18th club, whose next?

[BuffaloRules]

Was vlandys in power ten years ago ?

what did you expect from Greenberg he was too busy speaking to your mate gill telling him there was room in nsw and qld for both codes

10 years ago his mate Smith was steering the ship…

A golden era for expansion

 

[Canard]

The thing you're deliberately ignoring is our game doesn't have enough money to fund expansion into fumbleball wastelands. You know that AwFuL generates a lot more revenue than the NRL. You've been telling everyone about it for years in the Media forum.

The disparity has been that way for about 30+ years.

AwFuL can afford to set up school programs across Sydney and Brisbane to get more people playing their game. Shane Richardson was saying their latest strategy is to pay newly built schools in Queensland to have fumbleball posts installed on their fields. They're able to run more school clinics and fund junior clubs because they have money to burn.

We cannot match what AwFuL spends on the game in Queensland and NSW.

Yet you want us to find a way to do so in Perth?

The NRL is buying hotels for tens of millions left right and centre, and your telling me there isn't enough money to buy goal posts????

What type of arguement against expansion is this?

Currently it appears that people on this forum think that we can grow into a major TV sport in the US, but not any further west then Melbourne? And a PNG side will produce works for all their Cafes.

What's going on? is this all one big troll? Is drug use more rampant in Australia then is reported?

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I wonder how they got that wealth . Probably just concentrated on Vic and SA.

Legalisation of gaming machines in 1991 helped. Up until then the financially ailing VFL was forced to expand into Brisbane and Perth to acquire entry fees. This gave Fitzroy a reprieve for a few years. Skase turned out to be a crook. It f**ked up Brisbane for a long time. Fitzroy eventually went bust and were forced into a merger with Brisbane in 1996. South Melbourne relocated to Sydney in the early 80s because they were struggling. Eagles went bust and had to be bailed out by Indian Pacific in the late 80s.

Broadcast deals for all sports began to increase exponentially in the 90s. Since then AwFuL has been ahead of us.

Learn your history. All of this information is easy to find.

 

[Bukowski]

Legalisation of gaming machines in 1991 helped. Up until then the financially ailing VFL was forced to expand into Brisbane and Perth to acquire entry fees. This gave Fitzroy a reprieve for a few years. Skase turned out to be a crook. It f**kied up Brisbane for a long time. Fitzroy eventually went bust and were forced into a merger with Brisbane in 1996. South Melbourne relocated to Sydney in the early 80s because they were struggling. Eagles went bust and had to be bailed out by Indian Pacific in the late 80s.

Broadcast deals for all sports began to increase exponentially in the 90s. Since then AwFuL has been ahead of us.

Learn your history. All of this information is easy to find.

Yeah, I'm gonna spend my time googling shit I have no interest in.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Yeah, I'm gonna spend my time googling shit I have no interest in.

You asked the question. I answered it. Keep on being an ignorant f**kwit.

You're probably too stupid to know how to use a search engine.

 

[Bukowski]

So much anger. PR has hurt you.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

So much anger. PR has hurt you.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

Go play with your Tonka Trucks. Reading articles is obviously too hard for your brain cell.

 

[The Great Dane]

This is such a Dane post

And this isn't a response. Like always you've got nothing but BS.

 

[blue bags]

Afghanistan has a good chance for 18th
Team

 

[Vee]

Breaking down NRL’s 18th team race — and smokeys that could stun $600m favourite

Breaking down NRL’s 18th team race — and smokeys that could stun $600m favourite

www.foxsports.com.au

It feels like only yesterday the NRL announced the Dolphins as the 17th team, but expansion plans have ramped up again and Peter V’Landys is determined to deliver an 18th team.

Papua New Guinea has shot to the front of the pack after receiving huge financial backing from the Australian Government.

That has left second-tier bids like the North Sydney Bears and Brisbane Tigers queuing up to join forces with PNG.

However, ARLC commission chairman V’Landys is wants to compete with the AFL nationally so Perth remains very much in the frame.

The NRL’s current broadcast deals run until the end of 2027 and it’s unlikely a new team will enter the competition before then, but V’Landys has plenty of experience renegotiating contracts.

PNG

Papua New Guinea was largely initially seen as a nice idea but one that ultimately wasn’t financially viable.

Then came rugby league tragic Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with his huge government funds cheque book.

The federal government is reportedly willing to contribute $60 million annually to the project for a decade in a move to improve international relations.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape asked the Australian Government for an NRL team by 2025 to mark the 50th anniversary of his country’s independence - and Albanese is determined to deliver it.

Albanese wants a Port Moresby-based team, with games to also be played in Cairns, as a way to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy in July committed $5.5 million to help PNG prepare a business case for their NRL bid and develop a pipeline of players.

“Australia recognises the importance of rugby league to Papua New Guinea, and its significance for the relationship between our two countries,” a federal government spokesperson told foxsports.com.au last month.

“The Australian Government has agreed to explore how it can work with the PNG Government to support its bid to enter the NRL.”

The PNG Hunters joined the Queensland Cup in 2014 and won the title 2017 - the same year the national side made the quarterfinals of the Rugby League World Cup.

PNG hosted the Australia’s PM’s XIII in Port Moresby last month and the Kumuls more than held their own against a side full of NRL stars.

They then thrashed the Cook Islands in their Pacific Championships opener but were brought back down to earth by Fiji two weeks later.

Andrew Hill is the lead consultant for PNG’s bid and told foxsports.com.au that the Australian government support was a “game changer”.

“The bid itself is not being run by an individual but by the government of PNG,” Hill said.

“It could (go ahead without Albanese’s support) but there’s no doubt having both the Australian and the PNG government involved is a game changer.”

BRISBANE TIGERS

The Brisbane Tigers missed out to the Dolphins last time and now they’re willing to join forces with the PNG bid and they want Wayne Bennett to coach.

Dolphins coach Bennett will hand over the reins to his assistant Kristian Woolf at the end of 2024 and the seven-time premiership winner has no intention of retiring.

Brisbane Tigers bid chief Shane Richardson said the existing club could be ready to play in the NRL by 2026.

The Tigers - who won the Queensland Cup this year - are over a century old and have cash reserves in excess of $25 million, while their training ground has just received a $10 million upgrade.

Richardson believes the club could stand alone as an NRL franchise, but with PNG in the box seat he’s willing to join forces and share games between Suncorp Stadium and Port Moresby.

“The one thing I like about PNG is they are a genuine rugby league country, so the support for a team would go through the roof,” Richardson told The Courier Mail.

“I think the Tigers winning the Queensland Cup this year shows we should be the next team to come into the NRL.

“We have great respect for PNG.

“We are genuine rugby league territory and so are they, so there is that possibility of forming a joint venture.

“We would be ready to come in for 2026. A PNG franchise might take a bit longer, possibly 2028, but we have the capacity to stand alone and be the 18th team in the NRL.

“The reality is the Brisbane Tigers can push the button tomorrow and be in the NRL.

“We have the money, the stadium, the leagues club.

“It’s a decision for the NRL on the next licence and we have an open mind.”

V’landys wants Bennett, who turns 74 in January, to once again lead an expansion team into the NRL.

“I am contracted to the Dolphins for another 12 months … who knows what I will do after that?” Bennett said.

“I don’t have any plans to go back to Sydney. I came home to Queensland for a reason.

“I honestly don’t know what I’m doing (in 2025), I have no idea.

“I could keep coaching, but one thing is I’m set in concrete for the Dolphins for next season and that’s not changing.”

 

[Vee]

PACIFIC BEARS

The North Sydney Bears losing $11 million in promised NSW government funding last month put PNG in the box seat, but they’re not completely out of the race.

The Bears have put together a bid that they’ll be sending to the NRL next week that reportedly involves all of the rugby league playing nations in the Pacific Islands.

The Bears would also base themselves in Sydney, with a handful of games per season to be played at the famous North Sydney Oval.

“We would love to incorporate the Pacific and we are absolutely passionate about embracing some of those territories that would do very well with what the Bears have to offer,” Bears chairman Daniel Dickson said.

“We will put forward our proposal in the coming weeks. The Bears would very much embrace those rugby league heartlands and hope we could be part of the NRL’s expansion plans.”

Dickson emphasised the Bears could offer pathways for players from the island nations.

“There is so much work to be done in those places and the expanding franchise has to be willing to think that this isn’t just an 18th team,” Dickson said.

“This is all about developing – the talent is there but the pathways aren’t.

“The current Pacific Championships proves the game needs to consider expansion into multiple territories, not potentially just one. Forty to 50 per cent of NRL players have Pacific heritage.

“Not only do people want to see the Bears return to top flight rugby league, we also have a strong desire to be a successful partner in developing the Pacific nations, who would require the skill and expertise of a club with the heritage we have.”

Samoa and Parramatta captain Junior Paulo has previously said he would play for a Pasifika NRL side.

Super Rugby has provided a Pasifika case study for the NRL with their latest expansion side Moana Pasifika.

Moana entered the competition in 2022 and is made up of players from Pacific island nations as well as Australians with Pacific island heritage.

“We’ve seen in Super Rugby that they have established a Pasifika team,” Hill said last year.

“Whilst we think rugby league in the Pacific is far stronger, it gives us the confidence to discuss what a Pacific team may look like.

“Obviously PNG would be leading those discussions, but clearly the genuine goal of the PNG government is to get more content in PNG and a licence based there.

“We’ve seen how engaged our players across the NRL are in representing their Pacific heritage, culture and families.

“That passion the players have is getting stronger and gathering momentum.”

The Bears are also willing to join forces with Perth’s bid.

PERTH

Perth was voted the most popular expansion choice in a survey of NRL club chairmen and chief executives last year.

But it doesn’t take too long a walk down memory lane to learn that breaking into Perth’s AFL-obsessed market is a tough task.

The Western Reds lasted just three seasons before they were chewed up, spat out and dissolved after the Super League merged with the ARL.

The Reds did enjoy healthy crowds and Perth’s population has since tripled, while junior rugby league participation rates are growing in Western Australia

Sold-out Origin games in recent years prove there’s an appetite for rugby league in Western Australia, but whether it’s enough to sustain an NRL club remains the big unknown.

Perth now boasts a state-of-the-art stadium with 60,000 seasons and, like New Zealand, its timezone is a major attraction for broadcasters.

NRL Western Australia chief executive officer John Sackson threw Perth’s hat in the ring last year in the days leading up to the city’s sold-out Origin game.

“There is certainly now an interest from the NRL to start looking towards the 18th franchise, having 17 franchises is a little impractical hence the move now to start exploring options for the 18th franchise,”

“What I can say is that we have a crowd of 60,000 people here for Origin, that will send a very positive message back to headquarters that there is a lot of interest in rugby league in Western Australia.

“There is a real appetite for rugby league in Western Australia and that is on the back of a sellout in 2019 and obviously very good crowds over the years.

“All we can do is continue to strengthen the foundations of the game here at community level and maximise these elite football opportunities in terms of attendance.

“I think if the commission deems that Perth will be in the conversation for the 18th franchise and is given an invitation to put its best foot forward, I am very confident that this state can deliver a very compelling if not irresistible proposition.”

V’Landys has declared if the NRL is serious about being a national game, it must expand its footprint. But Perth is also the most isolated city in the world and travel costs would cost the governing body a small fortune.

 

[Vee]

NEW ZEALAND

The NRL are interested in a second New Zealand team to create a derby for the Warriors and the fact it will add flexibility to broadcasting schedules which means the rights can be sold for more money.

The Warriors took the NRL by storm in 2023 and awoke a sleeping giant fan base in the rugby union-obsessed country.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo spoke last year about the “enormous” potential around installing another Kiwi team.

“There’s no doubt New Zealand is an enormous market for us,” Abdo said.

“Some of the league’s best players in recent years have come from New Zealand and we’re certainly committed to investing in the region and seeing more talent unlocked and emerge through pathways systems.

“New Zealand is a critical component of our competition.

“An 18th team allows you to think about what we might want to do about expanding in New Zealand. Having two teams in NZ creates a tribalism and a new rivalry.”

Kiwi businessman Andrew Chalmers is keen to launch a Wellington-based team and believes the region has come a long way since his 2004 Southern Orcas bid.

Chalmers believes it would cost $30 million to establish the side and has gone on the record numerous times saying he’d sign an All Black star as his marquee man.

The team would play most home games at the 35,000-seat capacity Sky Stadium, while also taking games to South Island cities Christchurch and Dunedin.

BRISBANE JETS

The Jets just missed out on landing the 17th licence in 2021 but their catchment area remains a rugby league heartland.

An amalgamation of Queensland Cup side Ipswich Jets and Brisbane Bombers bid in 2021, the Brisbane Jets would be based in the city’s expanding western corridor.

The area is flooded with junior talent and in their last bid had the financial backing of the Ipswich City Council, who committed $220 million to the redevelopment of North Ipswich Reserve Stadium.

The Jets have a Queensland Cup side with an existing financial structure, fan base and history, which proved a significant factor in the Dolphins being named the 17th NRL team.

“(Ipswich) should be represented in the NRL. Southeast Queensland can have another team easily, they could probably have another two,” Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould said earlier this year.

“We’ve got to go to an 18th team, hopefully before the next broadcast deal, that means we’ve got nine games a week instead of eight which is better for the game as well and if you wanted my vote for where it would be, put it in southeast Queensland.

“You can imagine the local derby now when the Broncos play the Dolphins, it’ll be a packed stadium.”

 

[Wb1234]

At least they didn’t mention Perth last like they normally do

 

[Vee]

At least they didn’t mention Perth last like they normally do

Certainly talked them down though.

"But it doesn’t take too long a walk down memory lane to learn that breaking into Perth’s AFL-obsessed market is a tough task.

The Western Reds lasted just three seasons before they were chewed up, spat out and dissolved after the Super League merged with the ARL." (No mention of News' role in that)

"But Perth is also the most isolated city in the world and travel costs would cost the governing body a small fortune." (No mention of all the other Perth teams that play in national comps without that being a problem).

 

[Maximus]

PERTH

Perth was voted the most popular expansion choice in a survey of NRL club chairmen and chief executives last year.

But why didn't they ask some random media analyst, wb1234 and get rid of the donkeys?

 

[mongoose]

Certainly talked them down though.

"But it doesn’t take too long a walk down memory lane to learn that breaking into Perth’s AFL-obsessed market is a tough task.

The Western Reds lasted just three seasons before they were chewed up, spat out and dissolved after the Super League merged with the ARL." (No mention of News' role in that)

"But Perth is also the most isolated city in the world and travel costs would cost the governing body a small fortune." (No mention of all the other Perth teams that play in national comps without that being a problem).

those darn travel costs, if only we had the budget of the A League womens....

 

[Bukowski]

So many great options. I just hope they don't go with some half arsed two region merger thing. It's not required

 

[Wb1234]

Certainly talked them down though.

"But it doesn’t take too long a walk down memory lane to learn that breaking into Perth’s AFL-obsessed market is a tough task.

The Western Reds lasted just three seasons before they were chewed up, spat out and dissolved after the Super League merged with the ARL." (No mention of News' role in that)

"But Perth is also the most isolated city in the world and travel costs would cost the governing body a small fortune." (No mention of all the other Perth teams that play in national comps without that being a problem).

Trolling Perth red aside Perth will be the 19th team

recent comments from the arlc have said they are hugely impressed with what the wa govt is putting together

 

[Pippen94]

PACIFIC BEARS

The North Sydney Bears losing $11 million in promised NSW government funding last month put PNG in the box seat, but they’re not completely out of the race.

The Bears have put together a bid that they’ll be sending to the NRL next week that reportedly involves all of the rugby league playing nations in the Pacific Islands.

The Bears would also base themselves in Sydney, with a handful of games per season to be played at the famous North Sydney Oval.

“We would love to incorporate the Pacific and we are absolutely passionate about embracing some of those territories that would do very well with what the Bears have to offer,” Bears chairman Daniel Dickson said.

“We will put forward our proposal in the coming weeks. The Bears would very much embrace those rugby league heartlands and hope we could be part of the NRL’s expansion plans.”

Dickson emphasised the Bears could offer pathways for players from the island nations.

“There is so much work to be done in those places and the expanding franchise has to be willing to think that this isn’t just an 18th team,” Dickson said.

“This is all about developing – the talent is there but the pathways aren’t.

“The current Pacific Championships proves the game needs to consider expansion into multiple territories, not potentially just one. Forty to 50 per cent of NRL players have Pacific heritage.

“Not only do people want to see the Bears return to top flight rugby league, we also have a strong desire to be a successful partner in developing the Pacific nations, who would require the skill and expertise of a club with the heritage we have.”

Samoa and Parramatta captain Junior Paulo has previously said he would play for a Pasifika NRL side.

Super Rugby has provided a Pasifika case study for the NRL with their latest expansion side Moana Pasifika.

Moana entered the competition in 2022 and is made up of players from Pacific island nations as well as Australians with Pacific island heritage.

“We’ve seen in Super Rugby that they have established a Pasifika team,” Hill said last year.

“Whilst we think rugby league in the Pacific is far stronger, it gives us the confidence to discuss what a Pacific team may look like.

“Obviously PNG would be leading those discussions, but clearly the genuine goal of the PNG government is to get more content in PNG and a licence based there.

“We’ve seen how engaged our players across the NRL are in representing their Pacific heritage, culture and families.

“That passion the players have is getting stronger and gathering momentum.”

The Bears are also willing to join forces with Perth’s bid.

PERTH

Perth was voted the most popular expansion choice in a survey of NRL club chairmen and chief executives last year.

But it doesn’t take too long a walk down memory lane to learn that breaking into Perth’s AFL-obsessed market is a tough task.

The Western Reds lasted just three seasons before they were chewed up, spat out and dissolved after the Super League merged with the ARL.

The Reds did enjoy healthy crowds and Perth’s population has since tripled, while junior rugby league participation rates are growing in Western Australia

Sold-out Origin games in recent years prove there’s an appetite for rugby league in Western Australia, but whether it’s enough to sustain an NRL club remains the big unknown.

Perth now boasts a state-of-the-art stadium with 60,000 seasons and, like New Zealand, its timezone is a major attraction for broadcasters.

NRL Western Australia chief executive officer John Sackson threw Perth’s hat in the ring last year in the days leading up to the city’s sold-out Origin game.

“There is certainly now an interest from the NRL to start looking towards the 18th franchise, having 17 franchises is a little impractical hence the move now to start exploring options for the 18th franchise,”

“What I can say is that we have a crowd of 60,000 people here for Origin, that will send a very positive message back to headquarters that there is a lot of interest in rugby league in Western Australia.

“There is a real appetite for rugby league in Western Australia and that is on the back of a sellout in 2019 and obviously very good crowds over the years.

“All we can do is continue to strengthen the foundations of the game here at community level and maximise these elite football opportunities in terms of attendance.

“I think if the commission deems that Perth will be in the conversation for the 18th franchise and is given an invitation to put its best foot forward, I am very confident that this state can deliver a very compelling if not irresistible proposition.”

V’Landys has declared if the NRL is serious about being a national game, it must expand its footprint. But Perth is also the most isolated city in the world and travel costs would cost the governing body a small fortune.

Yeah, Perth will never happen

 

[Pippen94]

Trolling Perth red aside Perth will be the 19th team

recent comments from the arlc have said they are hugely impressed with what the wa govt is putting together

Better just going there twice a year. A team is too expensive