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Good post is good.
New Brisbane team to target rugby stars if bid wins
Brad Walter
January 30, 2011
Fair game ... Quade Cooper (left) and Berrick Barnes will be on the hit list. Photo: Getty Images
QUADE COOPER, Berrick Barnes and Sonny Bill Williams head a list of potential targets for the new Brisbane team wanting to join the NRL.
The trio of rugby union stars has been identified as possible recruits by directors of the NRL Brisbane Expansion Team, who will investigate whether they want to switch codes if the consortium is given the green light to enter the competition in 2013.
''Every single player who is off contract at the end of 2012 will be on a list that we'll be going through and that includes Sonny Bill Williams, Berrick Barnes and Quade Cooper,'' consortium director Craig Davidson told The Sun-Herald. ''We wouldn't be doing our job properly if we didn't do that.
During the week Williams told a press conference on the Gold Coast - ahead of his fight last night with Scott Lewis - that he would consider playing for the new team. Cooper lives in Brisbane and Barnes is a former Bronco.
''At this stage we don't know whether there will be expansion in 2013, but we are getting the fundamentals of a bid ready to go,'' Davidson said.
It is understood that consortium head Bill Rae has already discussed the bid proposal with NRL chief executive David Gallop and more talks are planned this week.
Rae and Davidson are members of the 1980 Club, a group of wealthy businessmen given privileged access to the Queensland Origin camp. The third member of the consortium is Nicholas Livermore, the son of QRL boss Ross Livermore, who runs an events management company whose accounts include the Queensland FOGS.
Rae is a close friend of Maroons coach Mal Meninga, who has expressed an interest in returning to coaching in the NRL. The Sun-Herald has been told that other members of the 1980 Club - named after the year of the first State of Origin game - could become involved as sponsors or financial backers.
Despite the consortium's strong links to the Queensland Origin team, the bid members insist the QRL has no involvement.
''It is just three guys - Bill Rae, Nicholas Livermore and myself - who thought that if there was going to be expansion, the best place for a new team is Brisbane,'' Davidson said. ''It makes so much sense to have a game played at Suncorp Stadium every week.''
While no announcement has been made on when any expansion will be considered, the code's incoming independent commission is expected to decide whether to invite tenders. Central Coast Bears, Ipswich, Central Queensland, Perth, Wellington and Papua New Guinea have also expressed interest.
1. Thunder? Spirit? f**k no. Moreton Bay? Jesus f**king christ, it's hard to pick the worst among them they are so bloody bad.
Brisbane Barometric Pressure
Brisbane Boast
Brisbane Ambition
Brisbane Braves. Brisbane Bald Eagles.
Brisbane Bogong Moths
