Do Pirates and Bears know something we don't?

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The Bears will return to the NRL as the Central Coast Bears.

Should aim for the Newcastle Rugby League, maybe. Bit more realistic...

 

[bobmar28]

The Bears will return to the NRL as the Central Coast Bears.

Only when a Sydney team falls over.

 

[Perth Red]

The Brisbane bears was their best shot but that boat has sailed.

Will be Perth and brisbane2 next barring some huge left field decision

 

[The Great Dane]

The Brisbane bears was their best shot but that boat has sailed.

Will be Perth and brisbane2 next barring some huge left field decision

There's still a little time but they'd need to have a bid based in Brisbane by the end of the year, it'd be very tight and they wouldn't have much time to strengthen the bid very much (not that they would need a very strong bid to compete with the other option in Brisbane ATM), but it'd still be doable if they moved now.

They won't do it though, they'll never leave NS behind as long as people like Florimo and other old Bears are in charge, they're to stubborn and sentimental to see that the only way to save the Bears (in the NRL) is to leave NS behind.

 

[Bronco Rob]

I reckon, once they are officially killed off (if that happens), people will be able to move on. Some people will obviously leave the game forever, but they will no longer be in the way of another team (Manly/Roosters/Souths) investing in the Bears old area, and that is where the "healing" will come from.

Sure, some fans are inextricably attached to the Bears, but is is massively overstated what they offer that other teams couldn't.

While the Bears are still alive in the NSW Cup I agree with your point, we have un-reached markets that will grow the sport rather than saturate an already crowded area.

I just don't get the whole 'We're leaving the game of RL as a fan for good' if their side is relegated to a lesser comp or is part of a merger. I know they'd be bitter but surely you're not a fan of a sport that you don't like because you are a fan of a certain team? For me RL is 1st, my club is secondary.

 

[El Diablo]

While the Bears are still alive in the NSW Cup I agree with your point, we have un-reached markets that will grow the sport rather than saturate an already crowded area.

I just don't get the whole 'We're leaving the game of RL as a fan for good' if their side is relegated to a lesser comp or is part of a merger. I know they'd be bitter but surely you're not a fan of a sport that you don't like because you are a fan of a certain team? For me RL is 1st, my club is secondary.

people who leave the game and follow another code were never fans to begin with

if they kicked my team out i wouldn't start following a shit game like AFL out of spite

 

[Lockyer4President!]

While the Bears are still alive in the NSW Cup I agree with your point, we have un-reached markets that will grow the sport rather than saturate an already crowded area.

I just don't get the whole 'We're leaving the game of RL as a fan for good' if their side is relegated to a lesser comp or is part of a merger. I know they'd be bitter but surely you're not a fan of a sport that you don't like because you are a fan of a certain team? For me RL is 1st, my club is secondary.

They're not fans of the game, they're fans of a brand or logo.

A good example is an Illasox 'fan' here who happily goes to the SCG for Swans games but says he'd stop supporting StG if they moved to the SFS...

 

[Ourimbah Magpies]

I would never switch to another code thats just wrong (plus the other codes are inferior) but I also wouldn't switch to another side either. So what happens with the North Shore then, leave it as it is and let it die. Our best option was the Northern Eagles, the NRL should've taken control of that merger not allow Manly to run it into the ground so that they could just re-emerge. Once I saw the Northern Eagles emblem and colours I thought bloody Manly, if Manly got the emblem Norths should've got the colours. Both Manlys and especially Norths junior leagues are woeful, Maybe they should revisit the Northern Eagles model and do it better this time around.
Honestly why no to the Central Coast, we have more to offer than what most existing NRL clubs based in Sydney do, the Central Coast has a massive junior nursery and a ready made Bluetongue Stadium which is close to Gosford train station. The Central Coast Bears do have backers waiting "IF" they get approval but the bid in my opinion needs money up front but who is willing to "show the money" and loose it if the response is no.
In my response to the WA Pirates, yes they are in the S.G.Ball competition but why should being placed in a remote area of Australia automatically grant you an NRL license, yes they offer a new tv slot, they bring in a new audience but say if that audience doesn't jump on, its fine having one or two games a year but will the interest keep especially if that side is everybodies bitches. Firstly have them field sides in the NSW or QLD Cups then go from there, whats that about wasting money ?, whats good for other bids should also be good for them all. They should all have a basic criteria. Hell if I played NRL yeah throw in WA that would be great to go to. My sister has lived in Perth for over 25 years and coming from a league background she says there is no interest over there only from a minority. But is WA's league minority more than the Central Coasts no I doubt it.

 

[The Eagle]

people who leave the game and follow another code were never fans to begin with

if they kicked my team out i wouldn't start following a shit game like AFL out of spite

I never watched a beagles game

Hurt too much but have watched every manly game since manly became manly again

 

[Perth Red]

In my response to the WA Pirates, yes they are in the S.G.Ball competition but why should being placed in a remote area of Australia automatically grant you an NRL license, yes they offer a new tv slot, they bring in a new audience but say if that audience doesn't jump on, its fine having one or two games a year but will the interest keep especially if that side is everybodies bitches. Firstly have them field sides in the NSW or QLD Cups then go from there, whats that about wasting money ?, whats good for other bids should also be good for them all. They should all have a basic criteria. Hell if I played NRL yeah throw in WA that would be great to go to. My sister has lived in Perth for over 25 years and coming from a league background she says there is no interest over there only from a minority. But is WA's league minority more than the Central Coasts no I doubt it.

Fielding a wa side in nsw cup has no value or point to the game here or growing the NRL. The original plan was three years in Jim beam then move into qland cup. NRL told us to scrap that plAn and put all our resources into our jnr programmes which is what we are doing
Stadium
Fan base
Corporate support
TV value
National footprint increase
City of 2million and population projection for Perth to be bigger than Brisbane
20k crowds and growing player numbers, wa beating nsw country, growing TV audiences, wa developed players in NRL and 2nd tier comps, and all of this on the back of severe neglect of the game here by the ARL over the last 16 years would suggest the time is ripe for the game to spread its wings West.

Gosford will have an NRL team co locate in years to come, most likely manly given their precarious position.

I feel for the Bears, Gallop should never have strung you guys along and the NRL should have made a decision back in 2008 when expansion talk started of which two cities would be next. Bears might have then looked to a relocation to Brisbane.

 

[reanimate]

I would never switch to another code thats just wrong (plus the other codes are inferior) but I also wouldn't switch to another side either. So what happens with the North Shore then, leave it as it is and let it die. Our best option was the Northern Eagles, the NRL should've taken control of that merger not allow Manly to run it into the ground so that they could just re-emerge. Once I saw the Northern Eagles emblem and colours I thought bloody Manly, if Manly got the emblem Norths should've got the colours. Both Manlys and especially Norths junior leagues are woeful, Maybe they should revisit the Northern Eagles model and do it better this time around.

They should partly revisit the Northern Eagles model, only this time not have it be a ill-fated merger, instead have one, unified club cover and control that territory. Have Manly cover the North Shore and Northern Beaches and retain the option of bringing in a standalone Central Coast team down the track when the area has grown more (and when there's at least one less team in Sydney).

 

[The Mad Hatter]

What were the crowd numbers for the Perth and Gosford NRL matches in 2013?

 

[Perth Red]

Perth 20,221 (1 game)
Gosford avg 13,331 (5 games)

Perth has two games scheduled for 2014 so far, I can only see one scheduled for Gosford which is a surprise?

Interestingly the stadium has now reverted in ownership back the the council, wonder what impact Singleton not running the place will have, if any?

 

[The Charlatan]

The pirates is an expansion bid, CC is not. The only way the Bears should be admitted is at the expense of another Sydney club.

 

[The Eagle]

I would never switch to another code thats just wrong (plus the other codes are inferior) but I also wouldn't switch to another side either. So what happens with the North Shore then, leave it as it is and let it die. Our best option was the Northern Eagles, the NRL should've taken control of that merger not allow Manly to run it into the ground so that they could just re-emerge. Once I saw the Northern Eagles emblem and colours I thought bloody Manly, if Manly got the emblem Norths should've got the colours. Both Manlys and especially Norths junior leagues are woeful, Maybe they should revisit the Northern Eagles model and do it better this time around.
Honestly why no to the Central Coast, we have more to offer than what most existing NRL clubs based in Sydney do, the Central Coast has a massive junior nursery and a ready made Bluetongue Stadium which is close to Gosford train station. The Central Coast Bears do have backers waiting "IF" they get approval but the bid in my opinion needs money up front but who is willing to "show the money" and loose it if the response is no.

Shows how little you know, the team was poorly received by both sides and during a NS meeting the idea of trying to steal the license was floated and approved so Manly cut the cancerous bears out

Crowds were an absolute joke and the team itself was awful, coached by Sharp and fielding such players as Craig Field and Jye Mullane

Furthermore we met the criterion so we didn't need to try to merge, we tried to save North Sydney as they fell and they attempted to bite our hands that fed them off

 

[Perth Red]

I blame mostly the gutless NRL of the time. They should have made it clear that if the joint venture failed then neither the Bears or Manly would get the license and CC based bids would be called for. Would have maybe given them the motivation to make it work.

It would seem the people of Gosford initially reasonably embraced the Northern Sea Eagles, crowds in Gosford weren't that bad for the time:

2000 4th biggest in NRL (Gosford crowd avg)

 

[The Eagle]

I blame mostly the gutless NRL of the time. They should have made it clear that if the joint venture failed then neither the Bears or Manly would get the license and CC based bids would be called for. Would have maybe given them the motivation to make it work.

It would seem the people of Gosford initially reasonably embraced the Northern Sea Eagles, crowds in Gosford weren't that bad for the time:

2000 4th biggest in NRL (Gosford crowd avg)

Dear manly,

This is YOUR license as you have met the criterion however if you decide the millstone of a club is to heavy to bear you cannot play

Signed cricket playing lawyer


Yeah not likely they would've actually given it a go, no Club would risk it's license for another club

 

[The Great Dane]

Dear manly,

This is YOUR license as you have met the criterion however if you decide the millstone of a club is to heavy to bear you cannot play

Signed cricket playing lawyer


Yeah not likely they would've actually given it a go, no Club would risk it's license for another club

In a sense an NRL license isn't really ever the property of the club that holds it, it's just a legal document that states that the organisation that holds it can field a team in the NRL. As such the licenses can't be sold, traded, donated, etc. without direct approval from the NRL it's self and it can be revoked provided that the holder of the license has broken one or multiple predetermined criteria.

Also when it comes time for the license to be renewed the NRL has no legal obligation to renew it if they don't want to.

The NRL probably could (and some would argue should) have revoked Manly's license when the Northern Eagles fell apart, and most likely could have on multiple grounds, but the most likely criteria would have been bringing the competition/game into disrepute, they definitely could have revoked a few clubs license's for arguably a lot less (Storm, Bulldogs, Titans maybe even my club after last year) so I'd be very surprised if they couldn't revoke Manly's after the Northern Eagle fiasco.

Even if they couldn't revoke Manly's license they could have made it clear that they would not be renewing it when it came time for it to be renewed and could have given it to the best bid then, which ironically probably would have been the Bears

 

[The Eagle]

In a sense an NRL license isn't really ever the property of the club that holds it, it's just a legal document that states that the organisation that holds it can field a team in the NRL. As such the licenses can't be sold, traded, donated, etc. without direct approval from the NRL it's self and it can be revoked provided that the holder of the license has broken one or multiple predetermined criteria.

Also when it comes time for the license to be renewed the NRL has no legal obligation to renew it if they don't want to.

The NRL probably could (and some would argue should) have revoked Manly's license when the Northern Eagles fell apart, and most likely could have on multiple grounds, but the most likely criteria would have been bringing the competition/game into disrepute, they definitely could have revoked a few clubs license's for arguably a lot less (Storm, Bulldogs, Titans maybe even my club after last year) so I'd be very surprised if they couldn't revoke Manly's after the Northern Eagle fiasco.

Even if they couldn't revoke Manly's license they could have made it clear that they would not be renewing it when it came time for it to be renewed and could have given it to the best bid then, which ironically probably would have been the Bears

The Bears DIDN'T MEET THE CRITERION SO THEY WERE A WEAK BID in the eyes of the NRL

If they didn't have to renew the license why the f**k are we watching Souths again?

Point is the Northern Eagles should never have been, Manly gave them a lifeline they didn't need to give them so any talk of the Bears is nostalgia run rampant

They were a failing Club with no recent success other than one decent season in their last 20

They didn't have crowds, they didn't have money and they had poor on field results

 

[Peter C]

Why is all of this being dredged up after nearly fifteen years?.
I am so f**king sick of hearing about the plight of the Bears and the need for a team on the Central Coast.
It will never happen, despite the size of the junior league there, a CC team will only be looked upon as another Sydney team, just as Penrith is, and the last thing the NRL wants is another Sydney team.