Central Coast Bears NRL Bid.

[siv]

CC hate Manly

 

[Diesel]

Not sure I see the point of that.



If the Gold Coast Bears was to come to fruition, I'd suggest:
8 games on the GC
3 games on the CC
1 game at North Sydney

With the NRL guaranteeing another 3-6 games at Gosford, with Roosters Manly Dogs likely candidates.

.

I like this idea, however rather than calling the GC Bears, a better name would be East Coast Bears

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

CC hate Manly

Well thats a massive and baseless generalisation....

Some will hate them, some will love them and most would just be happy to get the local games.

Even hate is good for a team; they inspire passion and still draw crowds. Ambivalence is the thing that should be avoided...

 

[insert.pause]

If the Titans keep their name and colours (blue, gold, white) but play in Sydney in black and red, what a horrible outcome that would be.

Trying to be half pregnant, go all in on the Titans becoming the Gold Coast Bears or leave them as is.

Agree completely, the CC can't sustain an NRL club long term imo, the bears should merge with the titans, and be rebranded the Gold Coast Bears and play a couple games each year on the CC. The logo could be a Bear on a surfboard, lol.

 

[adamkungl]

I like this idea, however rather than calling the GC Bears, a better name would be East Coast Bears

Yuck. Can't stand generic wide ranging names (GWS) that don't actually give an real sense of identity.

A successful club *needs* to have at least some sense of parochial attachment to it, either at suburb, region, or state level. Sure not all fans will identify with them based on local area, but it's sure as shit more than those that will attach to a broad generic catch-all like 'East Coast'.

Similarly, the South-Pacific Cyclones is a garbage idea.

Much better be a true Wellington team with a Fiji partnership than stretch yourself too far across a f**king ocean.

 

[siv]

I like this idea, however rather than calling the GC Bears, a better name would be East Coast Bears

North Coast Bears

 

[gallagher]

Not the worst idea out but Balmain and their fans wouldn't go for it and it would be damaging to force it.

And it's important to remember that despite Wests Tigers having some issues now it wasn't long ago they were one of the most well supported Sydney clubs (still would be if they weren't in such a bad slump).

Making permanent decisions to cut or relocate teams based on short term ups and downs is what leads to situations like the Bears.

Dangle a pretty good carrot in front of Balmain and they might bite though - of all the Sydney teams it's hard to argue that they're the ones most struggling for a distinct local identity at the moment. Which is why I hope they push the majority of their operations to Campbeltown instead of clinging to the inner west so hard.

Problem is that balnain are broke. They can't contribute to the wests tigers let alone own a team by themselves.

 

[flippikat]

My ideal solution would be :

* Titans rebranded as Gold Coast Bears. Red and Black colours, home ground Cbus Super Stadium.

* Roosters move to Gosford, keep their existing colours, rebrand as East Coast Roosters or "Easts Roosters"

* Brothers (in kelly green, navy & white butchers stripes) or west Brisbane/Ipswich (Bottle green, white, yellow) to be team #17

*West Coast Pirates to be team 18. 2 Games per year at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, to start building the game there. Black, gold & red

the yellow one for main jersey, black for alternate, red for Adelaide games. Easy.

 

[Diesel]

I'd rather see the Bears play in either their current NSW black and red stripe jersey or the 1990's red, black and white jersey.

Just a side thought, the Warriors look settled on black, red and white colours now, and the Pirates look set on red, black and gold, not that it should affect anything as Parra, Titans and Cowboys all have the blue and gold in their jerseys and to a less extent Melbourne.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

My ideal solution would be :

*West Coast Pirates to be team 18. 2 Games per year at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, to start building the game there. Black, gold & red

It shouldnt be Perths job to take games to Adelaide...

Like every other 1 team town, they will only get 12 games in Perth while Sydney gets almost 200. Move some of those.

(Youre probably right about Perth becoming the no.1 team in Adelaide, so move their sydney games; its not like they will be one of the big-drawing oppositions...)

 

[flippikat]

I'd rather see the Bears play in either their current NSW black and red stripe jersey or the 1990's red, black and white jersey.

Just a side thought, the Warriors look settled on black, red and white colours now, and the Pirates look set on red, black and gold, not that it should affect anything as Parra, Titans and Cowboys all have the blue and gold in their jerseys and to a less extent Melbourne.

Yeah, if managed well then there need not be any major clash between Bears, Warriors & Pirates.

* Bears should naturally be the traditional red & black stripes, with leeway for their 1980s (red with black trim) and 1990s (Citibank) jerseys to be used as heritage designs.

* Warriors are mostly black, so little chance of a clash with Bears.. but if they have to wear something else against the Bears there's a perfectly fine silver alternate jersey.

* Pirates should be yellow or gold for the main/home jersey with red & black trim & V.. it just makes sense to use the gold for a Perth based club. away or alternate should (I believe) be black, but red could work as well - but if they don't *have* to wear the alternate to all away games.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Move the tigers entity to perth
Merge wests magpies and penrith- west sydney panthers in nrl. Both play in nsw cup down theough to harold matts still as kwy pathways in West sydney.
Bring in CC bears
Bring in a SEQ side preferrably with old BRL roots- could be say moreton bay dolphins or south queensland (jets or scorpions but would be supported by souths-logan and ipswich)

18 teams, genuine expansion,rationalisation of sydney wihile acknowladging foundation clubs and shoring up key areas/pathways in CC and SEQ Simple

This is the West Sydney merge that SHOULD have happened post-SL....

Together, they would have claimed the entire west (with the Badgery Creek connections that are coming, it would be so much easier traveling SW>NW/NW>SW that outer suberb to city centre) and their territory wouldnt be a patchwork.

As for the identity, "Magpies" has always been pretty meh (fans seem more inclined to call them "Wests") and the Panthers have never established an iconic jersey. West Sydney Panthers in that Black-White butcher stripe, easy.

 

[flippikat]

It shouldnt be Perths job to take games to Adelaide...

Like every other 1 team town, they will only get 12 games in Perth while Sydney gets almost 200. Move some of those.

(Youre probably right about Perth becoming the no.1 team in Adelaide, so move their sydney games; its not like they will be one of the big-drawing oppositions...)

You make a great point - but if we rely on Sydney clubs to expand the game and cultivate new markets, well.. results will be mixed at best.

To their credit, Souths have done a great job fostering the demand for games in Perth - but how many times have other Sydney clubs talked the talk about Adelaide.. only to bail on the idea just as quickly?

Unless the NRL demand it of the Sydney clubs, or Adelaide makes them an offer they can't refuse, or the NRL fronts with "sweetener" incentives to get the clubs out there.. it ain't happening.

So, maybe time for the interstate clubs to take the lead.

 

[JDSloane]

As much I like Phil Gould (despite not always agreeing with e'thing he has an opinion on), he believes that a CC team cannot survive long-term. What is he basing this on? Surely there's quite a few RL fans in general in that area even if they wouldn't be jus' a CC Bears fan? I'd have a guess that not all ppl in Bris are Broncos fans jus as not all ppl in Sydney support a Sydney-based team :?

Had Manly & Nth Sydney been able to get along, split their games between Brookie & the CC, I'm sure they'd have been a fairly strong team yr in & yr out with the juniors they'd have had

 

[flippikat]

Well, if there's no case for a stand-alone Central Coast team (and I'm not convinced about that argument. . Especially if the Sydney market loses some more NRL clubs and becomes less saturated), surely there's a case for a regional club - a "St George-Illawarra of the north" so to speak, that splits home games between Sydney & Gosford?

It doesn't necessarily have to be Manly, since the NRL already has clubs that represent non-adjacent areas.

 

[Jebus]

Not sure I see the point of that.

Let's say they go forward as the Gold Coast Bears.

They lose their connection to North Sydney except as tokenism with the odd game or 2.

They are stuck representing the Gold Coast which surely we're all ready to admit is a sporting dead zone and inferior to what the Central Coast is likely to bring.

The Central Coast gets f**k all.


As much as I'd like them to be the 17th or 18th team with Perth, the NRL and networks are likely to swing towards Brisbane 2, and aside from that it's basically impossible to argue anymore that Central Coast is a higher priority than Perth or NZ-2.

If the Gold Coast Bears was to come to fruition, I'd suggest:
8 games on the GC
3 games on the CC
1 game at North Sydney

With the NRL guaranteeing another 3-6 games at Gosford, with Roosters Manly Dogs likely candidates.

If this is what happens to the Bears, Perth and a second expansion team should come in easily.


My preference however, remains 2 rounds of 2 expansions,
2017: Perth + Central Coast Bears
mid2020s: Brisbane 2 + New Zealand 2

Of course there is too much politics and indecision for ANY of the above to happen and more likely we'll tread water for the next 15 years.


Rather than misguided stadium centralisation of Sydney, my preference is for teams to expand their reach as the population does, where opportunities exist.

St George taking a higher proportion of games to Wollongong.
Manly and maybe Roosters taking consistent games to Gosford, in the absence of the Bears.
Tigers taking a higher proportion of games to Campbeltown.

Yeah I cannot see any fans from North Sydney supporting another merged/rebranded team after the failure of the Northern Eagles. Many would probably see it as an insult to have a team 99 years their junior wearing their colours and playing three token games at their old home ground (if the Bears and Gold Coast weren't to merge, which has also been proposed). I'd love for a return for the red and black on the CC but it seems the NRL itself cares precious little for the old bear. If not, the Bears should start another stand alone bid for re entry, perhaps in rural southern Queensland if a spot doesn't get taken there.

I cannot see St Geo Illa or WT moving more games to the Gong or CSS. Both teams supporter bases are overwhelmingly concentrated among the former St George and Balmain contingencies. Crowds at both grounds are generally pretty low and it is stated in both joint venture agreements that they must play the same amount of games at both 'traditional' home grounds. SGI still portray themselves as the St George of 1921-98 (90% of the fans see SG and SGI as the same thing, even some Dragons players call the team 'St george' only) and the WT are still seen as Balmain by the masses despite the club doing everything it can to forge itself a new identity, so that proposal probably won't happen.

 

[adamkungl]

I cannot see St Geo Illa or WT moving more games to the Gong or CSS. Both teams supporter bases are overwhelmingly concentrated among the former St George and Balmain contingencies. Crowds at both grounds are generally pretty low and it is stated in both joint venture agreements that they must play the same amount of games at both 'traditional' home grounds. SGI still portray themselves as the St George of 1921-98 (90% of the fans see SG and SGI as the same thing, even some Dragons players call the team 'St george' only) and the WT are still seen as Balmain by the masses despite the club doing everything it can to forge itself a new identity, so that proposal probably won't happen.

The reason for this is largely because they've always treated Campbeltown and Wollongong like shit.

 

[Jebus]

The reason for this is largely because they've always treated Campbelltown and Wollongong like shit.

Pretty much lol. With the Dragons it was mostly with a lack of recognition for Illawarra, as at least they've persisted in training in the Gong most of the time. With the WT it's been just as bad, for different reasons, they even marketed one home game in Ctown as a "road trip". Ridiculous.

 

[dangerousdave]

My ideal solution would be :

* Titans rebranded as Gold Coast Bears. Red and Black colours, home ground Cbus Super Stadium.

* Roosters move to Gosford, keep their existing colours, rebrand as East Coast Roosters or "Easts Roosters"

* Brothers (in kelly green, navy & white butchers stripes) or west Brisbane/Ipswich (Bottle green, white, yellow) to be team #17

*West Coast Pirates to be team 18. 2 Games per year at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, to start building the game there. Black, gold & red

the yellow one for main jersey, black for alternate, red for Adelaide games. Easy.

Spot on.
Though perhaps a partial relocation for easts would be a stronger outcome 6/6 split

 

[joshreading]

I actually think in the short term the West Coast Pirates should create a link with PNG as well.

Pirates would work well with PNG. The colours work well. Additionally, you create two away set of fans (WA people and PNG people which as worked well for the QLD CUP)

PNG has a MASSIVE potential pool for players creating a strong catchment zone for the Pirates.

If 2 - 3 home games were moved to PNG (which nows has decent stadia) you would also get sell out crowds. If you moved monday night games as well you would gaurantee good crowds on a terrible night.