Girvie, this is one of them. The other is a Q&A about several other game related things.
Gallop predicts no new clubs for decade
Paul Malone
THE Gold Coast looks like being the last new club admitted to the NRL for at least 10 years, NRL chief executive David Gallop has warned in the countdown to the launch of the Titans.
Gallop said he would be wary of an increase in teams from 16 to 18 within the next decade and is doubtful if Perth or Adelaide can be developed enough as league cities to reenter a national competition.
"I wouldn't say no to 10 years, but anything inside 10 years I'd be wary of," Gallop said in today's first of the year's MainGame in today's Courier-Mail.
"You have to put teams in where there is a chance for the grassroots to take hold. Even Melbourne is a lesson in that.
"The Central Coast (of NSW) has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, there's already too much competition in Sydney and that counts against Gosford.
"Adding teams could mean less money for grassroots rugby league. I'd like to keep putting the salary cap up so we can continue to attract the best athletes and keep putting the club grant up."
The NRL clubs have put in a $4 million salary cap this year, up from $3.6 million last year, and the league is planning to increase the salary cap and club grants out of the new television and sponsorship deals signed over the past 18 months.
Gallop said the NRL would leave $8 million on the table for any existing team wanting to move to what the NRL considered a desirable new base.
"We'd look at other areas as well (other than Gosford)," he said. "Whether Adelaide or Perth are ready ... it would take a while to get them there.
"The Gold Coast Titans give us a foothold in a very important population base which has
been targeted by our competitors.
"The cash the AFL has to spend is very impressive, but grassroots infrastructure is built up on a generational support of volunteers. We need to maintain the incentives for people to get involved and support their local game and for Gold Coast kids to want to play for the Titans."