I have to make this post every once in a while but forcibly removing teams opens the door to other codes and shows the lessons from the SuperLeague war, and consequential lift for AFL and RU at the turn of the millennium have, still not been learnt (yes, even the Sharks).
I am an RL fan because the above has happened to me (funnily enough because of David Moffett who's involved with the NZ South Island bid... f**k him and everyone who gives him a pass).
Fans of clubs who have been screwed over will not choose another RL team to follow as continuing to follow RL will be a constant reminder of what they once had. They will rather turn their back on the game like a lover scorned as per the above.
I respect your passion for BRL and a 3rd Brisbane team but deathriding other bids and NRL teams is not the best way to advance the cause. I agree that, based on Broncos and Dolphins, Brisbane 3 would be a worthy addition by 2032.
Regarding PNG, are the funds coming out of an already existing foreign aid budget? Seems like an easy win and another dart in the board for RL being the de facto Oceania sport.
What you said about being a lover scorned is exactly why I've lost a lot of interest in the NRL over the last decade. I used to force myself to attend games, despite having poor health that made it a burden. I eventually stopped putting myself through the hassle because the game doesn't care about Queenslanders.
Over the last 24 months I've gone from watching games from kick off to full time to just glancing at them while I play a game on my mobile. Some times I go work in the backyard or on my car instead of watching the football. I no longer have the passion to dedicate several hours a week to watching nothing but football because the game has ripped me off.
I'm sick of hearing how we must cater to selfish old Sydney fans and "potential" fans from fumbleball markets while dyed in the wool BRL fans like myself are told to "f**k off" because we're viewed as second class citizens by people in Redfern and western Sydney who have f**k all teeth. We're expected to prop up the game so that the mongrels running the tiny clubs in Sydney can pocket the money we generate. Whenever NSWRL fans talk about growing the game it's always at the expense of Brisbane. NSWRL fans never sacrifice anything for the greater good of the game, despite most of their clubs being poor as shit and having tiny fanbases that are almost worthless.
Look at the bastards on here who are ejaculating over the Bears attaching themselves to Perth so they can get in via the back door!
These mongrels have no shame and think the world revolves around them. To make it worse, they want Western Australians yo prop up their fantasy of bringing back the Bears.
The PNG bid deserves to be laughed at and mocked because it's f**ken stupid and an insult to the Aussie tax payer. There are hard working tax payers in Australia that are homeless. Giving their taxes to the NRL and PNG is the ultimate betrayal by an out of touch Labor party that doesn't care about the Aussie battler. The fact this PNG team will depend on the Aussie tax payer giving it $29m per annum proves it is not worthy of holding an NRL licence. If old dumb pricks from Sydney reckon it's such a great idea then they can send one of their small clubs to Port Moresby and fund it themselves.
Maybe Mr Albanese can send his beloved Elmer Fudds to Port Moresby?