2022 NRL ratings

[docbrown]

There isn’t a perfect option. If there were they would have already have a side (you’d think)

The options are really Perth and NZ 2. What Canard said is pretty much the problem with NZ 2: where are you going to put it.

You put it in Auckland, you damage the Warriors. You put it in Wellington and Christchurch and you have two relatively small places which are on par with say Newcastle and their surrounds wherein RU is a much bigger sport. Now I’m definitely for another Kiwi side (particularly for player potential) but NZ 2 is a much bigger challenge commercially.

The second New Zealand team should basically be a ‘North Island‘ minus Auckland team. There’s almost 2 million people there living on the North Island outside of Auckland. Base it mainly in Wellington but take games to places like Hamilton etc.

 

[Colk]

The second New Zealand team should basically be a ‘North Island‘ minus Auckland team. There’s almost 2 million people there living on the North Island outside of Auckland. Base it mainly in Wellington but take games to places like Hamilton etc.

Not a bad shout I guess

1. How would it market it? Would you call them Wellington or would you call them North Island?
2. Would you not eat into the Warriors fanbase? The Warriors fans are going to be located on the North Island I guess

I would prefer a South Island team but that would be difficult.

 

[Iamback]

There isn’t a perfect option. If there were they would have already have a side (you’d think)

The options are really Perth and NZ 2. What Canard said is pretty much the problem with NZ 2: where are you going to put it.

You put it in Auckland, you damage the Warriors. You put it in Wellington and Christchurch and you have two relatively small places which are on par with say Newcastle and their surrounds wherein RU is a much bigger sport. Now I’m definitely for another Kiwi side (particularly for player potential) but NZ 2 is a much bigger challenge commercially.

Ratings are hard to get a gauge on because Fox/Kayo don't do breakdowns for certain market.
Hard to see that they will be any better than the Storm. What are they averaging 50k on FTA?

Perth Reds pulled 24k 1st game. Ended up averaging 11k.
8k in 96 and 97.

Granted it was a while ago but here is figures from the WA government and the sports are falling away. Perth Glory are down another 1k this year.

Part of why I want a national Reserve grade is to allow these areas to develop to keep them viable long term. That is what needs to happen before next expansion. Player pool is too shallow

 

[Iamback]

Not a bad shout I guess

1. How would it market it? Would you call them Wellington or would you call them North Island?
2. Would you not eat into the Warriors fanbase? The Warriors fans are going to be located on the North Island I guess

I would prefer a South Island team but that would be difficult.

Pasifika team surely is the name

 

[Colk]

Pasifika team surely is the name

Hmm chance of spreading yourself way too thin. Are you suggesting that they play a whole series of games in Pacific Island nations?

 

[Colk]

Ratings are hard to get a gauge on because Fox/Kayo don't do breakdowns for certain market.
Hard to see that they will be any better than the Storm. What are they averaging 50k on FTA?

Perth Reds pulled 24k 1st game. Ended up averaging 11k.
8k in 96 and 97.

Granted it was a while ago but here is figures from the WA government and the sports are falling away. Perth Glory are down another 1k this year.

Part of why I want a national Reserve grade is to allow these areas to develop to keep them viable long term. That is what needs to happen before next expansion. Player pool is too shallow

You are using COVID affected years.

Attendances for most things are down - I work for a company in the events and entertainment industry for example and I can tell you that attendances and the number of events being held are dramatically down from pre COVID levels - although it is starting to pick up again. You would want to see 2022 and figures for the next couple of years before you could make a determination as to whether it is in fact a trend or whether it was just COVID.

Regarding how they stack up, I would always bet on a bigger market. Perth is just a bigger market than anything NZ could provide which is important when we are talking about something that is going to be niche (for want of a better word). Essentially the next market is going to be one where the sport is not the premier sport so it is something to factor in to the equation.

 

[Wb1234]

There isn’t a perfect option. If there were they would have already have a side (you’d think)

The options are really Perth and NZ 2. What Canard said is pretty much the problem with NZ 2: where are you going to put it.

You put it in Auckland, you damage the Warriors. You put it in Wellington and Christchurch and you have two relatively small places which are on par with say Newcastle and their surrounds wherein RU is a much bigger sport. Now I’m definitely for another Kiwi side (particularly for player potential) but NZ 2 is a much bigger challenge commercially.

Any location other than Auckland is fine for nz2 but the best is a side playing in several cities

it really comes down to whether skynz want another team and if they will pay the 18 million Aussie they will cost the arlc to run

then it’s pure profit for the sale of that ninth game to fox and nein

 

[Colk]

Any location other than Auckland is fine for nz2 but the best is a side playing in several cities

it really comes down to whether skynz want another team and if they will pay the 18 million Aussie they will cost the arlc to run

then it’s pure profit for the sale of that ninth game to fox and nein

That would definitely help the case for another Kiwi side. It depends on what the end want is

If the game wants the sugar hit then it will go with another Australian side. If money isn’t the big thing then the Kiwis have a chance. You want to see a bid first though

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

There is nowhere in NZ capable of sustaining a 2nd NRL team.

Case Closed

I wouldn't claim to be fully conversant with the minutiae of NZ League, but when I had a subscription to Rugby League Week most of the time they sent the NZ edition which carried a section on the domestic game.

All my instincts tell me that NZ 2 as the 18th NRL franchise would be a gigantic mistake. Local playing talent is the single criterion somewhere like Christchurch would have over Perth at the outset. But I reckon the best Canterbury products will still prefer to live in Sydney or Queensland. How would we make them stay at home?

As others have detailed, all the commercial and political factors point to Perth over NZ 2. On the other side of the fence, one member has decried copying AFL expansion. In my view, NZ 2 would be to the Warriors what GWS is to the Swans and GCS are to the Lions.

There was a social media item a few years back featuring a number of big League families in Auckland. One of the questions was "favourite NRL club". About 1 in 5 said Warriors. Even those who did had an air of perfunctory virtue. Most common replies were Broncos, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Storm.

Cultural and local club affinities with Aussie-based Polynesian stars have a major influence. For instance, there were more Panthers jerseys evident in South Auckland during the Toa Samoa parades last year.

All this confirms a long-standing impression that right across NZ most active League fans support Aussie NRL clubs. The majority of casuals might go with the Warriors, but only if they're winning. Against this backdrop I don't know where a solid dependable fanbase for NZ 2 will come from.

 

[Perth Red]

Like I said both options have challenges. Perth is jnr development and signing first grade players, nz2 is lack of Australian tv value and financial sustainability

you can solve Perths challenges easier than nz’s imo.

 

[Perth Red]

The second New Zealand team should basically be a ‘North Island‘ minus Auckland team. There’s almost 2 million people there living on the North Island outside of Auckland. Base it mainly in Wellington but take games to places like Hamilton etc.

This sounds like the crazy nsw bears model lol

 

[docbrown]

Not a bad shout I guess

1. How would it market it? Would you call them Wellington or would you call them North Island?
2. Would you not eat into the Warriors fanbase? The Warriors fans are going to be located on the North Island I guess

I would prefer a South Island team but that would be difficult.

I would have both New Zealand teams be called New Zealand. For example, New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand Orcas.

You can still be a Warriors fan and live in Wellington. You can be an Orcas fan and live in Auckland. It would be similar to NY Jets/Giants in the NFL. You’ll likely end up with a scenario where fans watch both teams similar to how Queensland fans watch games involving other Queensland teams. But you do need home cities for games to build attendance bases, hence Auckland and Wellington as the main centres.

There’s 4 million people on the North Island and there’s a near even split between Auckland/Northland and the other 7 regions there. The second New Zealand team can build its base by holding several matches in other North Island regions.

 

[Pneuma]

I wouldn't claim to be fully conversant with the minutiae of NZ League, but when I had a subscription to Rugby League Week most of the time they sent the NZ edition which carried a section on the domestic game.

All my instincts tell me that NZ 2 as the 18th NRL franchise would be a gigantic mistake. Local playing talent is the single criterion somewhere like Christchurch would have over Perth at the outset. But I reckon the best Canterbury products will still prefer to live in Sydney or Queensland. How would we make them stay at home?

As others have detailed, all the commercial and political factors point to Perth over NZ 2. On the other side of the fence, one member has decried copying AFL expansion. In my view, NZ 2 would be to the Warriors what GWS is to the Swans and GCS are to the Lions.

There was a social media item a few years back featuring a number of big League families in Auckland. One of the questions was "favourite NRL club". About 1 in 5 said Warriors. Even those who did had an air of perfunctory virtue. Most common replies were Broncos, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Storm.

Cultural and local club affinities with Aussie-based Polynesian stars have a major influence. For instance, there were more Panthers jerseys evident in South Auckland during the Toa Samoa parades last year.

All this confirms a long-standing impression that right across NZ most active League fans support Aussie NRL clubs. The majority of casuals might go with the Warriors, but only if they're winning. Against this backdrop I don't know where a solid dependable fanbase for NZ 2 will come from.

Good post. Problem is that we’ve got a solid core of Sydney centric people here who cannot countenance the fact that a Perth club presents some great opportunities for the game. I’m certainly not against NZ2 by the way. But I find it hilarious how some here are telling outright lies out of a sense of paranoia about expanding the games base in their own country. Most peculiar.

 

[Iamback]

Hmm chance of spreading yourself way too thin. Are you suggesting that they play a whole series of games in Pacific Island nations?

Not at all, Like the Dolphins to not be tied to a location is the way to go early on.

It allows the club to play its games where the money is, Also allows to permantly base itself where the juniors/Corporates are for the longer term

 

[Iamback]

Like I said both options have challenges. Perth is jnr development and signing first grade players, nz2 is lack of Australian tv value and financial sustainability

you can solve Perths challenges easier than nz’s imo.

You fly to East Coast often.
Without saying your private things like how much you pay.
Do you reckon it would be $3m to in theory send a 2nd tier team across to play games?

Assuming you find players to fill it that is

 

[Canard]

You fly to East Coast often.
Without saying your private things like how much you pay.
Do you reckon it would be $3m to in theory send a 2nd tier team across to play games?

Assuming you find players to fill it that is

For mine any 2nd tier side, at least initially would be East Coast based.

I'd also see this sort of thing being resolved via an Airline sponsorship.

 

[Colk]

Not at all, Like the Dolphins to not be tied to a location is the way to go early on.

It allows the club to play its games where the money is, Also allows to permantly base itself where the juniors/Corporates are for the longer term

I get that but where would they play? If they play some games in the Islands (like a couple of games each in Fiji, Hawaii etc) that is a massive cost in flights. There’s also the problem with infrastructure - do these areas have the facilities to host games?

In saying that, if you base them predominantly in New Zealand and play most of their games there then it is a better option than PNG

 

[Wb1234]

Hmm chance of spreading yourself way too thin. Are you suggesting that they play a whole series of games in Pacific Island nations?

Y

Not at all, Like the Dolphins to not be tied to a location is the way to go early on.

It allows the club to play its games where the money is, Also allows to permantly base itself where the juniors/Corporates are for the longer term

This is spot on

that’s why they haven’t chosen a name yet either

they will see what crowds they get at Suncorp and if they are good they will become north brisbane

 

[Iamback]

For mine any 2nd tier side, at least initially would be East Coast based.

I'd also see this sort of thing being resolved via an Airline sponsorship.

I think that is best for long term.

Storm got pumped 66-0 in SG Ball today, Better them getting flogged than in a 3rd rate comp.

20 teams is the ideal number, Eventually all these areas will get ticked off. Just need to get enough quality players to fill these sides

 

[Iamback]

I get that but where would they play? If they play some games in the Islands (like a couple of games each in Fiji, Hawaii etc) that is a massive cost in flights. There’s also the problem with infrastructure - do these areas have the facilities to host games?

In saying that, if you base them predominantly in New Zealand and play most of their games there then it is a better option than PNG

NZ based. That is the home for the junior sides but the Islander support is everywhere in Sydney.

As for Hawaii well NRL wants that USA round 0 to happen, Samoa are popular over there. No reason they could fill Eden Park v Warriors too