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Yeah really. We already have enough places that want a team. Perth, Adelaide, Central Coast, Wellington and a 4th QLD team would all be ahead of another one in Victoria.dimitri said:
You're completely missing my point though - there is only THREE ways I can see the Central Coast getting an NRL team:Knightmare said:
Pazza said:
taxidriver said:
I agree, we should be looking at the Central Coast where Soccer & R.U. are making inroads into what was once a strong Rugby League area.Another area I would be pushing urgently for would be Wagga Wagga,not only a staunch R.L. area but could also be a magnet for talented country footballers who might not be attracted to major urban cities.In both places there would be more chance of attracting financial support than either Perth or Adelaide.Dave Q said:
No they (and everyone else with a bit of business sense) are saying the game has changed since those days. The game is now fully professional and it runs on real money. Chook raffles no longer pay the bills and an extra slab of beer thrown in the back of the ute is no longer enough to keep good players. If it costs $15m annually to run each club and the game currently only brings in $180m (!) each year then with 16 clubs we're still living four clubs beyond our means. Which is why we still see only one club operating comfortably at a profit and maybe a few others inching closer. Now I'm not saying I know what the exact figures are, I'm just illustrating the point. The economics of the game are now light years from what they once were and any future expansions must be and will be made with extreme consideration for what the game can afford. That includes being very wary of the impact any such expansion will have on the future profitability and stability of existing teams due to their share of the pie being cut thinner. It's doesn't do the game's expansion any good if we add Perth, but then Melbourne or Auckland fall over because they're pushed too far into the red by a decreased grant.LeagueXIII said:
Or a shared Riverina side in a national second division. Between Wagga and Albury/Wodonga there's more than enough of a population and commercial base to support a side on a scale a magnitude smaller than an NRL side. We *can* give places like this a team to support in a national competition and act as a focus for building the game in these smaller markets, but these teams don't have to be operating at the $10-$20m turnover of an NRL franchise. If a region like NQ with a population of about 400,000 can support an NRL franchise then I think its more than feasible to structure a national second tier competition that would allow smaller markets in the 100,000-200,000 range to support franchises turning over $1m-$2m annually.greenhat said:
Quidgybo said:
You're taking it as fact that it has been sold short. We know the AFL has been massively oversold and we know the AFL offer a national market that we don't. So exactly how much more do you seriously think we could have got? Enough to be only two clubs short of even - meaning we still couldn't fund further expansion? Enough to cover all sixteen clubs but no more - meaning we still couldn't fund further expansion? Enough to cover an extra two clubs? None of what you'e said changes the point I made that future expansion will be governed by exactly what the game can afford without jeopardising the viability and stability of existing franchises.Ziggy the God said:
