be on Tv ratings back to the East Coast.
I don't believe PNG will provide that, that leaves a 3rd Brisbane side the Ipswich Jets, where the Phins have shown they have impacted Brisbane Tv ratings.
See with Melbourne when they play other NRL sides they attract East coast (Qld/NSW) TV ratings because due to their many successful years have an aura,a star filled team. They have earned entry.
It is really down to 3 teams Ipswich/Perth/2nd NZ side.
Being national is fine for advertisers, but they also look at ratings back to the major commercial centres.That's why the Dolphins have been a marked success.
You see it's all very well to bag Sydney sides for crowds at times ,but they get decent ratings in the major commercial centre in Oz.

 

[Wb1234]

It’s png

after the money for the Tasmanian afl stadium rugby league will be next with a similar dollar commitment to png

which isn’t a great result for the nrl compared to the afl

 

[RedVee_8]

I just think we can do so much better, more "nuanced" as @Colk made reference to elsewhere.
The truly iconic logos for me are the ones that have some basis in the region they represent, for example; Western Suburbs Magpie`s, what backyard in the western suburbs of Sydney doesn`t have that plucky, proud bird with the beautiful call on their lawn every day; Rabbitohs, named after the rabbit meat sellers who traversed the inner-city suburbs of depression era Sydney with their cry of " Rabbitoh".
No, if I was going to name a Pacific team I`d go with something strongly associated with that region but still has that inference to the strength of the Lion which you like. Chiefs is already done, Hurricanes likewise, Pasifika I think is not a bad name either as it is something all the P.I. have in common.
How about another reference to the sea with something like Pacific Tide, you know like the line "(time) and Tide wait for no man", or maybe a common reference - if one can be found - to the Pacific Islander war canoes.
Either way I think the opportunity is there to create something iconic that is indelibly associated with the region that would get people talking and thinking.

BTW, St. George aren`t meant to be the Dragons, we were the brave knight St. George who slayed the Dragon, like on the logo I wore as a boy, actually slaying the Dragon instead of riding along next to it as in the modern logo.

Yes, and many people call South’s the rabbits now. So for both there has been a change from the killer to the prey. Have there been any others I wonder?

 

[RedVee_8]

Swans have a lot of bandwagon fans who will watch them in a grand final and then desert them the rest of the time.

Like me

 

[Perth Red]

I'd suggest the NRL will be pushing for expansion in which it can gain the best Tv ratings, that in turn provides the better revenue.National expansion will take 2nd choice, IOW what it's worth to selling ads in the Perth market, what the effect it will be on Tv ratings back to the East Coast.
I don't believe PNG will provide that, that leaves a 3rd Brisbane side the Ipswich Jets, where the Phins have shown they have impacted Brisbane Tv ratings.
See with Melbourne when they play other NRL sides they attract East coast (Qld/NSW) TV ratings because due to their many successful years have an aura,a star filled team. They have earned entry.
It is really down to 3 teams Ipswich/Perth/2nd NZ side.
Being national is fine for advertisers, but they also look at ratings back to the major commercial centres.That's why the Dolphins have been a marked success.
You see it's all very well to bag Sydney sides for crowds at times ,but they get decent ratings in the major commercial centre in Oz.

True but can you really see another brisbane club being brought in so close to dolphins admission? Nrl needs a club in place by 2028. Not to mention the stink the three seq clubs would make at another mouth added to the city.

also fans don’t just watch their own club. Storm continue to be one of the most watched clubs in the nrl on tv despite a relatively small home city following.

ratings are only one factor, and as we keep seeing in tv deals don’t seem to be as valuable as metro reach to tv, especially fta.

 

[The Penguin #6.]

Yes, and many people call South’s the rabbits now. So for both there has been a change from the killer to the prey. Have there been any others I wonder?

Well, everybody is a victim of something these days aren`t they, what do they call it, `victimhood culture`, so I suppose football clubs are just falling in line.

 

[taipan]

True but can you really see another brisbane club being brought in so close to dolphins admission? Nrl needs a club in place by 2028. Not to mention the stink the three seq clubs would make at another mouth added to the city.

also fans don’t just watch their own club. Storm continue to be one of the most watched clubs in the nrl on tv despite a relatively small home city following.

ratings are only one factor, and as we keep seeing in tv deals don’t seem to be as valuable as metro reach to tv, especially fta.

No I believe the Ipswich area is a ruby league heartland and has more chance of capturing the hearts and minds of that area quickly and certainly with Brisbane nutty league followers give them decent ratings.
You have reinforced what I stated, Melbourne has been so strong since day I,has had so many superstars ,it has created this aura ,that Qldanders love em, and NSW respect them. That's why they get the ratings.
Mate ratings are a big factor, especially for league a certain age group that watches that has a big effect on consumer purchases eg beer, fast foods, betting, cars, building materials,tradies gear.Ask the NFL in the U.S.A their ads are geared to massive numbers of viewers.
You have heard of the loss lead for TV ,you get people started on the match and they tend to stay with that station, even though the TV co has paid big bickies for the deal.
Metro is very important that's where the sales are made in volume.
Rusted on rugby league fans do tend to watch more than their own club.But the question is how many rusted on fans are there , compared to the go with the mates mob on occasions ,and the theatregoers.
I finish my rant by saying if ratings wasn't so important why would the A League and more so RU get sh*t by comparison TV deals.

 

[docbrown]

Bigger ratings = more ad + subscription revenues = bigger broadcast deals = more money to grow the game

I can’t believe people are debating this.

Media markets are not just based on population but also purchasing power e.g. disposable income. PNG has a massive population but next to no purchasing power.

The biggest untapped media market for the NRL is Perth. It should be a no brainer for the NRL to put a team there. Which is good for fans like Perth Red who also have no brains.

After that it’s a question of how much existing teams have penetrated previously tapped markets, the benefits of other smaller newer market, poorer markets like PNG and the infrastructure in these locations.

Have the Warriors maximised their support outside of Auckland and would a second New Zealand side in Wellington or Christchurch cannibalise that or boost the Warriors in the same way Dolphins have with the Broncos? And if viable, does Wellington or Christchurch have the better population and infrastructure?

Would the benefit of having 20 Queensland derby games from a 3rd Brisbane team outweigh the potential cannibalisation of the Broncos and Dolphins base or will it add to overall support?

Should the PNG expansion go ahead given the security and Infrastructure concerns, as well as it will be reliant on government support that may not be reliable in the future? Should the NRL turn down such rare government funding or sacrifice expansion in other areas? Can a team that proposes to represent so many different areas gain traction from these areas or will it be a camel designed by a committee?

Should the large population of Adelaide be overlooked for one of these other areas? Or is support in Adelaide too fickle for an NRL team to prosper? Is it more of a benefit for the NRL to set up a second side in Melbourne which will soon boom to eight million people rather than set up shop in Adelaide with largely stagnant population growth? Or will doing that harm the Storm?

There are no easy answers to these questions. We can debate them here but they’ll always be subjective. But these are the questions the NRL needs to address for their expansion strategy to work.

 

[Pneuma]

Bigger ratings = more ad + subscription revenues = bigger broadcast deals = more money to grow the game

I can’t believe people are debating this.

Media markets are not just based on population but also purchasing power e.g. disposable income. PNG has a massive population but next to no purchasing power.

The biggest untapped media market for the NRL is Perth. It should be a no brainer for the NRL to put a team there. Which is good for fans like Perth Red who also have no brains.

After that it’s a question of how much existing teams have penetrated previously tapped markets, the benefits of other smaller newer market, poorer markets like PNG and the infrastructure in these locations.

Have the Warriors maximised their support outside of Auckland and would a second New Zealand side in Wellington or Christchurch cannibalise that or boost the Warriors in the same way Dolphins have with the Broncos? And if viable, does Wellington or Christchurch have the better population and infrastructure?

Would the benefit of having 20 Queensland derby games from a 3rd Brisbane team outweigh the potential cannibalisation of the Broncos and Dolphins base or will it add to overall support?

Should the PNG expansion go ahead given the security and Infrastructure concerns, as well as it will be reliant on government support that may not be reliable in the future? Should the NRL turn down such rare government funding or sacrifice expansion in other areas? Can a team that proposes to represent so many different areas gain traction from these areas or will it be it by a camel designed by a committee?

Should the large population of Adelaide be overlooked for one of these other areas? Or is support in Adelaide too fickle for an NRL team to prosper? Is it more of a benefit for the NRL to set up a second side in Melbourne which will soon boom to eight million people rather than set up shop in Adelaide with largely stagnant population growth? Or will doing that harm the Storm?

There are no easy answers to these questions. We can debate them here but they’ll always be subjective. But these are the questions the NRL needs to address for their expansion strategy to work.

Subjectively I prefer, in this order at this moment in time:

1. PNG - long term potential for player growth, government funding guaranteed (imho), international expansion, huge potential for multi national companies to engage with the game, and will take the profile of the game, at least in the short term, to levels unseen before;

2. Perth - WA government highly supportive, established comp, State will boom economically and population wise;

After that I really don’t care. Melbourne 2 is too early, Adelaide is not even close to a bid, NZ2 - who is bidding? Brisbane 3 - I’d wait 3-5 years.

My attachment to PNG Is that it offers the game the chance to assist government with programs to solve PNGs deep seated issues, will paint the game as the good guys for once, and place league as the dominant code in the South Pacific.

I also think it’s time the rectangular field sports (maybe exclude the rah rahs) worked together to lobby government for stadium upgrades and other common matters of interest.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

The Australian government already gives PNG billions of dollars per year to solve their deep seated issues to no avail. Putting in an NRL team that isn't even based in the country isn't going to solve these problems.

A png nrl team makes people feel good for a variety of reasons but not me. Its feasible in 20 - 30 years maybe.

 

[docbrown]

Subjectively I prefer, in this order at this moment in time:

1. PNG - long term potential for player growth, government funding guaranteed (imho), international expansion, huge potential for multi national companies to engage with the game, and will take the profile of the game, at least in the short term, to levels unseen before;

2. Perth - WA government highly supportive, established comp, State will boom economically and population wise;

After that I really don’t care. Melbourne 2 is too early, Adelaide is not even close to a bid, NZ2 - who is bidding? Brisbane 3 - I’d wait 3-5 years.

My attachment to PNG Is that it offers the game the chance to assist government with programs to solve PNGs deep seated issues, will paint the game as the good guys for once, and place league as the dominant code in the South Pacific.

I also think it’s time the rectangular field sports (maybe exclude the rah rahs) worked together to lobby government for stadium upgrades and other common matters of interest.

I honestly think the government wants an NRL team in PNG so it has something to take away if a future PNG government ever sided with China over Australia. Yes you can cloak it as good will etc but to me it’s all about future leverage.

So if it’s that important then the NRL should use the team as leverage. When it comes to infrastructure funding stadia are needed in Perth, Canberra, South-West Sydney, Cairns and Port Moresby. I’m not saying they’ll get it all but after a PNG team is green lit the NRL will never have that leverage again.

 

[docbrown]

The Australian government already gives PNG billions of dollars per year to solve their deep seated issues to no avail. Putting in an NRL team that isn't even based in the country isn't going to solve these problems.

A png nrl team makes people feel good for a variety of reasons but not me. Its feasible in 20 - 30 years maybe.

I have no doubt that a PNG team could average 30k and be a massive source of pride in the country. I also have no doubt that a fan could get killed right after a match. The issues in PNG are beyond rugby league’s ability to solve and it is vanity to think as such.

 

[taste2taste]

Perth is the obvious choice, NZ south Island would be great and seriously make in roads into rugby ( have a listen to chasing Roos latest podcast for a detailed look into the current state of the game over there )

But I fear the NRL will do something stupid, like another team in Brisbane or south Coast Bears.

 

[Wb1234]

Without the govt money I would prefer Perth or nz2

but Perth was only favourite because of their govt money over nz2

Perth and nZ2 offer more to the nrl in terms of money down the track than png that’s obvious

the reality is this is their best chance to ever get a team whereas Perth and nz2 will still be looked at later

and there’s nothing stopping the wa govt from improving their bid but I suspect it could be too late that the deal has already been done

no way afl gets 300 million from the feds and we get nothing.

 

[Wb1234]

I honestly think the government wants an NRL team in PNG so it has something to take away if a future PNG government ever sided with China over Australia. Yes you can cloak it as good will etc but to me it’s all about future leverage.

So if it’s that important then the NRL should use the team as leverage. When it comes to infrastructure funding stadia are needed in Perth, Canberra, South-West Sydney, Cairns and Port Moresby. I’m not saying they’ll get it all but after a PNG team is green lit the NRL will never have that leverage again.

Exactly

the federal govt want this team more than the nrl so they need to also spend more on grounds in Penrith and Canberra to equalise with the afl in Tasmania

 

[Wb1234]

I have no doubt that a PNG team could average 30k and be a massive source of pride in the country. I also have no doubt that a fan could get killed right after a match. The issues in PNG are beyond rugby league’s ability to solve and it is vanity to think as such.

Why is a fan potentially dieing after an nrl game any different to the same scenario after qld cup games

Has anyone died after a hunters game ?

 

[AlwaysGreen]

I've said this before, I don't give a flying f**k if the federal government wants a png team or not. And either should the NRL. It's not their decision, it's the NRLs. The funding for a png team is just that - it's not funding to the nrl.

Except for one thing. The NRL says we will grant png this pie in the sky licence on one condition: you fund new stadiums for Canberra and anywhere else that legitimately needs it (and that is needs, not wants a new stadium).

That said, Perth is still a way better option than png, Pasifika or any other weird option.
And not because of Perth Pelican's biased, selfish reasons.

 

[Pneuma]

Perth is the obvious choice, NZ south Island would be great and seriously make in roads into rugby ( have a listen to chasing Roos latest podcast for a detailed look into the current state of the game over there )

But I fear the NRL will do something stupid, like another team in Brisbane or south Coast Bears.

Out of interest what’s chasing Roos been saying about NZ?

 

[Canard]

Why have so few Papaun's played at NRL level in the just three decades?

For mine, the claim that its going to produce more players then any other geographic location, is overstated.

 

[docbrown]

Why is a fan potentially dieing after an nrl game any different to the same scenario after qld cup games

Has anyone died after a hunters game ?

I’m not aware of Hunters games. It’s been over a decade since I’ve been there. But I was up there during State of Origin and a young man in the next village over was murdered over an argument about the game. That stuff doesn’t get connected to the NRL at the moment because they don’t have a team there and to be honest, Australians are largely uninterested about such things when Australians aren’t involved in it. But just like how A-League has to own the behaviours of Victory fans rioting, the NRL will own any violence related to a PNG NRL club, tangential or not. I’d say it’s not a scenario that would happen every week but passionate people who are poor and without many options in life are unpredictable. It’s a legitimate risk and one the media will take absolute pleasure in crucifying the NRL for.

An NRL team playing in Port Moresby needs a new stadium with hardcore security and exclusion zones around it to prevent rioting etc.