18th club, whose next?

[Canard]

To proceed with PNG, you'd want a 20 year contract for that funding to be committed by the federal government.

Any future government could change their mind at the drop of a hat.

Any commitment wouldn't be worth the paper its written on.

 

[ground zero]

Let's start up new thread. Would u watch an pay for PNG team that will bring low crowds to Brookvale Alliance stadium Stadium Australia Suncorp stadium. Hunter Stadium etc , that only has 3000 fans there. Nope. Its called NRL for a reason.

 

[Canard]

Let's start up new thread. Would u watch an pay for PNG team that will bring low crowds to Brookvale Alliance stadium Stadium Australia Suncorp stadium. Hunter Stadium etc , that only has 3000 fans there. Nope. Its called NRL for a reason.

It works better if you use English on this forum

 

[AlwaysGreen]

To be objective, Perth and NZ and probably SE3 won't be crowd pullers in Sydney either.

Especially Perth because no one leaves that utopia so no expats.

 

[st george dragons]

Just bring back the Annandale Dales, the Glebe Dirty Reds (and Balmain), and fans in Sydney would go crazy

 

[blue bags]

Western Brisbane is the priority

 

[Perth Red]

Bracey explains NRL expansion twist

James Bracey explains what North Sydney Oval funding decision means for NRL expansion bids.

www.watoday.com.au

 

[The Great Dane]

Bracey explains NRL expansion twist

James Bracey explains what North Sydney Oval funding decision means for NRL expansion bids.

www.watoday.com.au

He didn't explain shit lol!

Considering the geographical spread of the clubs, the only way that the NRL could restructure the competition into conferences in a fair way would be to evenly split the number of Sydney and Qld clubs between either 2 or 4 conferences, which, for good reason, nobody would agree to, or heavily rationalise Sydney (i.e. relocate 4/5 clubs).

Any other way you try to divide the league would heavily weight the competition in favour of the conference/s with the smallest geographical spread to the point that it'd undermine the legitimacy of competition. Considering the current administration's attitudes they'd probably split the competition into a Sydney + Newcastle conference and the rest in the other conference as well, which would be the worst outcome.

If they really see restructuring the format of the competition as a necessity, then expanding to 20 or 24 teams then splitting the competition down the middle into two tiers with 2 up 2 down P&R makes more sense from the perspective of trying to keep the competition as fair as possible, but P&R would bring a whole host of it's own problems in market like Australia as well.

Personally I don't see the need for conferences or to restructure the competition at all, and I doubt that it'll become a necessity for at least a couple more decades. That's just me though, and the NRL seems to delight in changing shit for the sake of it at the moment.

 

[MugaB]

He didn't explain shit lol!

Considering the geographical spread of the clubs, the only way that the NRL could restructure the competition into conferences in a fair way would be to evenly split the number of Sydney and Qld clubs between either 2 or 4 conferences, which, for good reason, nobody would agree to, or heavily rationalise Sydney (i.e. relocate 4/5 clubs).

Any other way you try to divide the league would heavily weight the competition in favour of the conference/s with the smallest geographical spread to the point that it'd undermine the legitimacy of competition. Considering the current administration's attitudes they'd probably split the competition into a Sydney + Newcastle conference and the rest in the other conference as well, which would be the worst outcome.

If they really see restructuring the format of the competition as a necessity, then expanding to 20 or 24 teams then splitting the competition down the middle into two tiers with 2 up 2 down P&R makes more sense from the perspective of trying to keep the competition as fair as possible, but P&R would bring a whole host of it's own problems in market like Australia as well.

Personally I don't see the need for conferences or to restructure the competition at all, and I doubt that it'll become a necessity for at least a couple more decades. That's just me though, and the NRL seems to delight in changing shit for the sake of it at the moment.

Agreed on the unfairness of the split they would make, unless it had half the Sydney teams in one and half the Sydney teams in the other, i mentioned this for years now, create a geographical border thar splits the conferences and then no one can complain, i used Parramatta road in Sydney as an example, as Homebush Stadium (Accor) is basically on it, anything North is in one conference, anything South of it in the other conference, no one can complain, the travel is virtually even, and i groups certain areas together for more neighbouring derbys.

 

[Canard]

This is two reporters now that have maintained the conceit that North Sydney Oval not getting a piddling amount of government funding, is the deciding factor in them getting a NRL franchise or not.

And that without it, PNG are suddenly the only viable option?

Is there a serious crack smoking epidemic in Sydney at the moment?

 

[MugaB]

This is two reporters now that have maintained the conceit that North Sydney Oval not getting a piddling amount of government funding, is the deciding factor in them getting a NRL franchise or not.

And that without it, PNG are suddenly the only viable option?

Is there a serious crack smoking epidemic in Sydney at the moment?

Reporting on shadows really, whether the bears NSO ground was getting a cash injection or not, makes no difference on the possible re-entry to 1st grade, theyve been told to relocate their efforts out of NSW, the Arlc will only consider them if they were interstate or international (NZ2)

 

[Perth Red]

It seems as though talk of expanding the NRL competition never really quietens down.
Reports indicate that the NRL may be about to announce an 18th team to enter the competition sooner rather than later.
Although it must be stressed that there has been nothing official, the talk is that the NRL's next side will be one representing Papua New Guinea.

While a potential announcement of a Papua New Guinean side will be the mother and father of all feel good stories, I can't believe the NRL is again going to overlook the obvious answer.

A side based out of Perth.
That's in Western Australia if any NRL officials happen to be reading this.
It seems as though they've completely forgotten it exists ... at least when it comes to expansion.

I want to make it very clear that I don't dislike the idea of a PNG side being introduced, eventually.
The nation is rugby league mad and I've never heard anything but positivity from players coming back from PNG trips.
There is plenty of talent coming out of the nation and I've enjoyed watching the Hunters compete in the QLD Cup. In fact their QLD Cup win remains one of the highlights of my rugby league life.

That said, a NRL team based there makes no sense in practice. Any ideas of basing a side in Cairns or Darwin and playing a game or two there a season defeats the purpose.

A team based and playing out of Perth though, makes the world of sense!
59,000 + people attended both recent Origins held in the WA capital, with Origin fixtures returning there in 2025 and 2028.
"Origin is the pinnacle though and is supported everywhere" I hear from the comments. My simple rebuttal is to look at the farce that was the 2023 Origin opener in Adelaide.
I rest my case.

45,814 people attended the Round 23 double header, headlined by the Bunnies and the Sharks.
Perth is now a rugby league hotbed.

I understand that it wasn't during the days of the Western Reds, but so much has changed since the 1990s.
Firstly, the amount of former NSW and QLD based people living in the west is huge. The mining boom facilitated this, while the laid back life style is a huge positive.

Secondly, pay TV (not to mention streaming) is far more readily available now, so people are actually watching the game in Perth.
I lived in Perth, many moons ago, when the AFL was being showed on Channel 9. This pushed NRL coverage back to 1 am, Perth time.
Foxtel was only in select bars, and very few homes.
Now everybody has it. Or they stream games. Or both.

Speaking of Channel 9 and Foxtel, I have to imagine they'd be falling over themselves the TV friendly Perth time-slot.
Can you imagine a game kicking off at 9pm Sydney and Brisbane time during winter? That's prime time in Perth, and super crowd friendly, while allowing wall to wall Rugby League for Fox Sports on a Saturday.

There is also the Sunday night timeslot. Fox Sports love the post-6pm kick-off on a Sunday. Fans attending games with work the next morning do not. In Perth though, that translates to a 4pm local time kick-off.

You could even do it like the AFL TV deal and have those games broadcast as the free-to-air game in the west to heighten the sense of importance.

Perth has everything. A world class stadium for the big games (and a smaller rectangle one for the rest), a TV friendly time-slot, the demand for a local side to support, and plenty of fans.
These have all been proven. In recent years too.

PNG boasts some incredible positives too but side by side, falls well short of any potential Perth bid.

The plea for Perth, not PNG, to be the 18th NRL team

Maybe one day, but for now there is a clear correct option to become the NRL's 18th team.

www.zerotackle.com

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Speaking of Channel 9 and Foxtel, I have to imagine they'd be falling over themselves the TV friendly Perth time-slot.
Can you imagine a game kicking off at 9pm Sydney and Brisbane time during winter? That's prime time in Perth, and super crowd friendly, while allowing wall to wall Rugby League for Fox Sports on a Saturday.

Why would Ch9 be "falling over" for a game that's broadcast at Sat 9.30pm AEST?

There is also the Sunday night timeslot. Fox Sports love the post-6pm kick-off on a Sunday. Fans attending games with work the next morning do not. In Perth though, that translates to a 4pm local time kick-off.

Ch9 won't be "falling over" for this time slot.

You could even do it like the AFL TV deal and have those games broadcast as the free-to-air game in the west to heighten the sense of importance.

Foxtel will want compensation in exchange for giving up exclusivity. Ch9 won't pay extra for a game that will struggle to draw 30k viewers in Perth. If they're not interested in doing this for the Melbourne Storm then Perth has no chance.

 

[Nutz]

Why would Ch9 be "falling over" for a game that's broadcast at Sat 9.30pm AEST?



Ch9 won't be "falling over" for this time slot.



Foxtel will want compensation in exchange for giving up exclusivity. Ch9 won't pay extra for a game that will struggle to draw 30k viewers in Perth. If they're not interested in doing this for the Melbourne Storm then Perth has no chance.

If the Rascals become the next team, most of the games will be played out of Darwin or Townsville.

 

[Nutz]

Op, change the title to "who is going to be the 19th and 20th club"

 

[Nutz]

Are the NRL going to keep introducing new clubs and keep increasing the cap so the weaker teams fold?
Maybe in 20years time only super clubs, perhaps merged ones, will be all there is left. When this happens they could bring in divisions.
I just wish we could strengthen up our existing clubs.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

If the Rascals become the next team, most of the games will be played out of Darwin or Townsville.

Anywhere but Perth.

 

[Nutz]

Anywhere but Perth.

Cheeky rat. Ha ha

 

[blue bags]

Western Brisbane
Then Perth
Adelaide
It makes sense
NRL

 

[The Great Dane]

Agreed on the unfairness of the split they would make, unless it had half the Sydney teams in one and half the Sydney teams in the other, i mentioned this for years now, create a geographical border thar splits the conferences and then no one can complain, i used Parramatta road in Sydney as an example, as Homebush Stadium (Accor) is basically on it, anything North is in one conference, anything South of it in the other conference, no one can complain, the travel is virtually even, and i groups certain areas together for more neighbouring derbys.

You'd have to split the Queensland sides between the two conferences as well, and it'd totally undermine the major benefits of having conferences, i.e. reducing travel time and costs and helping to foster rivalries between teams that share geographical regions.

Adding teams from e.g. PNG, Perth, Adelaide, etc, into the mix would further exacerbate the problem as well.

Realistically conferences won't be feasible in the NRL until you have a relatively even geographical spread of teams across the whole country and NZ, and that won't happen in any of our life times.

It's one of the major issues that's prevented the NFL from expanding to Europe as well BTW. Among other things, the owners realised that adding a single European team would completely f**k the comp's whole conference system, and that they'd need to add a whole European conference at once for it to be feasible.