18th club, whose next?

[Dragonwest]

There are a lot of expatriates from Queensland, NSW and New Zealand in Perth due to the mining boom of the last 25 years. I'm convinced they form the bulk of WA's RL community and are turning up to watch Origin and NRL games in Perth.

The Goodwin brothers are the younger siblings of Luke Goodwin. He moved to Perth to play for the Reds in the 1990s.

As a youth, Goodwin and his family moved to Perth while his brother Luke was playing for the Perth-based Western Reds, while Bryson was also the ball boy.​

​

Bryson Goodwin - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

WA has less players than Victoria. Only 4.1k players in WA.

I don't doubt there's thousands of expatriates in Perth who support RL. However, I question how many of them will become active supporters of a Perth-based team. It could end up being a worse version of the Titans, with fans only turning up to see their favourite team play against the Pirates. If that's the case then it'll be a disaster because Gold Coast has far more fans of other teams living in SEQ.

Your convinced based on what hunch? Plenty of 2 and 3 generation players in my local NRLWA side.

Ted Goodwin was playing in the local NRLWA competition in the 80s for Willagee ... the family did not move over for the Reds. The boys played their Juniors for Belmont and then South Perth. Ted has a massive influence over here for 10-15 years playing, coaching, refereeing, commentating and working as a development officer.

Expats are not a bad thing. Perth has a large natural immigration rate which is massive positive for the prospects of League in WA. People who move here breed these second and third generation players who consider themselves Sand Gopers but love the game.

 

[Perth Red]

Once again, there is no reason what so ever a well run NRL club in Perth wont be drawing 15-17k crowd avg and 20k plus (proper) members. As long as a decent level of corporate support is also on board then that will make a Perth club more than viable in todays $18-19mil NRL grant environment. Throw in Govt support on top and I dont see what the concern is.

Thats the start point. Who knows how big it could be after 20-25 years. Perth is tipped to reach 3.5mill+ people in that period.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

@Canard Northern Territory and Tasmania don't have an NRL team, yet they recorded more interest for NRL on Google than the state that is home to the most successful NRL club.

Explain that?

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Plenty of 2 and 3 generation players in my local NRLWA side.

Which proves my point. The RL community in Perth is propped up by expatriates and their offspring. Similar to fumbleball in Queensland and its reliance on Victorian expatriates.

Nothing wrong with that per se, but their presence and interest in the game cannot be extrapolated onto the rest of the Western Australian population that has no ancestral ties with Queensland, NSW and New Zealand.

People on here say we need a team in Perth because it has 2M people. People use that number to elevate Perth ahead of Wellington, Christchurch and Port Moresby.

How many of those 2M have ancestral ties with Queensland, NSW and New Zealand?

 

[docbrown]

According to Google Trends, few Western Australians searched for "National Rugby League" over the last five years.

Interest in subregions on Google Trends is indicated by a measurement between 0 and 100. A score of 100 indicates highest interest. A score of 0 indicates least interest.

For Western Australia, interest was rated at 14. Only South Australia scored a lower interest.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=AU&q=%2Fm%2F01lwy5&hl=en

View attachment 86924View attachment 86925View attachment 86926


Comparing search trends between "National Rugby League" and "Australian Football League" provides grim reading.

For Western Australia and Tasmania the ratio was in favour of AwFuL at a ratio of 89:11. In Victoria it was 91:9. In South Australia it was 92:8. In Northern Territory it was 67:33.

In NSW and Queensland, interest levels favoured rugby league at a ratio of 79:21 and 69:31. ACT trended well at 61:39 in our favour.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=AU&q=%2Fm%2F01lwy5,%2Fm%2F0ckh09&hl=en

Let's worry about keeping the game strong in Queensland, NSW and ACT. NT has potential to become more interested in rugby league.

Look at the 10 year timeline:

2023 - 80 average and 100 peak
2015 - 35 average and 44 peak

For people who don't understand how google trends data works, that's basically more than a DOUBLING (228% growth) of interest in NRL in WA over that period.

And as you say, they're now on par with a state that actually has an NRL team.

Edit: I just wanted to add that in the 2015 to 2023 span, the local population grew by 11%. 228% vs 11% indicates that it's a large non-population growth driven organic increase. This is actually more local Western Australians actively searching for NRL, rather than interstate migration etc.

 

[Perth Red]

Look at the 10 year timeline:
View attachment 86957
2023 - 80 average and 100 peak
2015 - 35 average and 44 peak

For people who don't understand how google trends data works, that's basically more than a DOUBLING (228% growth) of interest in NRL in WA over that period.

And as you say, they're now on par with a state that actually has an NRL team.

Its actually a bit surprising. Id say there was more interest back in 2013-2015 when we had the reds/pirates bid happening and sell out crowds at hbf. I guess our population growth keeps pushing interest up. Not surprisingly we are seeing an ever increasing East coast migration west as your house prices go beyond the average human over there.
Part of the WA Govts push for an NRL club is to make it more attractive to live here for east coasters I'm sure. We are desperately short of tradies over here.

 

[Maximus]

It's hilarious that the people who misunderstood google trends data and thought Inter Miami and Wrexham were 2 of the 10 most popular sporting sides in NZ are now trying to use it to prove WA is unpopular.

 

[Bukowski]

Look at the 10 year timeline:
View attachment 86957
2023 - 80 average and 100 peak
2015 - 35 average and 44 peak

For people who don't understand how google trends data works, that's basically more than a DOUBLING (228% growth) of interest in NRL in WA over that period.

And as you say, they're now on par with a state that actually has an NRL team.

It really shows Perth is ready for a team. NRL fans would be happy with this.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Look at the 10 year timeline:
View attachment 86957
2023 - 80 average and 100 peak
2015 - 35 average and 44 peak

For people who don't understand how google trends data works, that's basically more than a DOUBLING (228% growth) of interest in NRL in WA over that period.

And as you say, they're now on par with a state that actually has an NRL team.

I can see Perth supporting a team at some stage. It can support one now wth the annual grant being so high. However, I am convinced it'll be a much smaller and less successful version of the Lions. Not that there's anything wrong with a Perth-based team not being big like the Broncos and smaller than the Lions, but it would be funny considering Perth Rat has spent more than a decade making fun of small unsuccessful teams from Sydney and demanding that Brisbane 2 be as big and rich as their cross town rivals from day one. I can see posters of smaller clubs he's targeted heaping shit on him if my prediction is correct, and it will be well deserved.

 

[docbrown]

I can see Perth supporting a team at some stage. It can support one now wth the annual grant being so high. However, I am convinced it'll be a much smaller and less successful version of the Lions. Not that there's anything wrong with a Perth-based team not being big like the Broncos and smaller than the Lions, but it would be funny considering Perth Rat has spent more than a decade making fun of small unsuccessful teams from Sydney and demanding that Brisbane 2 be as big and rich as their cross town rivals from day one. I can see posters of smaller clubs he's targeted heaping shit on him if my prediction is correct, and it will be well deserved.

I hope it's the Perth Bears just so his brain finally explodes.

 

[docbrown]

It really shows Perth is ready for a team. NRL fans would be happy with this.

Pretty much. The problem actually is there's a lot of locations with similar booms in NRL interest (see that similar NZ data set). If anything, there's too many choices.

 

[Centy Coast]

Which proves my point. The RL community in Perth is propped up by expatriates and their offspring. Similar to fumbleball in Queensland and its reliance on Victorian expatriates.

Nothing wrong with that per se, but their presence and interest in the game cannot be extrapolated onto the rest of the Western Australian population that has no ancestral ties with Queensland, NSW and New Zealand.

People on here say we need a team in Perth because it has 2M people. People use that number to elevate Perth ahead of Wellington, Christchurch and Port Moresby.

How many of those 2M have ancestral ties with Queensland, NSW and New Zealand?

In Perths five team Fuel to Go & Play 1st grade competition there are a lot of FIFO players, clubs like Fremantle and South Perth are struggling because of this in 2024.
WA’s CAS side in 2023 had over 10 changes from the original Squad named due to many FIFO players being unavailable due to work commitments.
This is no doubt why VIC defeated WA in the CAS Final as the side was majorly disrupted.

 

[Perth Red]

In Perths five team Fuel to Go & Play 1st grade competition there are a lot of FIFO players, clubs like Fremantle and South Perth are struggling because of this in 2024.
WA’s CAS side in 2023 had over 10 changes from the original Squad named due to many FIFO players being unavailable due to work commitments.
This is no doubt why VIC defeated WA in the CAS Final as the side was majorly disrupted.

and?
The mines attract a lot of kiwis and east coasters to work here, not surprisingly some of them like to play RL when they're not working. Im not sure what your point is?

 

[Centy Coast]

and?
The mines attract a lot of kiwis and east coasters to work here, not surprisingly some of them like to play RL when they're not working. Im not sure what your point is?

I’m just saying that a lot of teams are propped up by East Coast FIFO players, the competition and the WA rep team really struggle when these players are not available.

 

[Bukowski]

Pretty much. The problem actually is there's a lot of locations with similar booms in NRL interest (see that similar NZ data set). If anything, there's too many choices.

Great problem for us!! Its why I cant see PNG as being certanties.

 

[Perth Red]

I’m just saying that a lot of teams are propped up by East Coast FIFO players, the competition and the WA rep team really struggle when these players are not available.

well thanks but we know that, thats perth life since the 70's lol
Gets a lot worse when theres a boom on.

I think you're being very selective as well in your data set given WA has beat Vic 14 to 3 in CAS mens titles in last 20 years!

 

[Bukowski]

I’m just saying that a lot of teams are propped up by East Coast FIFO players, the competition and the WA rep team really struggle when these players are not available.

What do you mean by East Coast FIFO workers? They dont live in Perth?

 

[Centy Coast]

What do you mean by East Coast FIFO workers? They dont live in Perth?

Some do many don’t

 

[AlwaysGreen]

All this speculation by AFL Red is moot. He is an afl fan, he won't be watching a team in Perth anyway.

 

[Bukowski]

Some do many don’t

Why are you calling them east coast fifo workers if they live here? Players missing games would be the case for all amateur sports