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18th club, whose next?

Brian potter

First Grade
Messages
5,308
Not a single shed of evidence pointing to any one place...journalists speaking...
Outside of the " noise " NZ 2 is an absolute no brainer. The NRL are benefiting greatly from the " noise " / PUBLICITY.
yeah, no doubt about the NRL benefiting from all the publicity and about it all being by design.
 

Centy Coast

Juniors
Messages
1,753
The Bears NSW Cup go down for the 2nd week in a row, losing 32-20 to the Dragon after being down 26-0 at halftime.
The Bears still sit three points clear at the top of the NSW Cup competition table thanks to other results but quickly need to get back into the winners circle.

IMG_5293.jpeg
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,630

“their first task was to deal with the decision to axe Cronulla and Western Suburbs from the competition.”

arl did have a plan of rationalising Sydney and that was it

John Quayle

“When people ask me now whether Perth is ready for a team, I say they were ready 30 years ago.”
 
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Vee

First Grade
Messages
5,598

Eleven interested parties queue up for inclusion in NRL’s expanded competition​

Dean Ritchie

Nine interested consortiums potentially fighting for just one spot in the NRL. That’s the brutal reality after NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo addressed a club CEO’s conference on Wednesday about rugby league’s historic expansion plans.

Abdo did not wish to comment on what he told the CEO’s but this masthead can reveal 11 submissions from Australia and overseas have lodged interest in joining the NRL. All have signed nondisclosure agreements.

The NRL’s initial closing date for interested bidders was August 1 before being extended to August 14, next Wednesday. While the number of official submissions won’t be known until the deadline passes, it is expected that all 11 bids will submit full applications to be included in rugby league’s top-tier competition.

The 11 bids have come from Papua New Guinea, Perth, New Zealand and Brisbane. There are multiple submissions from the same regions. With Perth Bears and PNG almost certain to secure places, it leaves nine bidders to fight out for the last remaining position.

Abdo did acknowledge to the CEO’s that expansion was now certain.

The NRL wants to implement a 20-team competition with the 18th and 19th franchises to be added by either 2027 or 2028. The final 20th side will be included sometime before 2032. Consortiums sought additional time to finalise their bids due to the NRL’s strict admission criteria The NRL is working to complete a business model to determine the financial advantages expansion could bring to existing clubs.

PNG’s submission will be boosted by a $600m investment from the Australian Government while Perth Bears appear a formality.

A decision on the 18th and 19th franchise could be announced in September, possibly October.

Christchurch is interested in becoming a second New Zealand team with Wellington also seen as being a keen NRL partner. A third Brisbane side is still a reality but may have to wait several years given the Redcliffe-based Dolphins only entered last year.

Two teams could be added for the next broadcast deal which starts in 2027. The NRL may introduce its 20th side for the following broadcast contract in 2032, depending on how long the NRL wants its next deal to span.

That would allow the NRL to seek additional money for the next two TV contracts and the wait for a 20th side would ensure Perth and PNG have time to become established. The NRL is also aware of the challenges around introducing a third Brisbane side given the Dolphins were admitted just last year.

No other areas outside PNG, Perth, Brisbane and New Zealand have indicated an interest in joining the NRL.
 

Pippen94

First Grade
Messages
7,113

Eleven interested parties queue up for inclusion in NRL’s expanded competition​

Dean Ritchie

Nine interested consortiums potentially fighting for just one spot in the NRL. That’s the brutal reality after NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo addressed a club CEO’s conference on Wednesday about rugby league’s historic expansion plans.

Abdo did not wish to comment on what he told the CEO’s but this masthead can reveal 11 submissions from Australia and overseas have lodged interest in joining the NRL. All have signed nondisclosure agreements.

The NRL’s initial closing date for interested bidders was August 1 before being extended to August 14, next Wednesday. While the number of official submissions won’t be known until the deadline passes, it is expected that all 11 bids will submit full applications to be included in rugby league’s top-tier competition.

The 11 bids have come from Papua New Guinea, Perth, New Zealand and Brisbane. There are multiple submissions from the same regions. With Perth Bears and PNG almost certain to secure places, it leaves nine bidders to fight out for the last remaining position.

Abdo did acknowledge to the CEO’s that expansion was now certain.

The NRL wants to implement a 20-team competition with the 18th and 19th franchises to be added by either 2027 or 2028. The final 20th side will be included sometime before 2032. Consortiums sought additional time to finalise their bids due to the NRL’s strict admission criteria The NRL is working to complete a business model to determine the financial advantages expansion could bring to existing clubs.

PNG’s submission will be boosted by a $600m investment from the Australian Government while Perth Bears appear a formality.

A decision on the 18th and 19th franchise could be announced in September, possibly October.

Christchurch is interested in becoming a second New Zealand team with Wellington also seen as being a keen NRL partner. A third Brisbane side is still a reality but may have to wait several years given the Redcliffe-based Dolphins only entered last year.

Two teams could be added for the next broadcast deal which starts in 2027. The NRL may introduce its 20th side for the following broadcast contract in 2032, depending on how long the NRL wants its next deal to span.

That would allow the NRL to seek additional money for the next two TV contracts and the wait for a 20th side would ensure Perth and PNG have time to become established. The NRL is also aware of the challenges around introducing a third Brisbane side given the Dolphins were admitted just last year.

No other areas outside PNG, Perth, Brisbane and New Zealand have indicated an interest in joining the NRL.

Let them all in. If Perth link with bears that will help address issues with that bid.
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,630
Orcas guy has been around forever. Made bid 1992. Said he didn't have bid (earlier this year?!) but yeah things change.
He said recently he wanted to get behind chch bid

he took over Bradford before they went broke basically

has no money (Andrew chalmers)
 

The Great Dane

First Grade
Messages
7,957

Eleven interested parties queue up for inclusion in NRL’s expanded competition​

Dean Ritchie

Nine interested consortiums potentially fighting for just one spot in the NRL. That’s the brutal reality after NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo addressed a club CEO’s conference on Wednesday about rugby league’s historic expansion plans.

Abdo did not wish to comment on what he told the CEO’s but this masthead can reveal 11 submissions from Australia and overseas have lodged interest in joining the NRL. All have signed nondisclosure agreements.

The NRL’s initial closing date for interested bidders was August 1 before being extended to August 14, next Wednesday. While the number of official submissions won’t be known until the deadline passes, it is expected that all 11 bids will submit full applications to be included in rugby league’s top-tier competition.

The 11 bids have come from Papua New Guinea, Perth, New Zealand and Brisbane. There are multiple submissions from the same regions. With Perth Bears and PNG almost certain to secure places, it leaves nine bidders to fight out for the last remaining position.

Abdo did acknowledge to the CEO’s that expansion was now certain.

The NRL wants to implement a 20-team competition with the 18th and 19th franchises to be added by either 2027 or 2028. The final 20th side will be included sometime before 2032. Consortiums sought additional time to finalise their bids due to the NRL’s strict admission criteria The NRL is working to complete a business model to determine the financial advantages expansion could bring to existing clubs.

PNG’s submission will be boosted by a $600m investment from the Australian Government while Perth Bears appear a formality.

A decision on the 18th and 19th franchise could be announced in September, possibly October.

Christchurch is interested in becoming a second New Zealand team with Wellington also seen as being a keen NRL partner. A third Brisbane side is still a reality but may have to wait several years given the Redcliffe-based Dolphins only entered last year.

Two teams could be added for the next broadcast deal which starts in 2027. The NRL may introduce its 20th side for the following broadcast contract in 2032, depending on how long the NRL wants its next deal to span.

That would allow the NRL to seek additional money for the next two TV contracts and the wait for a 20th side would ensure Perth and PNG have time to become established. The NRL is also aware of the challenges around introducing a third Brisbane side given the Dolphins were admitted just last year.

No other areas outside PNG, Perth, Brisbane and New Zealand have indicated an interest in joining the NRL.
It's all a waste of time if PNG and the Bears are allowed in.

The Perth side will flounder if it isn't a genuine attempt at an authentic Perth/WA side, but I guess that doesn't really matter when the whole point is just to use Perth as an avenue to get the Bears back into the league. At that point who cares if the WA side of the venture struggles, the team isn't really for them anyway.

There's no legitimate business case behind the PNG side and all the proposed geopolitical advantages of giving PNG an NRL license have already been consistently disproven by the PNG government continuing to actively deal with China throughout the whole bid and being in the process of selling off ownership of their power grid to China. It's just an expensive gift from the Australian taxpayer to the corrupt oligarchs of PNG, while the average Papuan continues to live in abject poverty.

The NZ bids that are public lack any substance at all. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes and the NRL could definitely make NZ work if they were willing to get proactive, but they've consistently proven that they're not willing to get proactive when it comes to expansion and why put that effort into NZ over more lucrative markets if that changed.

More Brisbane/SEQ sides is just pandering. Any new teams there are superfluous luxuries at best, and necessity should always trump luxury.

The next 3 sides being Perth, NZ, and Adelaide shouldn't even be up for debate, and the long term consequences of not going down that route will be significant. It's literally Arko and Quayle being celebrated for pandering to their mates in Sydney and the media while frogmarching the sport to disaster 2.0.
 
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Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,542
Presuming all 11 EoI's translate into submitted bids I wonder where they are from?

Likely:
Perth Bears
PNG
Easts
Jets
Kea
South Island

Rumored:
Fiji
Christchurch3

that leaves 4 smokies!
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,542
It's all a waste of time if PNG and the Bears are allowed in.

The Perth side will flounder if it isn't a genuine attempt at an authentic Perth/WA side, but I guess that doesn't really matter when the whole point is just to use Perth as an avenue to get the Bears back into league. At that point who cares if the WA side of venture struggles, the team isn't really for them anyway.

There's no legitimate business case behind the PNG side and all the proposed geopolitical advantages of giving PNG an NRL license have already been consistently disproven by the PNG government continuing to actively deal with China throughout the whole bid and being in the process of selling off ownership of their power grid to China. It's just an expensive gift from the Australian taxpayer to the corrupt oligarchs of PNG, while the average Papuan continues to live in abject poverty.

The NZ bids that are public lack any substance at all. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes and the NRL could definitely make NZ work if they were willing to get proactive, but they've consistently proven that they're not willing to get proactive when it comes to expansion and why put that effort into NZ over larger markets if that changed.

More Brisbane/SEQ sides is just pandering. Any new teams there are superfluous luxuries at best, and necessity should always trump luxury.

The next 3 sides being Perth, NZ, and Adelaide shouldn't even be up for debate, and the long term consequences of not going down that route will be significant. It's literally Arko and Quayle being celebrated for pandering to their mates in Sydney and the media while frogmarching the sport to disaster 2.0.
Whilst I dont disagree with the sentiment I've come to accept NRL will never be as proactive about expansion and growing the game as AFL is. That means we have to just accept the half arsed way they go about it and keep fingers crossed it somehow works.
 

The Great Dane

First Grade
Messages
7,957
Whilst I dont disagree with the sentiment I've come to accept NRL will never be as proactive about expansion and growing the game as AFL is. That means we have to just accept the half arsed way they go about it and keep fingers crossed it somehow works.
It's not a 'half-arsed' attempt at expansion though. . . We can only speculate as to the reasons why, but they're intentionally undermining expansion in places like Perth for example and salting the earth for any others who would make a genuine attempt in the process.

Frankly incompetence doesn't explain this. The only reason you'd do things the way they are is if you are cynical and malicious.
 

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