AFL to launch 2nd sydney team in 2012

[dallymessenger]

souths and the roosters should similarly unite for fight the swans and waratahs

 

[Timmah]

Souths and the Roosters uniting? :lol:

Why not just merge Man U & Arsenal? :lol:

 

[Ziggy the God]

Souths and the Roosters uniting? :lol:

Why not just merge Man U & Arsenal? :lol:

No doubt we are fierce rivals, but we play and love the same sport.

You won't ever hear Politis/Phac come out and state that they are working together, as the 'animosity' sure helps get bums on seats. I have seen stranger things happen.

In any case, if Souths and Easts somehow make the Semis, and even play each other, you won't be hearing too much about the Swans or Waratards in the East.

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

GROWING up in Sydney's golden west, I was brought up putting AFL players into the same category as blokes who drunk West Coast Coolers and loitered around public toilet blocks.

Never been a RR fan but he is spot on here.

 

[Quidgybo]

Maybe taking the fight to them would be to introduce a second Melbourne team, Adelaide and Perth

The sentiment is correct, but not the strategy. We should most certainly be taking the fight to the AFL's own backyard to force them to redirect some of their resources and focus to defending their existing territory. It annoys me no end that we're constantly fighting from the defensive position with the battle being waged on our territory while the AFL can happily take its existing strongholds and clubs for granted with no consequence. Inevitably we lose a few fans and a few juniors here and there to the AFL's millions and even just interstate migration but we don't take advantage of the fact that those dollars are being directed into NSW and QLD at the expense of somewhere else or that we too have a stream of fans migrating interstate to AFL areas. We end up with a net loss of fans because we're not doing enough to pick up those lost numbers from the AFL strongholds.

Our game must put pressure back on the AFL but the answer is not a spate of new money draining NRL franchises. One new club definitely - based in Perth - but there is plenty the game can do in Melbourne/Victoria without wasting money propping up another NRL franchise and undermining the existing one.

1. Guarantee Melbourne at least one Kangaroos Test match every year against either the Kiwis or Poms. Market the crap out of it and enshrine it as part of the cultural calendar just like Origin is in NSW and QLD. Regular showcase matches are vital for giving RL a moment in the spotlight each year and the flow on effect for interest in the Storm and junior participation.
2. Schedule all Melbourne Storm games, both home and away, in a regular weekly timeslot that enables the matches to be shown on TV at an accessible hour - most likely Sunday 2pm kickoff for 4pm replay. On Sundays when they play away show the Storm game live at 2pm and the regular Nein game at 4pm as a double header.
3. Ensure that at least one third of all Storm NYC players are Victorian developed even if that means the side is consistently beaten and is a perpetual cellar dwellar. The Storm import their entire first grade side currently anyway so it's not like creating more opportunities for the locals is going to undermine anything.
4. Create a Melbourne based JBC or NSW Cup side, independent of the Storm (not News Ltd owned or funded) and entirely composed of Victorian developed players. In the long term (20 years+) this side would form the foundation of either a second Melbourne team or a quick replacement for the Storm if News Ltd ever pull the plug. Think London Skolars.
5. Create a Albury/Wodonga based NSW Cup side aligned with the Raiders. This large border city should actually be a long term (30 years+) target market for an NRL franchise. In the interim it is the ideal stepping stone into AFL areas in country Victoria while at the same time reinforcing RL's presence in an area that is inherently RL literate but also susceptible to AFL incursion.

Leigh.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

1. Schedule all Melbourne Storm games, both home and away, in a regular weekly timeslot that enables the matches to be shown on TV at an accessible hour - most likely Sunday 2pm kickoff for 4pm replay. On Sundays when they play away show the Storm game live at 2pm and the regular Nein game at 4pm as a double header.
2. Create a Melbourne based JBC or NSW Cup side, independent of the Storm (not News Ltd owned or funded) and entirely composed of Victorian developed players. In the long term (20 years+) this side would the foundation of either a second Melbourne team or a quick replacement for the Storm if News Ltd ever pull the plug. Think London Skolars.
3. Create a Albury/Wodonga based NSW Cup side aligned with the Raiders. This large border city should actually be a long term (30 years+) target market for an NRL franchise. In the interim it is the ideal stepping stone into AFL areas in country Victoria while at the same time reinforcing RL's presence in an area that is inherently RL literate but also susceptible to AFL incursion.

Leigh.

I really like these three.

 

[Brycey]

souths and the roosters should similarly unite for fight the swans and waratahs

Our management prefer to unite with the Tahds :?

 

[choc_soldier]

Sure, it's just an opinion piece, but Swans player Barry Hall has said in today's SMH that there isn't enough support in Sydney for two AFL teams.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/ne...1205602582665.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

He's stating the undeniable truth, but I wonder if the truth will hurt with the AFL, and will be subsequently muzzled by them... :lol:

 

[In-goal]

Albury/Wodonga

Rugby League isn't all that strong at the border, Aussie Rules seems to have the run of the public there.

However I do think it is something worth investigating, the idea of a London Scholars type team in Melbourne is also a great concept.

 

[Perth Red]

A Melbourne JB cup team maybe? Wouldn't cost a huge sum and would give the game more profile and allow more Victorian player development.

Interesting that the AFL club CEO's unanimously backed the expansion proposals. Wonder what the sweetner was? Maybe they have already had a wink re the next TV deal?

God I wish we had a management that had some balls!

 

[Brownie.Kougari]

JB cup team in Geelong? or Ballarat? Just a thought at developing in Vic outside Melbourne

 

[Quidgybo]

JB cup team in Geelong? or Ballarat? Just a thought at developing in Vic outside Melbourne

The reason I raised Albury/Wodonga as the starting point for RL in country Victoria is because it is a relatively large city (about the size of Darwin) that already has a foot in both the AFL and RL camps. Whether one is stronger than the other isn't really the issue. It already has a foundation for our game - a familiarity with RL thru the area's links to NSW (and NSW television broadcasts) that allows us to go there with some confidence that we can achieve something without sinking money into a black hole. And from there it provides a stepping stone into other areas deeper into country Victoria. A bit of publicity about the "local" team just up the road in the country papers, the odd game played at another regional venue etc etc. And the other great benefit is that it allows the game to leverage and reinforce the huge pool and players and fans in the southern NSW region against further drift to AFL (also using Albury/Wodonga as a stepping stone) while also helping to secure the future of perhaps our most vunerable regional market - Canberra.

That said, there is no doubt that the economic and political heart of Victoria is and will remain Melbourne. Where Melbourne goes, country Victoria is going to tend to follow. As such I really don't think we should be looking to locate the next proper Victorian based RL side (in this case an economical JBC or NSW Cup, not an NRL club) anywhere but in Melbourne. Work from the north with a Raiders supporting NSW Cup team spreading the gospel in southern NSW and across the border into country Victoria. And work from the south in Melbourne with a JBC or NSW Cup side to secure the game's foothold (regardless of the Storm's fortunes or News Ltd's whims) at the heart of the state where the decisions are made. We do need to spend money to make these things happen but it doesn't need to be tens of millions every year on expensive glitzy NRL franchises. Instead, spend a fraction of that on a couple of well placed second and third tier franchises to help spread the game not just into new areas but also deeper into the lower levels (below the NRL) in our existing frontier markets while simultaneously securing our heartland borders against further erosion by the rival code.

Leigh.

 

[miguel de cervantes]

QuidgyBo 4 CEO!

 

[Brownie.Kougari]

The reason I raised Albury/Wodonga as the starting point for RL in country Victoria is because it is a relatively large city (about the size of Darwin) that already has a foot in both the AFL and RL camps. Whether one is stronger than the other isn't really the issue. It already has a foundation for our game - a familiarity with RL thru the area's links to NSW (and NSW television broadcasts) that allows us to go there with some confidence that we can achieve something without sinking money into a black hole. And from there it provides a stepping stone into other areas deeper into country Victoria. A bit of publicity about the "local" team just up the road in the country papers, the odd game played at another regional venue etc etc. And the other great benefit is that it allows the game to leverage and reinforce the huge pool and players and fans in the southern NSW region against further drift to AFL (also using Albury/Wodonga as a stepping stone) while also helping to secure the future of perhaps our most vunerable regional market - Canberra.

That said, there is no doubt that the economic and political heart of Victoria is and will remain Melbourne. Where Melbourne goes, country Victoria is going to tend to follow. As such I really don't think we should be looking to locate the next proper Victorian based RL side (in this case an economical JBC or NSW Cup, not an NRL club) anywhere but in Melbourne. Work from the north with a Raiders supporting NSW Cup team spreading the gospel in southern NSW and across the border into country Victoria. And work from the south in Melbourne with a JBC or NSW Cup side to secure the game's foothold (regardless of the Storm's fortunes or News Ltd's whims) at the heart of the state where the decisions are made. We do need to spend money to make these things happen but it doesn't need to be tens of millions every year on expensive glitzy NRL franchises. Instead, spend a fraction of that on a couple of well placed second and third tier franchises to help spread the game not just into new areas but also deeper into the lower levels (below the NRL) in our existing frontier markets while simultaneously securing our heartland borders against further erosion by the rival code.

Leigh.

If Albury/Wodonga really is the size of Darwin then there's a strong arguement for a team there (not NRL as you said but in lower tier comp)

In saying this what do you cockroaches think about a Qld Cup style comp in NSW? I personally reckon the different regional comps & split between the NSWRL & the CRL is killing the game in the NSW bush. If there were teams from Parra and Redfern playing against teams from Wagga & Coffs would that make rugby league a more relevant to the NSW Country

Thoughts?

 

[magpie_man]

QuidgyBo 4 CEO!

Good call.

 

[Perth Red]

When you think you can have a Jim Beam Cup team operational for around 600K it isn't a lot of investment to have 4 or 5 in places like PNG, WA, SA, NT and Vic.

I believe Q'land cup needs around 1mill budget and with the standard being much higher this may be a next step option for those expansion area JB cup teams that develop some quality local players.

Would be great to see one of the criteria for new expansion teams being they should run a JB/Q'land cup team as well as the NRL franchise and under 20's. This would give more profile to the game and also a development route for players from the local league that aren't good enough to make NRL.

 

[CHRIS SANDOW]

Here it is:

THE AFL's planned push into western Sydney and southern Queensland is sabre-rattling. Football is a war game and teams can neither be recruited nor trained overnight.
It took rugby league 20 years and four reincarnations before the Titans were taken seriously on the Gold Coast. The AFL expects to do it in three years.

A western Sydney team, scheduled for 2012, would at least have a home ground - the Olympic stadium at Homebush Bay - but drafting 90 first-grade AFL players over four years is unrealistic.
A second Sydney team would seriously undermine the Swans, whose popularity is based on their monopoly of NSW.

It would more than halve the Swans' support, and failure on the field in Sydney - as the Waratahs have demonstrated in rugby union's Super 14 - is not tolerated.

This AFL war plan is typical bullying behaviour by its chief executive, Andrew Demetriou. Chagrined that his old club, North Melbourne, refused to move to the Gold Coast, he is trying to panic it into a relocation. However, the AFL is concerned about the spectacular success of soccer since Australia's second richest man, Frank Lowy, resurrected the sport in Australia. While AFL is played in one country and the two rugby codes in about 20, soccer is the world game. Whenever the Socceroos failed to qualify for a World Cup, a bottle of champagne was opened at AFL headquarters.
The Socceroos' success in the last World Cup in Germany, the expanding A-League and its push into Asia are all danger signs for the AFL's dream of national domination.

The AFL's national exposure allows it to attract broadcasting and sponsorship revenue double that of the NRL. The turnover of the AFL's top club, Collingwood, is twice that of the NRL's richest franchise, the Brisbane Broncos.

Similarly, the AFL salary cap is almost double the NRL player payment ceiling. The AFL would draw revenue from a code already squeezed by the downturn in the income of its poker machine-financed leagues clubs. Should the AFL brazenly demand its broadcasters finance this expansion to 18 teams, it will compromise News Limited, half-owners of the NRL. News Limited half-owns Fox Sports, which televises four live AFL games a week and also carries the AFL's Friday night match to NSW and Queensland, the territory the AFL imperialistically calls "our developing states".

If News Limited, which holds the management rights to Foxtel and Fox Sports, further funds and facilitates AFL expansion, the media giant will attract conflict of interest accusations and criticism that it is jeopardising the future of rugby league, the No.1 sport of NSW and Queensland.


http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/ne...-code-violation/2008/02/15/1202760600565.html

The AFL team in western sydney is real worrying, as their coming at a time when the panthers finances aren't going that well. I think a second team in Sydney will work for the AFL, but it will be a very expensive exercise for the AFL. Their adleast approaching it the right way with building the stadium, rather than the NRL's haphazard approach in Melbourne.

The Gold Coast team at Carrara will probably won't work unless North Melbourne moves up there with some financial help. Especially considering the A-League will have a team in the Gold Coast as well, but the A-League salary cap is lower and they have less expenses.

 

[Brownie.Kougari]

The day that both the Broncos and the Titans make the finals is the day AFL in Qld dies.

Also, disgraceful that Collingwood earn so much more than Brisbane, wtf's going on there?

 

[BrisVegas]

The day that both the Broncos and the Titans make the finals is the day AFL in Qld dies.

Also, disgraceful that Collingwood earn so much more than Brisbane, wtf's going on there?

Clubs like the Broncos and Collingwood earn a very significant % of their turnover through match attendance, and the reality is that the MCG can hold a crowd just under double that of Suncorp.

Of Collingwood's 11 regular season home games, 8 times they drew a larger crowd than Suncorp can hold when sold out (6 of those games against other Victorian sides).

Hopefully Australia can grab either the 2018 or 2022 Soccer World Cup final so they can justify expanding Suncorp to ~ 70k+. The extra capacity for the Broncos blockbuster games would help drive revenue higher.

 

[Brownie.Kougari]

Clubs like the Broncos and Collingwood earn a very significant % of their turnover through match attendance, and the reality is that the MCG can hold a crowd just under double that of Suncorp.

Of Collingwood's 11 regular season home games, 8 times they drew a larger crowd than Suncorp can hold when sold out (6 of those games against other Victorian sides).

Hopefully Australia can grab either the 2018 or 2022 Soccer World Cup final so they can justify expanding Suncorp to ~ 70k+. The extra capacity for the Broncos blockbuster games would help drive revenue higher.

Here's a question, do the Vic AFL clubs have home and away games against each other? Or, seeing as none of them have a home ground, do they split the cash between the 2 clubs playing? 2nd option would make sense as the members of both teams would be going & hence bigger crowds...

Brisbane seriously need to get their memberships up to 40k+ so we can justify a bigger ground, merchandise is another area where we could make much more of a killing (look at what Souths and the GC have brought out).

Also, I'd like to see Brissy make a deal with Cronulla or some of the teams taking their games to Perth/Adelaide and say: "We'll chip in half the advertising costs if you give us half the gate." Doing this would enable the Broncs to expand their brand and hence have more appeal.