The Daddy3
Juniors
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- 155
It's been discussed on a few threads so may as well start a thread of its own on the subject.
As a general note, I'm not in favour of Norths being readmitted into the NRL under any guise either on their own or by teaming up with another bid team or expansion club.
However if I was leading Norths I would look at Adelaide as the best and most realistic opportunity of getting back into the comp. If anything they are suited to each other and has what the other is lacking.
As a comparison, let's look at Norths attempts of joining up with a Perth bid team. The Perth bid is going to receive backing from the Western Australia government, there will also be plenty of sponsorship opportunities in Perth as it has quite a significant economy that includes several major mining companies.
Perth has a population of over 2 million and the whole state nearly 3 million a large and growing number of potential fans. This foundation indicates that they do not need and wouldn't be dependent on any resources from Norths.
My general view is that the huge potential of a Perth based teams overshadows anything Norths have to offer and I include the Norths brand and history in that.
If anything Perth locals will be deterred from supporting a club that has its roots elsewhere.
Adelaide on the other hand has no local bid team, it does have a declining population and is not necessarily crying out for a local team but is still one of Australia's major centres and would get a decent level of local support, add to that I do think the NRL needs an Adelaide team to have a comp which feels truly national.
The sponsorship that Norths would bring to the table would complement input from local sponsorship to make it commercially viable.
For an Adelaide bid to work to their benefit they will need to have control of the licence that a Perth bid team will not agree to give them and also control of the club and every aspect of the bid. I can actually see this working and the Norths brand would give an Adelaide club a buzz that it wouldn't be able to generate on its own purely from a nostalgic standpoint. Casual fans would take interest in a Norths return as they were about Souths re-entering the comp or the admission of The Dolphins.
The key point though for it to be of benefit to the game is that the majority of games should still take place in Adelaide with maybe 3-4 games in Sydney.
My concern in such a partnership is that Norths would want to give the club a new generic name like The Bears so that it still appeals to a Norths fanbase and obviously there would be a general concern of Norths packing up and moving back to Sydney full time.
There would need to be contractual assurances in place to prevent this.
In short I wouldn't be against this alliance if it was called Adelaide Bears and I see it as Norths and Adelaide's best hope of returning to the NRL, they need each other.
As a general note, I'm not in favour of Norths being readmitted into the NRL under any guise either on their own or by teaming up with another bid team or expansion club.
However if I was leading Norths I would look at Adelaide as the best and most realistic opportunity of getting back into the comp. If anything they are suited to each other and has what the other is lacking.
As a comparison, let's look at Norths attempts of joining up with a Perth bid team. The Perth bid is going to receive backing from the Western Australia government, there will also be plenty of sponsorship opportunities in Perth as it has quite a significant economy that includes several major mining companies.
Perth has a population of over 2 million and the whole state nearly 3 million a large and growing number of potential fans. This foundation indicates that they do not need and wouldn't be dependent on any resources from Norths.
My general view is that the huge potential of a Perth based teams overshadows anything Norths have to offer and I include the Norths brand and history in that.
If anything Perth locals will be deterred from supporting a club that has its roots elsewhere.
Adelaide on the other hand has no local bid team, it does have a declining population and is not necessarily crying out for a local team but is still one of Australia's major centres and would get a decent level of local support, add to that I do think the NRL needs an Adelaide team to have a comp which feels truly national.
The sponsorship that Norths would bring to the table would complement input from local sponsorship to make it commercially viable.
For an Adelaide bid to work to their benefit they will need to have control of the licence that a Perth bid team will not agree to give them and also control of the club and every aspect of the bid. I can actually see this working and the Norths brand would give an Adelaide club a buzz that it wouldn't be able to generate on its own purely from a nostalgic standpoint. Casual fans would take interest in a Norths return as they were about Souths re-entering the comp or the admission of The Dolphins.
The key point though for it to be of benefit to the game is that the majority of games should still take place in Adelaide with maybe 3-4 games in Sydney.
My concern in such a partnership is that Norths would want to give the club a new generic name like The Bears so that it still appeals to a Norths fanbase and obviously there would be a general concern of Norths packing up and moving back to Sydney full time.
There would need to be contractual assurances in place to prevent this.
In short I wouldn't be against this alliance if it was called Adelaide Bears and I see it as Norths and Adelaide's best hope of returning to the NRL, they need each other.
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