Right. So is it a bit like Perth for you then in the sense that the logo (Reds and Rams respectively) you feel brings with it a sense of baggage?
Adelaide Rams were a billionaire's creation for the Super League to fill numbers. They came into the scene with the players who weren't picked by the other teams and given the circumstances they were basically set up for failure. Came in at the wrong time and via the wrong method.
They also in some way destroyed the progress of the junior development of rugby league in SA, as after they folded we saw a dramatic change in retention rates and more players decided to find their opportunities interstate.
I personally don't associate the Rams with failure like many in the RL community in SA do, but for the most part it's a sad reminder of our failure to retain a team in the top flight of footy.
Starting a new franchise gives us the choice to define ourselves the way we want to, and to start fresh. We want to embrace being the new team, the young guns, etc. We always want to develop our game properly and thus go up the tiers rather than just have some corporate made maccas franchise given to us on a platter.
This is why our club's motto is
Semper Dignus which means "Always Worthy" in Latin. We're always worthy to play in the highest form of rugby league in the nation, we're always worthy of winning the premiership.
We don't own the trademark for "Adelaide Rams" or the original logo. That name and logo is trademarked by Steve Mascord until 2029. We don't want to wait that long to field a team in the SG Ball Cup merely so we can have a name.
NRL SA's rep team are already called the "SA Rams" but they are not a club, rather that is the state team of SA. We don't want to fall into the trap of being a defacto state team like the Adelaide Crows tried to be incase there is room for another SA team in the future.