18th club, whose next?

[ayatollah_murdoch]

If China wanted to invade Australia we’d be screwed regardless of where they had bases, to think otherwise is stupidity.

Looking around our capital cities, they already have. Now it's the Indians that are taking over

 

[mongoose]

US is still the biggest military power by some way, 11 Aircraft carriers to China's 2. China is also vulnerable relying so much on the Malacca straight for Oil.

Of course, the entire world relies so heavily on Chinese manufacturing though...

 

[Wb1234]

US is still the biggest military power by some way, 11 Aircraft carriers to China's 2. China is also vulnerable relying so much on the Malacca straight for Oil.

Of course, the entire world relies so heavily on Chinese manufacturing though...

China doesn’t need to fire a single weapon to defeat America

just dump all their us bond holdings and the rise in us rates would cause a depression

 

[shewi6]

Yeh I get to watch most games whilst I'm working in my garage on a weekend. Only the fri 6pm game that sucks for us.

It sucks for everyone lol

 

[The Great Dane]

I hope Papua New Guinea are the 18th team as I love their enthusiasm. They would be very popular - love them

Enthusiasm doesn't mean a great deal when you can't afford the price of entry...

 

[The Great Dane]

US is still the biggest military power by some way, 11 Aircraft carriers to China's 2. China is also vulnerable relying so much on the Malacca straight for Oil.

Of course, the entire world relies so heavily on Chinese manufacturing though...

That's pretty rapidly changing, and frankly it's totally China's fault.

 

[blue bags]

I hope Papua New Guinea are the 18th team as I love their enthusiasm. They would be very popular - love them

Papa New Guinea would come under control of the NRL and pasifika Bear's

 

[Perth Red]

I wonder if Laurie is still fighting the good fight behind the scenes or has finally given up seeing the return of the Western Reds?

Not heard anything from him since this 2 years ago:

News Corp can reveal WA bid boss, Laurie Puddy, the inaugural Reds chairman, has met ARLC chairman Peter V’landys about Perth becoming the NRL’s 18th franchise.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Puddy outlined how and why Perth should be rugby league’s next expansion franchise.

Puddy claimed the team would be known as the Western Reds and play at HBF Stadium, previously known as Perth Oval, and home of the Perth Glory A-League side, while blockbusters could be moved to the 60,000-seat Optus Stadium. He even predicted his club would attract home crowds of 20,000.

“The only thing that has changed since the Western Reds is the desire from the NRL to say: ‘Let’s do Perth again’. I can’t understand why the hierarchy doesn’t see it,” he said. “It would make it a national competition and the two-hour time change makes sense for broadcasters.

“I have had a meeting with Peter (V’landys). There was nothing to come of it, although we agreed to meet again. That hasn’t transpired yet with Covid and, of course, he has had his hands full. I respect that.
“What we have to do first is get in front of Peter again and Andrew (Abdo, NRL CEO) and have a serious discussion about Western Australia.”

Puddy was adamant he and his bid team could build the entire club inside two years.
“It would take us two years,” he said. “It took us two years last time and it would take us two years again. You’d want (entry) in 2024.
“I would drive it (the bid) but you might find there are other people in Perth who would want to have a crack too. The answer is we need to get a team into Perth.
“I’ve talked to the WA Government and they would open their arms to us and help in any way to get us back and get us a ground. They would talk to us about how we could develop our own high performance centre.

“I was at the (2018) State of Origin in Perth, there were 60,000 people there. And you know the thing that amazed me?
“The amount of people walking into the ground wearing Western Reds gear. It was amazing. That should tell the hierarchy that there is a demand for rugby league at that level in Perth.
“Why would you want to change (the Reds name)? Why come up with another name when the people in Perth still relate to the Reds?”

It comes 24 years after the Perth-based Western Reds’ sudden demise and just a week after the Redcliffe-based Dolphins were admitted as the NRL’s 17th franchise.
The Reds’ death came after Super League and the ARL merged clubs into a 20-team competition known as the NRL. Perth officials felt they were victims of a war out of their control.
“We have to clear up some misconceptions – the Western Reds didn’t fail,” Puddy said. “People have been quick to say the Reds failed. The Reds were caught up in a war between News Ltd and the ARL. We need to clear up the history.

“Some of the critics are of the belief that Perth failed. They didn’t fail at all.
“We had to pay not only for our teams to travel, feed them and accommodation, but we also had to pay for the teams coming to Perth. We flew all the teams in – paid for everything — and we still didn’t go broke.

“We had a viable business. The first year we were one game out of the eight.
“We built a team in two years and brought them in from everywhere – England, New Zealand, Europe. It wasn’t a five-minute exercise.
“We were happy with the way it was going and it was going to be a success story. John Ribot was in control of the Storm at that stage and he took about five or six of our best players to Melbourne. We were doing very well until the war came along.”

“As I said to Peter V’landys, in 1995-96, we had the third-biggest selling merchandise in the whole bloody competition.
“It (junior participation) isn’t as good as it could be. We had development officers going around to all the schools and we could do that again. In fact, it’s already been suggested we should start that again next year. The colleges still play rugby union in Perth.

https://dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/former-western-reds-chairman-wants-nrl-to-declare-interest-in-expansion/news-story/03107afdba73c673805e8b12ae0a6d9b

 

[Bukowski]

I feel that if they don't bring them in this time a lot of people will give up. You gotta take the hint sometime

 

[Wb1234]

I wonder if Laurie is still fighting the good fight behind the scenes or has finally given up seeing the return of the Western Reds?

Not heard anything from him since this 2 years ago:

News Corp can reveal WA bid boss, Laurie Puddy, the inaugural Reds chairman, has met ARLC chairman Peter V’landys about Perth becoming the NRL’s 18th franchise.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Puddy outlined how and why Perth should be rugby league’s next expansion franchise.

Puddy claimed the team would be known as the Western Reds and play at HBF Stadium, previously known as Perth Oval, and home of the Perth Glory A-League side, while blockbusters could be moved to the 60,000-seat Optus Stadium. He even predicted his club would attract home crowds of 20,000.

“The only thing that has changed since the Western Reds is the desire from the NRL to say: ‘Let’s do Perth again’. I can’t understand why the hierarchy doesn’t see it,” he said. “It would make it a national competition and the two-hour time change makes sense for broadcasters.

“I have had a meeting with Peter (V’landys). There was nothing to come of it, although we agreed to meet again. That hasn’t transpired yet with Covid and, of course, he has had his hands full. I respect that.
“What we have to do first is get in front of Peter again and Andrew (Abdo, NRL CEO) and have a serious discussion about Western Australia.”

Puddy was adamant he and his bid team could build the entire club inside two years.
“It would take us two years,” he said. “It took us two years last time and it would take us two years again. You’d want (entry) in 2024.
“I would drive it (the bid) but you might find there are other people in Perth who would want to have a crack too. The answer is we need to get a team into Perth.
“I’ve talked to the WA Government and they would open their arms to us and help in any way to get us back and get us a ground. They would talk to us about how we could develop our own high performance centre.

“I was at the (2018) State of Origin in Perth, there were 60,000 people there. And you know the thing that amazed me?
“The amount of people walking into the ground wearing Western Reds gear. It was amazing. That should tell the hierarchy that there is a demand for rugby league at that level in Perth.
“Why would you want to change (the Reds name)? Why come up with another name when the people in Perth still relate to the Reds?”

It comes 24 years after the Perth-based Western Reds’ sudden demise and just a week after the Redcliffe-based Dolphins were admitted as the NRL’s 17th franchise.
The Reds’ death came after Super League and the ARL merged clubs into a 20-team competition known as the NRL. Perth officials felt they were victims of a war out of their control.
“We have to clear up some misconceptions – the Western Reds didn’t fail,” Puddy said. “People have been quick to say the Reds failed. The Reds were caught up in a war between News Ltd and the ARL. We need to clear up the history.

“Some of the critics are of the belief that Perth failed. They didn’t fail at all.
“We had to pay not only for our teams to travel, feed them and accommodation, but we also had to pay for the teams coming to Perth. We flew all the teams in – paid for everything — and we still didn’t go broke.

“We had a viable business. The first year we were one game out of the eight.
“We built a team in two years and brought them in from everywhere – England, New Zealand, Europe. It wasn’t a five-minute exercise.
“We were happy with the way it was going and it was going to be a success story. John Ribot was in control of the Storm at that stage and he took about five or six of our best players to Melbourne. We were doing very well until the war came along.”

“As I said to Peter V’landys, in 1995-96, we had the third-biggest selling merchandise in the whole bloody competition.
“It (junior participation) isn’t as good as it could be. We had development officers going around to all the schools and we could do that again. In fact, it’s already been suggested we should start that again next year. The colleges still play rugby union in Perth.

View attachment 83774

https://dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/former-western-reds-chairman-wants-nrl-to-declare-interest-in-expansion/news-story/03107afdba73c673805e8b12ae0a6d9b

20k crowd average

lmao

 

[Perth Red]

20k crowd average

lmao

At least they'd fit in the stadium unlike the 25k you think PNG is going to get lol

 

[Wb1234]

At least they'd fit in the stadium unlike the 25k you think PNG is going to get lol

Perth would only average 20k if they have cardboard cutouts they used during covid

Unlike png who will sell out both their upgraded grounds

 

[Bukowski]

@$2 a ticket.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I wonder if Laurie is still fighting the good fight behind the scenes or has finally given up seeing the return of the Western Reds?

Not heard anything from him since this 2 years ago:

News Corp can reveal WA bid boss, Laurie Puddy, the inaugural Reds chairman, has met ARLC chairman Peter V’landys about Perth becoming the NRL’s 18th franchise.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Puddy outlined how and why Perth should be rugby league’s next expansion franchise.

Puddy claimed the team would be known as the Western Reds and play at HBF Stadium, previously known as Perth Oval, and home of the Perth Glory A-League side, while blockbusters could be moved to the 60,000-seat Optus Stadium. He even predicted his club would attract home crowds of 20,000.

“The only thing that has changed since the Western Reds is the desire from the NRL to say: ‘Let’s do Perth again’. I can’t understand why the hierarchy doesn’t see it,” he said. “It would make it a national competition and the two-hour time change makes sense for broadcasters.

“I have had a meeting with Peter (V’landys). There was nothing to come of it, although we agreed to meet again. That hasn’t transpired yet with Covid and, of course, he has had his hands full. I respect that.
“What we have to do first is get in front of Peter again and Andrew (Abdo, NRL CEO) and have a serious discussion about Western Australia.”

Puddy was adamant he and his bid team could build the entire club inside two years.
“It would take us two years,” he said. “It took us two years last time and it would take us two years again. You’d want (entry) in 2024.
“I would drive it (the bid) but you might find there are other people in Perth who would want to have a crack too. The answer is we need to get a team into Perth.
“I’ve talked to the WA Government and they would open their arms to us and help in any way to get us back and get us a ground. They would talk to us about how we could develop our own high performance centre.

“I was at the (2018) State of Origin in Perth, there were 60,000 people there. And you know the thing that amazed me?
“The amount of people walking into the ground wearing Western Reds gear. It was amazing. That should tell the hierarchy that there is a demand for rugby league at that level in Perth.
“Why would you want to change (the Reds name)? Why come up with another name when the people in Perth still relate to the Reds?”

It comes 24 years after the Perth-based Western Reds’ sudden demise and just a week after the Redcliffe-based Dolphins were admitted as the NRL’s 17th franchise.
The Reds’ death came after Super League and the ARL merged clubs into a 20-team competition known as the NRL. Perth officials felt they were victims of a war out of their control.
“We have to clear up some misconceptions – the Western Reds didn’t fail,” Puddy said. “People have been quick to say the Reds failed. The Reds were caught up in a war between News Ltd and the ARL. We need to clear up the history.

“Some of the critics are of the belief that Perth failed. They didn’t fail at all.
“We had to pay not only for our teams to travel, feed them and accommodation, but we also had to pay for the teams coming to Perth. We flew all the teams in – paid for everything — and we still didn’t go broke.

“We had a viable business. The first year we were one game out of the eight.
“We built a team in two years and brought them in from everywhere – England, New Zealand, Europe. It wasn’t a five-minute exercise.
“We were happy with the way it was going and it was going to be a success story. John Ribot was in control of the Storm at that stage and he took about five or six of our best players to Melbourne. We were doing very well until the war came along.”

“As I said to Peter V’landys, in 1995-96, we had the third-biggest selling merchandise in the whole bloody competition.
“It (junior participation) isn’t as good as it could be. We had development officers going around to all the schools and we could do that again. In fact, it’s already been suggested we should start that again next year. The colleges still play rugby union in Perth.

View attachment 83774

https://dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/former-western-reds-chairman-wants-nrl-to-declare-interest-in-expansion/news-story/03107afdba73c673805e8b12ae0a6d9b

How much of what he says is true?

 

[Perth Red]

How much of what he says is true?

All of it, or maybe none of it, or maybe some of it.
What a strange unanswerable question to ask.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

All of it, or maybe none of it, or maybe some of it.
What a strange unanswerable question to ask.

What he says doesn't align with what was reported.

“It would make it a national competition and the two-hour time change makes sense for broadcasters.​

How does a Perth-based team make the competition "national"?

It will still have no representation in South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory.

How does the two hour time difference benefit FTA?

Why is the Sun 6pm AEST game better to Foxtel if it's played in Perth 12 times a year?

Where is it played when a Perth-based team travels interstate 12 times a year?

“I have had a meeting with Peter (V’landys). There was nothing to come of it, although we agreed to meet again. That hasn’t transpired yet with Covid and, of course, he has had his hands full. I respect that.
“What we have to do first is get in front of Peter again and Andrew (Abdo, NRL CEO) and have a serious discussion about Western Australia.”​

So the ARLC is indifferent about a Perth-based team?

Pippen94 is right about the Perth bid being little to no chance of getting the 18th licence.

Puddy was adamant he and his bid team could build the entire club inside two years.
“It would take us two years,” he said. “It took us two years last time and it would take us two years again. You’d want (entry) in 2024.
“I would drive it (the bid) but you might find there are other people in Perth who would want to have a crack too. The answer is we need to get a team into Perth.​

Why do we need to "get a team in Perth"?

Rugby union has fielded a team in Perth since 2007. The game has gone backwards since the Force were introduced.

“I’ve talked to the WA Government and they would open their arms to us and help in any way to get us back and get us a ground. They would talk to us about how we could develop our own high performance centre.
​

How much money would the WA Gov provide?

“I was at the (2018) State of Origin in Perth, there were 60,000 people there. And you know the thing that amazed me?
“The amount of people walking into the ground wearing Western Reds gear. It was amazing. That should tell the hierarchy that there is a demand for rugby league at that level in Perth.
“Why would you want to change (the Reds name)? Why come up with another name when the people in Perth still relate to the Reds?”
​

People also show up to Lang Park in Crushers and Bears jerseys.

“We have to clear up some misconceptions – the Western Reds didn’t fail,” Puddy said. “People have been quick to say the Reds failed. The Reds were caught up in a war between News Ltd and the ARL. We need to clear up the history.

“Some of the critics are of the belief that Perth failed. They didn’t fail at all.
“We had to pay not only for our teams to travel, feed them and accommodation, but we also had to pay for the teams coming to Perth. We flew all the teams in – paid for everything — and we still didn’t go broke.​

Didn't News Ltd bail the club out in 1996 with a sponsorship deal for their local newspaper, Sunday Times?

It's been reported the club was in debt to the tune of $10m by the end of 1997.

“We had a viable business.​

Is this bloke denying the club was under a $10m debt?

We were doing very well until the war came along.”​

If that's the case then why did they take Super League's money?

“As I said to Peter V’landys, in 1995-96, we had the third-biggest selling merchandise in the whole bloody competition.​

Is there any way to verify this?

The club averaged 13,390 to its home games.

Cowboys averaged 21,600. Warriors averaged 27,000. Crushers averaged 21,000.

He expects us to believe these clubs sold less merchandise than one that drew less than 13.5k people to its games?

“It (junior participation) isn’t as good as it could be. We had development officers going around to all the schools and we could do that again. In fact, it’s already been suggested we should start that again next year. The colleges still play rugby union in Perth.​

Why aren't they doing that now?

If there's so much interest from the local business sector then why aren't they funding it?

 

[Perth Red]

What he says doesn't align with what was reported.

“It would make it a national competition and the two-hour time change makes sense for broadcasters.​

How does a Perth-based team make the competition "national"?

It will still have no representation in South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory.

How does the two hour time difference benefit FTA?

Why is the Sun 6pm AEST game better to Foxtel if it's played in Perth 12 times a year?

Where is it played when Perth travel outside of Perth?

“I have had a meeting with Peter (V’landys). There was nothing to come of it, although we agreed to meet again. That hasn’t transpired yet with Covid and, of course, he has had his hands full. I respect that.​

“What we have to do first is get in front of Peter again and Andrew (Abdo, NRL CEO) and have a serious discussion about Western Australia.”​

ARLC is indifferent about a Perth-based team. Pippen94 is right about the Perth bid being little to no chance of getting the 18th licence.

Puddy was adamant he and his bid team could build the entire club inside two years.​

“It would take us two years,” he said. “It took us two years last time and it would take us two years again. You’d want (entry) in 2024.​

“I would drive it (the bid) but you might find there are other people in Perth who would want to have a crack too. The answer is we need to get a team into Perth.​

Why do we need to get a team in Perth?

Rugby union has a team in Perth since 2007. The game has gone backwards since the Force were introduced.

“I’ve talked to the WA Government and they would open their arms to us and help in any way to get us back and get us a ground. They would talk to us about how we could develop our own high performance centre.​

​

How much money would the WA Gov provide?

“I was at the (2018) State of Origin in Perth, there were 60,000 people there. And you know the thing that amazed me?​

“The amount of people walking into the ground wearing Western Reds gear. It was amazing. That should tell the hierarchy that there is a demand for rugby league at that level in Perth.​

“Why would you want to change (the Reds name)? Why come up with another name when the people in Perth still relate to the Reds?”​

​

People also show up to Lang Park in Crushers and Bears jerseys.

“We have to clear up some misconceptions – the Western Reds didn’t fail,” Puddy said. “People have been quick to say the Reds failed. The Reds were caught up in a war between News Ltd and the ARL. We need to clear up the history.​

​

“Some of the critics are of the belief that Perth failed. They didn’t fail at all.​

“We had to pay not only for our teams to travel, feed them and accommodation, but we also had to pay for the teams coming to Perth. We flew all the teams in – paid for everything — and we still didn’t go broke.​

Didn't News Ltd bail the club out in 1996 with a sponsorship deal for their local newspaper, Sunday Times?

It's been reported the club was in debt to the tune of $10m by the end of 1997.

“We had a viable business.​

Is this bloke denying the club was under a $10m debt?

We were doing very well until the war came along.”​

If that's the case then why did they take Super League's money?

“As I said to Peter V’landys, in 1995-96, we had the third-biggest selling merchandise in the whole bloody competition.​

Is there any way to verify this?

The club averaged 13,390 to its Home games.

Cowboys averaged 21,600. Warriors averaged 27,000. Crushers averaged 21,000.

He expects us to believe these clubs sold less merchandise than one that drew less than 13.5k people to its games?

“It (junior participation) isn’t as good as it could be. We had development officers going around to all the schools and we could do that again. In fact, it’s already been suggested we should start that again next year. The colleges still play rugby union in Perth.​

Why aren't they doing that now?

If there's so much interest from the local business sector then why aren't they funding it?

what you've done there is ask further questions, or given your opinion, not refute anything he is saying as a lie.

The whole $10mill debt thing is absolute BS. News ltd spent sht loads of money at the Reds more than revenue then that is somehow that turned into a debt. Reality is no SL war, no News ltd spending like drunken sailors in a brothel, no debt.

Why did they jump in 1996? offer too good to refuse and some ill-feeling towards ARL after they did the dirty on them and introduced the third teams travel costs at the 11th hour of admission.

But again stop living in the past.

The question is 'Is Puddy still serious about resurrecting the Reds?"

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

what you've done there is ask further questions, or given your opinion, not refute anything he is saying as a lie.

He said the club never failed and had a viable business model.

For that to be true then the reports of the club being in debt must be wrong.

We know the club signed a sponsorship deal with News Ltd in 1996 after defecting to Super League. That would suggest their previous with Cash Converters wasn't as lucrative. It was reported that the club was under a $10m debt by the end of 1997.

If the sponsorship deal with News Ltd was more lucrative than the one with Cash Converters, then why was it reported the club was under a $10m debt by the end of 1997?

Does that sound like a viable business model?

 

[Perth Red]

He said the club never failed and had a viable business model.

For that to be true then the reports of the club being in debt must be wrong.

We know the club signed a sponsorship deal with News Ltd in 1996 after defecting to Super League. That would suggest their previous with Cash Converters wasn't as lucrative. It was reported that the club was under a $10m debt by the end of 1997.

Does that sound like a viable business model?

do you understand the context that the so called debt is being made in? News ltd were fighting a war and spending stupid money on SL clubs. It wasnt debt, it was overspending in a ridiculous manner in a time of player salary inflation unprecedented by the owners. I doubt there was any club that wasnt spending a lot more than they were earning in 1997. Just read some of the stories about players salaries and signing bonuses from that era!

Wendall sailor who was a 2nd year player on $22,500 a year in 1995: “Sure enough, overnight ... it just went bang. My manager rang me and said, ‘Mate, just to let you know, I’ve got a [$100,000 signing bonus] cheque for you and you’re on $300,000 for the first year, $300,000 for the second year, $350,000 the third year’.”
Its not hard to see how News ltd racked up $10mill overspend on the Reds.

Im sure it wasnt as lucrative, it was probably a decent standard sponsorship, what news ltd did was come in and offer millions of $'s to sign clubs up.

Without the third teams travel costs and a war being fought the reds would have been fine in all probability. They were actually flush with money by all accounts in 92-95 and were bringing over dozens of young east coast players into the WARL and giving every WARL club a substantial funding grant to improve the local comp, going on tours to south Africa and had a super slick marketing team.

Id love someone to write a book on the Reds. Ive spoken to two board members and some players from that time and it makes for fascinating RL history.

All water under the bridge now though. 2024 very different time, city and NRL.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Robbie Kearns spoke about the Reds' financial problems in an interview he gave in 2010:

Reds can rise again in the west
NICK TAYLOR
The West Australian
Thu, 24 June 2010 1:21PM

Former Western Reds and Melbourne Storm prop Robbie Kearns believes a new NRL side could flourish in Perth, but it must score early wins to create support and momentum.

The NRL is considering Perth for an expansion side from 2013.

"There is no doubt that a team can succeed in Perth but it will need success early to ensure its future," the former State of Origin front-rower said.

Kearns played with the Western Reds in 1996-97 before the club folded and he moved to the Storm.

Now their front row coach and club ambassador, he is back with the side for Saturday's clash with South Sydney Rabbitohs at ME Bank Stadium.

"If the Reds had had more success in the early days I reckon we would have kept going," Kearns said.

"We didn't play well as a team. We had opportunities but we were a team of superstars and not a superstar team.

"In those early days we had good crowds but they fell away. There will always be diehards but a side has to create momentum and obviously it became a struggle financially to keep the side going."

Kearns, who retired in 2005, said a Perth club should not be a relocated Sydney side but should be built from the bottom.

"I know there has been talk about relocating a Sydney side to Perth, but to be a true Perth side it should be built from scratch the way the Reds were and the way the Storm has been," he said. "If it is a truly home team people will jump on board.

Having to play at the WACA Ground did not help the Reds and at a redeveloped ME Bank Stadium a new Reds would join the Western Force and Perth Glory at a rectangular home.

Reds can rise again in the west

Former Western Reds and Melbourne Storm prop Robbie Kearns believes a new NRL side could flourish in Perth, but it must score early wins to create support and momentum.

thewest.com.au