2012 Jersey & Sponsorship Discussion

[Lockyer4President!]

Voted.

Clubs should just have the two jerseys I think. The main should never really change but they can do whatever the hell they want with the alternate/away jersey.

Also voted for names on the jerseys obviously. Feel pretty strongly about both of these points as I'm sure many RL fans do, hope the NRL takes notice.

 

[Zigwaa]

Yeah completed the survey too. Voted for players names on jerseys, 4 jerseys maximum.

Did it say part from your own club what teams jerseys do you like? Coz that's what I did, Roosters, dragons and parra.

 

[docbrown]

I'd be interested in seeing a poll of every jersey worn by each individual club to decide what the 'definitive' home or heritage jersey of each club should be.

I'd also suggest we need to go to a 3 Jersey System -

The Unique Identifying Jerseys:
Home - 1st or 2nd most popular jersey of all time
Heritage - 1st or 2nd most popular jersey of all time

Those jerseys Home & Heritage are the definitive jerseys with the most recognition and should be worn as much as possible during the season (except if its hot and the home team needs to wear a lighter Away jersey colour, the home team gets the choice though and if there's a clash away team just has to deal with it and wear their darker colour). Say if the Knights are playing Raiders then let them both wear home Jerseys. Only crazy people would think there is a clash.

Then:
Away (only 1 type of away jersey per year to be worn when there's a clash) - it should:
* Incorporate the colours of the club but in a way that contrasts the Home jersey i.e. if home is dark, away is light etc
* There are a minimum number of options to choose from at the start of the year - original design, Indigenous jersey, Armed Forces jersey, Pink jersey, or a special Heritage one (like Newcastle Rebels) etc - but whenever they play in the 'Away' jersey they play in that jersey alone for the entire year.
* Obviously they have to also wear it in the round that it's associated with... (the other team would wear their Home jersey if it's not a clash)

So in any given year a club can only wear 3 jerseys but the 'special' rounds are taken into consideration.

For example Penrith might wear -
* Home - current jersey
* Heritage - liqourice all sorts
* Away - Pink jersey

Knights might wear -
* Home - vertical stripes
* Heritage - henny penny
* Away - Indigenous lighter colour clash jersey

Lock in Home jersey for 5 years.
Lock in Heritage for 5 years (except for a one off unique special occassion, like a 50th or 100th anniversary)
Away can change every year but only 1 per year - that's where the club will continue to make its money and those jerseys get more exposure

 

[Zigwaa]

Agree that there should have been room for comment, to say about years and prices etc

 

[bileduct]

The Raiders camo jersey is now being sold to Raiders members only on the official club website or by calling the club HQ. Same price as regular jerseys, $159 +$10 P/H.

 

[bileduct]

Not really a fan of player names on jerseys, or letting players keep numbers.

I think four jerseys is enough, but regarding the promotional jersey, there should be some rules around how these can be used. I have no problems with one off jerseys for charities, awareness of social issues, etc., but the ones for commercial products like the Bulldogs Avatar and Star Wars jerseys looked f**king ridiculous.

 

[Trentosaurus]

The Bulldogs Avatar jersey looked a damn sight better than any of the Anzac Day ones.

Three jerseys only - home, heritage and away. And I think away should only be worn when there is a clash. The Raiders always insist on wearing their away jersey on the Gold Coast and it makes things worse.

And I'm not a fan of player names on jerseys. Save that for special occassions like Origin.

 

[Timmah]

I voted four - Home, away, heritage + promotional.

Also voted player surnames on jerseys (Storm look fantastic in heritage round). Squad numbering also a good idea, I think it's one of the few things SL got right in 1997.

Now for the jersey breakdown...

I'd like a condition on that EVERY team is forced to wear heritage jersey in heritage round, none of this "only when we're playing at home" bullshit (and obviously schedule the round properly so we don't end up with farcical clashes like GC/CBY and CANB/NQL).

For regular wear... all clubs MUST wear their main/home strip wherever possible. Only when there are two known dark or similar colour jerseys should the away/alternate strip come out.

All clubs should be forced to develop iconic and easily identifiable, and if they're too stupid to do it themselves, then the NRL should be stepping in.

As for the one promotional, the NRL should lay out at the start of the year all the possibilities (Call to Arms, Women in League, Indigenous, ANZAC, any other special cause) and have ALL clubs choose one. Failing that, enforce 8 teams to do WiL round pink strips, and the other 8 to do the Indigenous round.

 

[carlosthedwarf]

I like that idea, the number of special jerseys is getting out of hand. I have no issues with 3 (home, away, heritage) and one special.

 

[GAZF]

If there had to be a 4th design it should be for a charity/womens/indigenous/ANZAC, not a movie coming out on BluRay. I don't care what positives there are about them (not that many), but the Dogs Avatar and Star Wars jerseys were pieces of shit and had nothing to do with the Bulldogs.

3 jerseys is the way to go and the third should be a heritage design (though not limited to this), this design to be used two times per year maximum. The use of a heritage jersey shouldn't be restricted to a heritage round since not all teams get a historically relevant matchup in the designated round, teams should try to work out matchups in the preseason.

5 year mandatory limit for the home and 3 for the away. Both home and away to be in team colours with the home jersey used as much as possible. Teams can use clash shorts/socks to avoid clashes while still using their home jersey if possible.

Remove the new sponsor on the upper chest, and above the number. Adopt squad name/number (1-30), variable numbers would be a logistical nightmare since names would have to be reapplied depending on positional changes, something similar to the NFL numbering system could work where backs, halves and forwards would have specific number ranges, not perfect since players move around in RL but more organised than random.

 

[GAZF]

All clubs should be forced to develop iconic and easily identifiable, and if they're too stupid to do it themselves, then the NRL should be stepping in.

This. In spades.

As for the one promotional, the NRL should lay out at the start of the year all the possibilities (Call to Arms, Women in League, Indigenous, ANZAC, any other special cause) and have ALL clubs choose one. Failing that, enforce 8 teams to do WiL round pink strips, and the other 8 to do the Indigenous round.

Teams should have a say in which charity they represent, certain charities are overlooked while other charities (breast cancer, ahem) saturate sports and media. Give the Heart Foundation, Kidney Foundation, Legacy and other charities a chance to get their name out there.

 

[Henson Park Hornets]

I voted for 3 jerseys, with no squad numbers or names.

Who gives a toss what other sports do in regards to names? I think it's stupid having names on the back of regular season jerseys, anyway with the sponsors on the upper and lower back where will the names go?

Picked Canberra and Easts has having the best jerseys.

They should have also had an option for fans of other clubs, not just NRL. I know it's the NRL who is doing and it's for NRL jerseys, but I am a consumer of the NRL and yet have no ties to any particular club and I know there are other NSW Cup fans out there that are the same. Granted we're a small minority but still should be counted.

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Squad numbering and names FTW.

 

[Special K]

They should add names so I can walk around like a boss with Pomeroy on my back.

 

[Danish]

I voted for squad numbering (1-25 only) and names on jerseys.

Also voted for 4 jerseys, although wish they had a comments section so I could stipulate that meant Home, Clash (NOT AWAY), Heritage and Charity jersey ONLY. None of this promoting movies garbage the dogs have been doing the last 2 years.

I voted Dragons, Parra and Cronulla as my favourite other club jerseys. Largely because they all use a very traditional strip these days (besides cronulla's home jersey, which is still a great simple design).

 

[LineBall]

Voted for two jerseys only - Main for all games unless a definite similarity to opposition's jersey. (Which should be a rarity for most clubs)

Also voted for player's names and for them to chose their own number. In that way it helps clubs still sell merchandise, without having to resort to changing the design of the jersey every couple of years.

Overall I would be happy it they make clubs stick with their classic designed jerseys for all time - It helps teams build a brand and identity, which in turn strengthens loyalty to a club and team.

 

[Frailty]

I voted 3 jerseys (Home, Away, Heritage) but it doesn't really capture what I would love:

Home Jersey - The first choice jersey for ALL games.

Clash Jersey - This jersey is to be worn only if there is a clash of colours - and not light/dark clashes. You can still tell sky blue from white when the sharks play the dragons, you can still tell the purple of melbourne from the black of the warriors, etc.

Heritage - To be worn in Heritage round ONLY.

 

[Smooth Operator • • •]

Voted 4 jerseys: Home, Away, Heritage (worn max 2 times), and one promotional to be only worn once at one game.

The promotional jersey can be one of either Women in League, Indigenous, ANZAC, or brand promotion (Avatar). A second promotional jersey can be worn but only at the request to the NRL and likewise meet their criteria.

Did not choose player names or numbers. I'm still a little iffy about them, but I won't be blowing up if they were allowed in the future.

Fav jerseys were Bulldogs, Rabbitohs and Warriors.

 

[docbrown]

Perhaps as part of the official lexicon we should change the term 'Away' jersey to 'Clash' jersey to make it totally obvious that clubs should wear their Home kits when there is no clear clash.

I still suggest though that clubs should pick one - and only one - cause or special promotion a year - and that should be the jersey that's worn when there is a 'clash' (so obviously it needs to contrast the home kit but still incorporate the club's identity into it - I don't see there being a massive problem with this). If they wear it 5-8 times a year, it's also going to have stronger appeal to fans and forces clubs to come up with better more appealing designs.

3 Jerseys: HOME, HERITAGE & CLASH (PROMOTIONAL).

 

[GAZF]

Perhaps as part of the official lexicon we should change the term 'Away' jersey to 'Clash' jersey to make it totally obvious that clubs should wear their Home kits when there is no clear clash.

I still suggest though that clubs should pick one - and only one - cause or special promotion a year - and that should be the jersey that's worn when there is a 'clash' (so obviously it needs to contrast the home kit but still incorporate the club's identity into it - I don't see there being a massive problem with this). If they wear it 5-8 times a year, it's also going to have stronger appeal to fans and forces clubs to come up with better more appealing designs.

3 Jerseys: HOME, HERITAGE & CLASH (PROMOTIONAL).

Primary/Secondary/Alternate would work as well.

• Primary and secondary must be contrasting jerseys and alternate shorts/socks if required.
• In a 22 round season primary to be worn most games, secondary worn no less than 5 games, no more than 10, alternate worn no more than twice/year but not designated to a specific round
• Secondary or alternate worn when there are obvious clashes (Roosters/Cowboys, Storm/Knights, Raiders/Sharks are examples, Broncos/Eels, Bulldogs/Dragons would both wear their primary jerseys under my interpretation), preferably by away team.
• Alternate jersey can be either a heritage jersey, charity (including WiL, indigenous, general charities, ANZAC) or a members jersey (Warriors Greenstone would qualify under this category), no commercial interests jersey would be allowed in the season proper. One-off sponsorships (2/season) would mean that clubs could kill two birds with one stone and have a members jersey with a charity sponsor if they want.
• If the alternate is a heritage jersey, it should mimic the actual jersey they are tributing, including shorts and socks. No artistic license is to be taken in this case (just copy the bloody design!)
• Special rounds such as WiL, MiL, Indig., ANZAC would be represented by either a modified NRL patch or an additional patch above the NRL logo. Eg. a poppy or slouch hat on ANZAC round, to be consistent among all clubs.
  
• Sponsors on middle chest below club/NRL logo (not too high), sleeves, back below number, none on shorts. Player name where back above number sponsor currently is.