18th club, whose next?

[Trifili13]

I'd say it depends on what you consider failure to be.

If it increases playing numbers, but the club itself is losing cash, is that a failure?

I'd say no. If the club offers anything of remote substance to the sport, the commission is bound to accept that risk.

They did it for the Knights, Titans, etc etc

Agree with your points. The problem would be while producing players at a loss, is the NRL happy to lose money? You would assume a private investor wanting a return for their money would pull the plug at some point like we have seen with the Gold Coast and Newcastle in their previous incarnations. Just depends how ambitious and what risk the NRL is willing to take on.

Although none of us know what each bid offered, it looks like the NRL is being very cautious given they have all been rejected (PNG excluded given us taxpayers are funding it) so unlikely the NRL will want to fund a loss-making club just to produce players. I am sure they have stated they want any new club to be viable from the beginning and not a drain on the competition.

 

[Red&BlackBear]

You just said it's not an issue.
Why change it then?
I get that you can get around the ISSUE but it is an ISSUE.
If it's not the EASTS TIGERS then it's a completely different thing..
Neither is it EAST or TIGERS...
It's now just dudes with cash.

Becoming a completely different entity called a different name, playing in a different league, in a different location... kinda the definition of a f**king issue.

Isn’t an issue considering they have already done it. There was a Brisbane Firehawks bid once which was Easts Tigers. Which means they themselves don’t see it as an issue. Only people who aren’t up to date think of it as one.

The biggest issue is territory and commercial implications.

Sorry mate but your posts screams of someone who doesn’t know how Queensland rugby league, clubs, territories, commercial spaces associated with clubs, fandom etc works.

 

[Matt_CBY]

I mentioned some months back that south magpies should be the brand for the east tigers to take on as the NRL club, sort of a reverse wests tigers

Will never happen

 

[Gobsmacked]

Isn’t an issue considering they have already done it. There was a Brisbane Firehawks bid once which was Easts Tigers. Which means they themselves don’t see it as an issue. Only people who aren’t up to date think of it as one.

The biggest issue is territory and commercial implications.

Sorry mate but your posts screams of someone who doesn’t know how Queensland rugby league, clubs, territories, commercial spaces associated with clubs, fandom etc works.

OK mate, it's not an issue.
They'll have the secretary do it in their lunch break and all the players fans and sponsors will automatically assimilate to the new name and area in said lunch break.

Potato.

 

[Iamback]

Wa govt does not want to have a hands on role and will Not directly fund a professional sports club operational costs.

cumins stated they had $30mill in the bank with $26mill committed to starting the club up from today (they were in Sydney talking to prospective staff!) being ready for 2027 with $4mill unallocated left in the budget.

if nrl is going to tip in the same to set it up properly and is willing to run it and take the risks then so be it, but they clearly aren’t or else they’d already have announced that by now.

That $30m doesn't go far when you need everything from start.

The plan was to run atleast an SG Ball and Flegg team.

That requires upward of 12 staff in total. Equipment, field hire. Player payments.

There is no office space locked in, no training venue, the costs of flying these teams East to play every 2nd week

That is on top of the NRL start up costs.

 

[Perth Red]

That $30m doesn't go far when you need everything from start.

The plan was to run atleast an SG Ball and Flegg team.

That requires upward of 12 staff in total. Equipment, field hire. Player payments.

There is no office space locked in, no training venue, the costs of flying these teams East to play every 2nd week

That is on top of the NRL start up costs.

Clubs dont pay flight costs. Thanks for your insights, didn’t realise you had set up an nrl club and knew the costs, you should have offered to write their budget plan lol.

wa govt is building the club a centre of excellence and $10mill of that $30mill was earmarked to be spend on the firs 3-4 years facility development at Ken Allen field until the CofE is ready.

bears run women’s teams, hm ball, sg ball and nsw cup on a budget of $1.9mill a year. I think with $30mill they’d be ok lol.

 

[Wb1234]

Clubs dont pay flight costs. Thanks for your insights, didn’t realise you had set up an nrl club and knew the costs, you should have offered to write their budget plan lol.

Not unless they are les Catalans

 

[Red&BlackBear]

OK mate, it's not an issue.
They'll have the secretary do it in their lunch break and all the players fans and sponsors will automatically assimilate to the new name and area in said lunch break.

Potato.

You’re arguing against something they have literally already done though.

They have literally bid as Brisbane Firehawks. That brand could be reflected in Brisbane or greater Brisbane. It’s not the point.

As I’ve said the issues are commercial and the fact QRL stands in the way of a club which has nothing to do with a territory (East Tigers and Ipswich/WC) suddenly coming in and swooping it as their own when that territory already has a club (Jets) which is also jostling for its own NRL license.

So again Tigers best bet for a region is Brisbane combined with Logan as those are the areas they heavily invest in already. Flagstone, Springwood, Rochedale, Mable Park SHS all in Logan and under Tigers.

Meanwhile there’s nothing in Ipswich or Western Corridor into Lockyer Valley & Toowoomba that’s remotely close to a Brisbane Tigers affiliation either as club, junior club or as business entity.

Not sure why you’re struggling to grasp it and are intent on debating facts lol.

 

[Matiunz]

Seems quite an odd response from the NRL with the whole expansion process. From the outside they appeared quite pro expansion but the response has seemed almost the opposite.
Most bids respected the confidentiality aspect only for the NRL to “out” them by saying they’ve been rejected.
Could see bids also being frustrated as it appears there wasn’t clear expectation and criteria of what a successful bid looks like as seen with the categorical rejection of 99% of the bids. It seems bids spent plenty of time and money putting these proposals forward and then having the goalposts shift. Again odd response from the NRL as it has a perception of them finding reasons not to accept bids

 

[AlwaysGreen]

The whole saga was more of an expression of interest rather than a bidding process.

The NRL has been vague throughout. They finally said they want a 20 team competition but have never came out with a 'vision' of what they would like their competition to look like.

Do they want a footprint across all of Australia including Adelaide and Perth?
Do they want another team in SE Queensland? Or in New Zealand?

There was also only one real spot up for grabs, the NRL had decided that PNG were going to be 1 team and a Perth side with the bears involved would be another (although that has hit a snag). Again, it was like they were gauging interest in what bids were out there rather than actually choosing a bid.

Next time try setting out exactly what is required to secure a new licence, not have bids guess what you want.

 

[Perth Red]

Seems quite an odd response from the NRL with the whole expansion process. From the outside they appeared quite pro expansion but the response has seemed almost the opposite.
Most bids respected the confidentiality aspect only for the NRL to “out” them by saying they’ve been rejected.
Could see bids also being frustrated as it appears there wasn’t clear expectation and criteria of what a successful bid looks like as seen with the categorical rejection of 99% of the bids. It seems bids spent plenty of time and money putting these proposals forward and then having the goalposts shift. Again odd response from the NRL as it has a perception of them finding reasons not to accept bids

Anyone who has been on this expansion journey will tell you it’s not the first time. We went through it all in 2012. Nothing much has changed. Nrl is still a shambles.

 

[Bukowski]

It seems other sports pick an area they want to expand into, put money into the sport there and work with local clubs/investors to start up the club.
We would be better off following this path.

 

[Wb1234]

Anyone who has been on this expansion journey will tell you it’s not the first time. We went through it all in 2012. Nothing much has changed. Nrl is still a shambles.

Sounds like the Perth bid is close to being over the line

Looks like you’re hopes for a job off Cummins might eventuate

 

[Perth Red]

Sounds like the Perth bid is close to being over the line

Looks like you’re hopes for a job off Cummins might eventuate

Job? I’m hoping to retire next year lol

 

[Gobsmacked]

"That led to two rival bids – the South Island NRL Team bid and the South Island Kea, who had both garnered significant corporate and community support and made considerable progress. The first bid – with ex-Kiwis and Warriors coach Frank Endacott as its president – was the frontrunner but they both appear to have reached the end of the road – at least for now."

so that's 2 bids.
What of the 3rd?

 

[Wb1234]

"That led to two rival bids – the South Island NRL Team bid and the South Island Kea, who had both garnered significant corporate and community support and made considerable progress. The first bid – with ex-Kiwis and Warriors coach Frank Endacott as its president – was the frontrunner but they both appear to have reached the end of the road – at least for now."

so that's 2 bids.
What of the 3rd?

Read it was southern orcas so probably chalmers and Wellington / chch

 

[Centy Coast]

Representative rugby league has also continued in Western Australia, with a Tour from the English Community Lions.

 

[Red&BlackBear]

It seems other sports pick an area they want to expand into, put money into the sport there and work with local clubs/investors to start up the club.
We would be better off following this path.

To be fair the game did that in 1995.
NZ, WA, SQ, NQ and prior to that in 88.
NC, Bris, GC.

 

[Bukowski]

To be fair the game did that in 1995.
NZ, WA, SQ, NQ and prior to that in 88.
NC, Bris, GC.

Arko and Canon seem a lifetime ago

 

[Matt_CBY]

To be fair the game did that in 1995.
NZ, WA, SQ, NQ and prior to that in 88.
NC, Bris, GC.

The licence the Dolphins won was only going to be considered for a second Brisbane team.

Sound alike it’s what they are doing now as well.