Do mergers and joint-ventures work?

[Marlins]

Do you understand what happened with the Bears?



And merging Cronulla and St George? I don’t know if you’ve lived in Sydney mate but it’s never going to happen.

I know it’s too late now, but did Illawarra take any better? It would of made more sense geographically.

 

[Stallion]

Hate to break it to you, but you had zero to do with that decision.

Balmain and Wests were in a situation where the two clubs they'd spoken prominently with (Parramatta and Canterbury respectively) sought full take-overs of the foundation clubs.

Balmain and Wests came together because both preferred a 50/50 merger. They had no other options available for survival.

That's fine. However I have a letter from Danny Munk thanking me for my suggestion. Not trying to boast or whatever! Just stating what did happen. I know it's not much value on here. But anyway it's been stated.

 

[beave]

I know it’s too late now, but did Illawarra take any better? It would of made more sense geographically.

at the time illawarra wasn’t exactly flush with cash, the dragons seemed to have a bit of a unofficial presence in the area and they shared the same colours. It seemed to be the most convenient and practical of the mergers. I don’t remember much ill will between the fan bases at the time, unlike Cronulla and St George.

The NRL/ARL had promised that if any Sydney team relocated they were safe from culling. The Bears had been toying with the CC for a while and committed to moving north. Their stadium was delayed massively due to a very wet 12 month period and then delayed again when it was realised the steel used in the construction was either the wrong grade or not tempered properly (im not a metallurgist).

The stadium up there was delayed 2-3 years and financially f**ked Norths to the point where they had to merge with their bitter enemy to at least have something survive. It was a f**king mess but the Bears were the only one committed to moving away from Sydney and got taken advantage of by Manly. Looking back, it’s GoT type shit really. Manly were not dumb and played it superbly.

North’s were literally Ned Stark and Manly the Lannister’s.

 

[muzby]

St George have been dragging Illawarra down for the past 20 years.

Time to set the steel town free and let them be a stand-alone force in the NRL

 

[carcharias]

I know blokes who were Steelers fans and still hate the merger
They go in the Kangaroo Valley pétanque tournament in theirs Steelers jerseys .
Legends!

 

[madunit]

That's fine. However I have a letter from Danny Munk thanking me for my suggestion. Not trying to boast or whatever! Just stating what did happen. I know it's not much value on here. But anyway it's been stated.

Just out of curiousity, what's the date on the letter?

 

[Willow]

In hindsight, if we could go back in time, a merge between St.George Dragons & Cronulla Sutherland Sharks, would have been the go. Leave the Illawarra Steelers to Wollongong.

That was never going to happen. And you can't just wave a magic wand with these things.

But if you really do want to use hindsight as a science, the smart thing would have been to never let Cronulla into the competition in the first place. It's a fact that they weren't the first choice in 1967, Illawarra were invited in ahead of them. The two new clubs in 1967 should have been Illawarra and Penrith. Unfortunately the CRL selfishly vetoed Ilawarra's bid. The NSWRL didn't want the bye so they threw out a line to Cronulla.

And it's a joint venture, not a merger.

 

[madunit]

It appears that some people still don't know the difference between a merger and a joint venture.

St George Illawarra Dragons is a Joint Venture between two entities. This JV is reviewed every five years.

The SGID JV is currently between St George Dragons (50%) and WIN Corporation (50%), as WIN Corp bought out the Illawarra Steelers' final 25% share in 2018.

So the name should be changed to the St.George-WIN Corp Dragons? ;-)

 

[carcharias]

Goes without saying that the Sharks fans ended up with a heaps better deal than the mergers fans.

It took a while but it did eventuate eventually.

 

[Willow]

So the name should be changed to the St.George-WIN Corp Dragons? ;-)

That's become an in-joke.

It's a weird set up. The original JV doesn't exist anymore. But they still pretend. There's plenty of clubs that have some business arrangement or a backer of some sort, Easts even have their main backer as their chairman, but they don't call that a joint venture.

 

[Knuckle-dragger]

I'd be open to the idea of St George Illawarra and Cronulla merging to create a Superclub.

Maybe even this Superclub merging with Canberra to create a Southern Superclub.

 

[unforgiven]

That's fine. However I have a letter from Danny Munk thanking me for my suggestion. Not trying to boast or whatever! Just stating what did happen. I know it's not much value on here. But anyway it's been stated.

So you believe that you are responsible for the choice the Balmain made?

 

[Stallion]

So you believe that you are responsible for the choice the Balmain made?

Nope. Just noted the decision and the acknowledgment from Balmain CEO. All around the same time. I'll have to forage in the garage as the letter is amongst a pile of stuff I don't look at any more.

 

[Willow]

So you believe that you are responsible for the choice the Balmain made?

Internet forums often bring out the jokers, and those who see them as fair game.

Sometimes it's easier to move to the next post.

 

[TheFrog]

Manly were not dumb and played it superbly.

Manly picked up a cool $3m from memory, far more than the salary cap at the time, no strings attached, for knifing the Bears in the back. Manly weren't dumb, but the same cannot be said of the governing body, who should have demanded their money back and had contracts to enforce it.

 

[TheFrog]

The SGID JV is currently between St George Dragons (50%) and WIN Corporation (50%), as WIN Corp bought out the Illawarra Steelers' final 25% share in 2018.

It doesn't matter. The team still plays in, and represents the Illawarra region.

 

[muzby]

 

[flippikat]

Goes without saying that the Sharks fans ended up with a heaps better deal than the mergers fans.

It took a while but it did eventuate eventually.

All three Superleague-aligned Sydney clubs did very well - no expulsions, relocations, or mergers to see there! If only we could say the same for Superleague's Perth & Adelaide teams...

Another angle too - I've gotta wonder if some administrators/fans of Norths don't secretly regret spurning Superleague in hindsight. How differently could things have turned out for the Bears in that scenario?

 

[carcharias]

 

[muzby]

View attachment 30440

Whilst I’m glad for your support, I’d really wish you’d start wearing pants.