Easts Tigers Enter Expansion Race

[Diesel]

according to this it’s a majority share holding he’s after, wonder if sage is funding it?
https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/wests-...r-buy-in/36a22ace-377a-4c1e-b3cd-6165f9bc60ea

That was my thinking about Sage as well

 

[Perth Red]

Imagine relying on the business acumen of Benny Elias to be your bid's saviour?!
You guys want teams in Perth or east Brisbane over good of game

He's just the broker, the real businessmen are sat in the board room.

 

[Perth Red]

That was my thinking about Sage as well

After experiencing the way the NRL fluffed around with expansion in 2012 last time Sage wanted to buy a license it wouldnt surprise me if he was taking this approach this time. He is known for his aggressive business practices and deal making. He has spent $30million on Glory in ten years so not afraid to put money into a club.

 

[Desert Qlder]

The Brisbane Firehawks push their case to become NRL’s 17th team

The Brisbane Jets and Redcliffe Dolphins are the favourites to be the NRL’s 17th team but the man leading the third bid believes they can beat out both. FIND OUT WHY

All the hype surrounding the NRL’s 17th team has been about the Brisbane Jets and Redcliffe Dolphins but the man leading the third bid believes they have what it takes to beat out both.

The NRL officially asked for expressions of interest from Queensland’s three bid teams earlier this week after the ARL commission gave expansion the green light.

And Brian Torpy, the CEO of Intrust Super Club the Brisbane Tigers (formerly the Easts Tigers) who are behind the Brisbane Firehawks bid, said the group’s massive financial backing as well as upcoming $7 million redevelopment of their home base had them in a strong position to become the city’s second team.

The Firehawks are part of the Easts Group, which has a strong balance sheet, with fixed assets exceeding $52 million, cash holdings in excess of $23 million and no debt,” Torpy said.

“We will commence construction our new training facilities at Totally Workwear Stadium Langlands Park this year.

“This will provide a new centre of excellence to compliment the Easts Leagues Club and the redeveloped Langlands Park Pool Complex.

“The precinct is only 4km from the Brisbane CBD and easily accessible to fans by public transport.”

Torpy is spearheading the Firehawks bid, who released their colours and logo last year, along with former South Sydney boss Shane Richardson.

The Courier-Mail earlier this week revealed the bid teams will be given one month to compile their bids for submission to NRL chiefs.

While the concern surrounding the Firehawks bid was the team’s potential to grow and connect with a new generation of rugby league fans, Torpy said they had strategies to make sure this wasn’t an issue.

“We are a Brisbane based club, who were established in 1933, and have a proud history in both the Brisbane Rugby League and the Queensland Cup, now the Intrust Super Cup competitions,” he said.

“The Firehawks propose to add value to the NRL by attracting new fans and corporate partners to the game. We plan to attract a new type of fan through an innovative marketing and communication strategy;

“We are a grassroots club and this will continue, however we will establish a network of development pathways both within and outside of the greater Brisbane area.”

Torpy also said more details on the Firehawks bid as well as the Langlands Park project would be released in the coming weeks.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/ques...m/news-story/7ec39153935c30b4d6566c92c1d6d61b

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Firehawks have the best case. Junior clubs from Bulimba in Brisbane's north-east all the way down to Rochedale South in Logan's north-east and Flagstone in Logan's south, with another one on the way even further south at Yarrabilba.

 

[Perth Red]

No idea which way the NRL will go but good to hear they have decided they are definitely expanding. I wonder of the other 16 NRL clubs were told? lol All three bids seem to have their strengths.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

No idea which way the NRL will go but good to hear they have decided they are definitely expanding. I wonder of the other 16 NRL clubs were told? lol All three bids seem to have their strengths.

It would be good if the NRL accepted 2 bids for Brisbane, spaced apart by 10 years, convince the 3rd one that misses out it'll get into the NRL as NZ2 if it accepts , and adds the West Coast Pirates. They could have the winning bid for Brisbane enter in 2023, add NZ2 in 2026 under one of the three consortium, then add West Coast Pirates and later on add Brisbane 3 some time in the 2030s.

 

[Perth Red]

It would be good if the NRL accepted 2 bids for Brisbane, spaced apart by 10 years, convince the 3rd one that misses out it'll get into the NRL as NZ2 if it accepts , and adds the West Coast Pirates. They could have the winning bid for Brisbane enter in 2023, add NZ2 in 2026 under one of the three consortium, then add West Coast Pirates and later on add Brisbane 3 some time in the 2030s.

if Brisbane2 is succesful that is likely scenario in a decade plus time if the game has the money to go to twenty teams. By then we might all be streaming content and signing up to club specific channels!

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

if Brisbane2 is succesful that is likely scenario in a decade plus time if the game has the money to go to twenty teams. By then we might all be streaming content and signing up to club specific channels!

There are so many factors that will determine the fate of our game:

1. Salary cap of foreign rugby union competitions. If it goes up then players will leave.
2. Is live sport is still an asset for Foxtel and FTA, or will they find something cheaper but able to draw similar ratings? Trends change and each generation is different.
3. The effects of concussions and their link with RL head injuries. If a definitive link is proven between RL and concussions then participation will decline and the game might be forced to change to touch footy or be banned outright. Insurance premiums will go through the roof, adding an extra expense to the game.
4. How successful AwFuL is at convincing today's kids to choose fumbleball over RL.
5. Whether international streaming services are interested in broadcasting sports that are only big in small markets like Australia.
6. How successful RU is in NZ and the Pacific.
7. The game's image. Will players still behave like dickheads or will they have cleaned up their act?
8. Will FTA and Foxtel exist?
9. Will Australia's growing non-white population elevate cricket, soccer and basketball ahead of our game?
10. How many Polynesians and Melanesians are living in Australia.
11. Will the wowsers like Wilkie succeed in getting pokies banned?
12. If pokies are still legal, will the younger generation want to play them at their local Leagues Club when they can gamble on their phone? The oldies who can't use a smartphone will be dead by then.
13. Will there be a ban on beer and betting companies from advertising their products?

I think if pokies are banned, beer and betting companies can no longer sponsor the NRL and live sport is no longer a priority for FTA and Foxtel or if Foxtel and FTA are forced out of business, then the salary cap will shrink and the weaker clubs, regardless of where they're located, will probably be forced out of the game, regardless of how much their fans protest.

It might sound far-fetched, but the wowsers came for smoking companies in the mid-90s and chased them out of sport and TV. There's already pressure on pokies to be banned. Concussions are a serious issue and resulting in lawsuits in the NFL and WWE. AwFuL is very good at brainwashing mums and kids. FTA is really struggling to survive. American companies now own 9 and 10. If they buy 7, and I've heard rumours it's possible, they may not give a shit about Australian sports they know nothing about. Think of how Ch9 axed cricket in favour of tennis after being bought out by an American company.

 

[toomuchsoup]

Here’s my suggestion that would obviously never happen. The hard part is de-merge Wests Tigers. Now that in itself may seem ridiculous but both sides of the merger would be relocated anyway, so it wouldn’t matter if you became a fan pre or post merger, you’d be relocated anyway.

The Tigers become the Brisbane Tigers. They don’t retain the previous West’s or Balmain stats and accolades as to let the people of Brisbane know that this is a new club, but the history of the Tigers is still very much honoured and they have a game at Leichhardt every year.

The Magpies side of the merger become the West Coast Magpies. Starting a club in Perth is going to take a lot of work from the NRL. I don’t think reviving a classic rugby league brand at the same time would make it much harder, and old Wests tragics some support team from the west called the magpies in black white. West Coast Magpies away games in Sydney would get a boost. Maybe they can be the ones to play the Brisbane Tigers game at Leichhardt.

The Bulldogs would rename themselves to West Sydney Bulldogs, still representing Canterbury-Bankstown but also taking in the South-West gap left by Wests Tigers.

Manly rename to North Sydney Sea Eagles. Represent the whole North Sydney, north Shore and beaches.

Dragons make the full move to Illawarra with one game at Kogarah

That brings it to 17 teams. I’d also bring in the Dolphins this round of expansion for the 18th team as the East Coast Dolphins. I think there should be 3 Brisbane clubs in the long term and in my opinion it’s better to bring the next 2 in at the same time

Further down the track bring in NZ2 and Adelaide. South Island Orcas or South Island Scorpions and the Adelaide Bears

20 teams, full national spread while retaining classic brands

West Sydney Bulldogs
Parramatta Eels
Penrith Panthers
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Sydney Roosters
North Sydney Sea Eagles
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Illawarra Dragons
Newcastle Knights
Canberra Raiders
Melbourne Storm
Auckland Warriors
North Queensland Cowboys
Gold Coast Titans
Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Tigers
West Coast Magpies
East Coast Dolphins
South Island Scorpions/Orcas
Adelaide Bears/Rams

As I said, it’ll never happen but it’s fun to think about

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Here’s my suggestion that would obviously never happen. The hard part is de-merge Wests Tigers. Now that in itself may seem ridiculous but both sides of the merger would be relocated anyway, so it wouldn’t matter if you became a fan pre or post merger, you’d be relocated anyway.

The Tigers become the Brisbane Tigers. They don’t retain the previous West’s or Balmain stats and accolades as to let the people of Brisbane know that this is a new club, but the history of the Tigers is still very much honoured and they have a game at Leichhardt every year.

The Magpies side of the merger become the West Coast Magpies. Starting a club in Perth is going to take a lot of work from the NRL. I don’t think reviving a classic rugby league brand at the same time would make it much harder, and old Wests tragics some support team from the west called the magpies in black white. West Coast Magpies away games in Sydney would get a boost. Maybe they can be the ones to play the Brisbane Tigers game at Leichhardt.

The Bulldogs would rename themselves to West Sydney Bulldogs, still representing Canterbury-Bankstown but also taking in the South-West gap left by Wests Tigers.

Manly rename to North Sydney Sea Eagles. Represent the whole North Sydney, north Shore and beaches.

Dragons make the full move to Illawarra with one game at Kogarah

That brings it to 17 teams. I’d also bring in the Dolphins this round of expansion for the 18th team as the East Coast Dolphins. I think there should be 3 Brisbane clubs in the long term and in my opinion it’s better to bring the next 2 in at the same time

Further down the track bring in NZ2 and Adelaide. South Island Orcas or South Island Scorpions and the Adelaide Bears

20 teams, full national spread while retaining classic brands

West Sydney Bulldogs
Parramatta Eels
Penrith Panthers
South Sydney Rabbitohs
Sydney Roosters
North Sydney Sea Eagles
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Illawarra Dragons
Newcastle Knights
Canberra Raiders
Melbourne Storm
Auckland Warriors
North Queensland Cowboys
Gold Coast Titans
Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Tigers
West Coast Magpies
East Coast Dolphins
South Island Scorpions/Orcas
Adelaide Bears/Rams

As I said, it’ll never happen but it’s fun to think about

I love it!

I think the proper noun "Sydney" should be used by at least four Sydney teams to showcase that RL is Sydney's major sport. North Sydney, Western Sydney, South Sydney and Sydney are great brands that offer differentiation and familiarity at the same time. It'll be far easier for the North Sydney Sea Eagles to market themselves overseas so they can rake in revenue from memberships designed specifically for foreigners. Our game is the most entertaining sport in the world and Sydney is a global city, so let's use both assets to our advantage and bring in an extra revenue source that will safeguard at least four teams from Sydney from the possible scenario of pokies getting banned and money from broadcast rights drying up.

I'd go with Adelaide Rams over Bears. We have rams in Australia and they're important to our economy.

 

[Perth Red]

One of the serious bidders are the Brisbane Firehawks, who are competing for the NRL’s 17th licence along with the Redcliffe Dolphins and Brisbane Jets.
The Firehawks are being funded by the Brisbane Tigers, better known as Easts Tigers, who have been around since 1934.
It’s an old club with a booming Leagues Club, plenty of juniors and resources, but it’s taking a wildly unique approach in order to convince the wise souls on the ARL Commission it should be given the green light.
In doing so, the bid handed the reins to Rich Digital, the sports consultancy firm of former South Sydney boss Shane Richardson and his son, Brent, who has been working for Google in New York shaping marketing and data strategy for brands such as The New York Times, Netflix and IBM.
At its core, the Firehawks’ bid is about being everything the Broncos are not. They don’t want to take on the Broncos, Titans and Cowboys, something the ARLC is conscious about as it weighs up the three bids.
“We’re hunters not cannibals,” Shane said. “We are hunting new business and new people. Everyone can sign Wayne Bennett. Everyone can sign Cameron Munster. The hard part of the business is attracting new members and corporate sponsors who aren’t involved in rugby league. There are sponsors out there who haven’t been involved before because they want to be involved in a modern platform that’s appealing to an age group that isn’t already rusted on. We’re trying to attract new fans from the age of 15 to 35 and you can only do that by building a digital base that you can sell to the market.”
The Richardsons were reluctant to hand over too much detail about the bid before the Firehawks’ official launch in Brisbane next Tuesday.
Interestingly, before Magic Round the NRL warned all bidders about creating too much dialogue in the media. Unsurprisingly, several senior reporters have been wined and dined in BrisVegas over the past few days as the battle for the licence cranks up.
What the Richardsons will tell you is they are modelling themselves on one of the biggest sporting franchises in the world.
“The main guys we’ve looked at closely are the LA Lakers, the way they’ve commercialised their brand worldwide,” Brent said. “We’ve also looked at entertainment platforms like Spotify and how it builds loyalty among its users. And then brands like Red Bull and the way it markets itself. We’ve been lucky that we’ve been given this clean slate in building this franchise.”
“We want to be the outlaws,” Shane said. “It will be totally different to what the Jets and Redcliffe are doing.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/th...ation-from-the-la-lakers-20210513-p57rn4.html

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I really like the Firehawks brand. I will become a club member of theirs in a heartbeat if they win the licence. It's the most unique brand in Australian sport and not Amercanised.

If Jets and Dolphins get in then we'll have 5 teams in Queensland that share mascots with NFL clubs. Firehawks can be that dinky di Aussie team that represents the Aussie battler.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Double post.

 

[toomuchsoup]

I still think Firehawks is a terrible name. If the want to go Australian they could could go with:
Brisbane Browns (snakes)
Brisbane Goannas
Brisbane Lizards
Brisbane Crocs
Brisbane Bandicoots
Brisbane Blue-tongues
Brisbane Penguins
Brisbane Gliders (sugar gliders)
Brisbane Dingos

If they wanted to retain some more aspects of the Easts Tigers they could be the Brisbane Bengals. Instant rivalry with the Tigers.

ooorrrr

Brisbane Crushers

ANYTHING BUT FIREHAWKS

 

[southwalesrabbitoh]

Brisbane Tigers, I can buy that, as I've said before I don't like relocation, but there are often exceptions, Wests Tigers to the Brissy Tigers, yeah, ok.

 

[southwalesrabbitoh]

Double post.

 

[flippikat]

I still think Firehawks is a terrible name. If the want to go Australian they could could go with:
Brisbane Browns (snakes)
Brisbane Goannas
Brisbane Lizards
Brisbane Crocs
Brisbane Bandicoots
Brisbane Blue-tongues
Brisbane Penguins
Brisbane Gliders (sugar gliders)
Brisbane Dingos

If they wanted to retain some more aspects of the Easts Tigers they could be the Brisbane Bengals. Instant rivalry with the Tigers.

ooorrrr

Brisbane Crushers

ANYTHING BUT FIREHAWKS

I dunno.. it's growing on me.

I hope they have a mock-up jersey at the bid launch (tomorrow, yeah?).

Actually I'd like to see all prospective clubs unveil their proposed jersey at bid stage. Yeah, I know it's unlikely, but would be pretty cool to see. After all, the Gold Coast Dolphins bid put out a jersey design in their bid stage, and the Central Coast Bears did too...

 

[toomuchsoup]

Firehawks just screams ‘marketing department trying to be creative’ to me

This means absolutely nothing, but if I lived in Brisbane and didn’t go for the broncos, I couldn’t see myself getting behind them.

If you have to explain what a mascot is, then it’s not a good mascot in my opinion

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]