Expansion looming in A-League - The Contrast with the NRL

[Perth Red]

The A League is desperate and must think more teams is going to rejuvenate their comp. In all fairness 10 teams makes for a repetitive and stale competition which is what the A League has become. I am guessing any new teams will be backed by private money though.

Not sure they are desperate but they do recognise that they need around 12-14 team comp. Seems there are a number of potential bidders with money behind them. It is much cheaper to run an Aleague club than NRL or AFL.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Not sure they are desperate but they do recognise that they need around 12-14 team comp. Seems there are a number of potential bidders with money behind them. It is much cheaper to run an Aleague club than NRL or AFL.

The only strength they really have is in promoting old strong NSL clubs like South Melbourne or Sydney United but then you risk doing an AFL / NRL and oversaturating the big two cities.

 

[Stallion]

The only strength they really have is in promoting old strong NSL clubs like South Melbourne or Sydney United but then you risk doing an AFL / NRL and oversaturating the big two cities.

With respect I dont think the three regions that we vaguely refer to as Sydney are overrepresented. In fact a club like the Bears playing out of The Central Coast would add to the NRL. Melbourne and surrounds has ten established teams with one million less people. Sydney and surrounds has a million more at least and only nine clubs for what is essentially three regions. Illawarra, greater Sydney and Central Coast. The oversaturation label is a misnomer. The population is what should be looked at. And in Australia locality and proximity are very important.

 

[Perth Red]

With respect I dont think the three regions that we vaguely refer to as Sydney are overrepresented. In fact a club like the Bears playing out of The Central Coast would add to the NRL. Melbourne and surrounds has ten established teams with one million less people. Sydney and surrounds has a million more at least and only nine clubs for what is essentially three regions. Illawarra, greater Sydney and Central Coast. The oversaturation label is a misnomer. The population is what should be looked at. And in Australia locality and proximity are very important.

Yes Sydney needs at least 20 clubs. How the game has survived with only 9 of the 16 clubs in Sydney I'll never know!

 

[Stallion]

Yes Sydney needs at least 20 clubs. How the game has survived with only 9 of the 16 clubs in Sydney I'll never know!

Did for 100 plus years and I hope that's not your disrespect and poor mathematics creeping back again ?! Factoring in the three regions as mentioned relevant to Sydney and surrounds is something that's been ignored by implosionist thinking.

 

[Pommy]

With respect I dont think the three regions that we vaguely refer to as Sydney are overrepresented. In fact a club like the Bears playing out of The Central Coast would add to the NRL. Melbourne and surrounds has ten established teams with one million less people. Sydney and surrounds has a million more at least and only nine clubs for what is essentially three regions. Illawarra, greater Sydney and Central Coast. The oversaturation label is a misnomer. The population is what should be looked at. And in Australia locality and proximity are very important.

How many EPL sides in London with a population around double?

 

[Perth Red]

How many EPL sides in London with a population around double?

Not enough, London should have 15 epl clubs. If sydney doesn’t have a club in every suburb it is just asking for afl to take over with it’s two clubs. Yes Brisbane only needs 1 club per 3.3million but Sydney needs one per 500k or it’s doomed.

 

[taipan]

Not enough, London should have 15 epl clubs. If sydney doesn’t have a club in every suburb it is just asking for afl to take over with it’s two clubs. Yes Brisbane only needs 1 club per 3.3million but Sydney needs one per 500k or it’s doomed.

With due respect the London Broncos "major" RL club, in that city, have hardly become a crowd success in city of millions.

It comes down to financial backing,commercail opportunities,crowds attending and people watching on the box.Sustainability.

Sydney doesn't need any more clubs,and certainly no less clubs(that's already been done rationalisation).
Grow the game by adding interstate clubs form majpr cities.And that does not mean adding another NZ side.

 

[Stallion]

How many EPL sides in London with a population around double?

Different country. Most of Australia's population is in two major cities. Once again we are referring to three regions when discussing "Sydney". This is repeatedly forgotten in this discourse. And Australia is alot more expansive geographically than England.

 

[Pommy]

Different country. Most of Australia's population is in two major cities. Once again we are referring to three regions when discussing "Sydney". This is repeatedly forgotten in this discourse. And Australia is alot more expansive geographically than England.

So we need more teams in Melbourne before we need more teams in Sydney then?

 

[Stallion]

So we need more teams in Melbourne before we need more teams in Sydney then?

Maybe a good idea? But their is alot to be said in consolidating /strengthening the three regions everyone calls "SYDNEY". Locality and historical presence is a market advantage.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

With respect I dont think the three regions that we vaguely refer to as Sydney are overrepresented. In fact a club like the Bears playing out of The Central Coast would add to the NRL. Melbourne and surrounds has ten established teams with one million less people. Sydney and surrounds has a million more at least and only nine clubs for what is essentially three regions. Illawarra, greater Sydney and Central Coast. The oversaturation label is a misnomer. The population is what should be looked at. And in Australia locality and proximity are very important.

In terms of competition between winter sports
Melbourne has 9 AFL clubs, 1 NRL club, 1 SR club
Sydney has 8 and a half NRL clubs, 2 AFL clubs and 1 SR club

I don't think all of the AFL clubs in Melbourne would survive without AFL handouts generated by TV rights and the richer clubs and we know that some Sydney NRL clubs are struggling. I get what you are saying about the iconic clubs and you are right but the fact is that the way the NRL and AFL have oversaturated Sydney and Melbourne is not sustainable without financial assistance to keep some clubs afloat.

The most successful leagues in the world have nowhere near this much saturation in one city: NBA, NFL and all major European Football leagues. London is probably the most saturated with five and it is a much larger city than Sydney & Melbourne.

 

[Stallion]

In terms of competition between winter sports
Melbourne has 9 AFL clubs, 1 NRL club, 1 SR club
Sydney has 8 and a half NRL clubs, 2 AFL clubs and 1 SR club

I don't think all of the AFL clubs in Melbourne would survive without AFL handouts generated by TV rights and the richer clubs and we know that some Sydney NRL clubs are struggling. I get what you are saying about the iconic clubs and you are right but the fact is that the way the NRL and AFL have oversaturated Sydney and Melbourne is not sustainable without financial assistance to keep some clubs afloat.

The most successful leagues in the world have nowhere near this much saturation in one city: NBA, NFL and all major European Football leagues. London is probably the most saturated with five and it is a much larger city than Sydney & Melbourne.

Different scenario. The foundation success of these codes are based in these capital cities. Mathematically the three regions we regard as being Sydney if divided by 8.5 teams easily surpasses half a million fans per club. This oversaturation description is a misnomer. Especially when taking in the established Australia wide support for these well known clubs in the three regions that are labelled "Sydney".

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Different scenario. The foundation success of these codes are based in these capital cities. Mathematically the three regions we regard as being Sydney if divided by 8.5 teams easily surpasses half a million fans per club. This oversaturation description is a misnomer. Especially when taking in the established Australia wide support for these well known clubs in the three regions that are labelled "Sydney".

Central Coast and Wollongong are not Sydney and no other successful league puts unecessary strain on their league by having the amount of clubs in one city like the AFL and NRL do and it costs them money by having to give handouts to clubs.

If the Roosters moved full-time to the Central Coast and the Dragons full-time to Illawarra that is a start, it keeps these iconic clubs in the NRL and reduces the amount of Sydney teams to 7.

 

[Stallion]

Central Coast and Wollongong are not Sydney and no other successful league puts unecessary strain on their league by having the amount of clubs in one city like the AFL and NRL do and it costs them money by having to give handouts to clubs.

If the Roosters moved full-time to the Central Coast and the Dragons full-time to Illawarra that is a start, it keeps these iconic clubs in the NRL and reduces the amount of Sydney teams to 7.

Just dilutes the code in the biggest city in the world that just happens to have rugby-league as its major code. This scenario will not exist into the future if implosion /dilution occurs. Just like the codes remarkable fall from relevance in North Sydney. If you want to replicate that disaster go ahead. Not my idea!

 

[Pommy]

Just dilutes the code in the biggest city in the world that just happens to have rugby-league as its major code. This scenario will not exist into the future if implosion /dilution occurs. Just like the codes remarkable fall from relevance in North Sydney. If you want to replicate that disaster go ahead. Not my idea!

If it was such a remarkable fall why the bears ejected in the first place?

 

[Stallion]

If it was such a remarkable fall why the bears ejected in the first place?

Wrongly kicked out courtesy of a wrongly figured "peace deal " number that has already been proven wrong with two more "deleted" clubs reinstated since the debacle.

 

[RL The greatest game]

Canberra almost certainly wont get a license, the FFA and Gallop have made it clear that they only want new clubs in big cities with populations over 1 million and that they want more 'big city derbies'.
Realistically the only ways that Canberra get a club anytime soon is if FIFA steps in and forces the FFA to do things their way like they have been threatening to do for ages now, or if a Canberra club replaces the Wellington Phoenix when the FFA are inevitably forced to kick them out of the comp by FIFA and the AFC.

The new clubs will come from Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne (with Perth and Adelaide an outside chance), realistically all the FFA are going to do by adding new clubs in those cities is split their preexisting fan-bases, but the FFA have their hearts set on it...

I get the new clubs in big cities with populations of over 1 million, but i would put a club in Tasmania for 2 reasons. 1, the aFL is never going to put a club there and 2 it gives the island there very own football (soccer) club to follow.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Just dilutes the code in the biggest city in the world that just happens to have rugby-league as its major code. This scenario will not exist into the future if implosion /dilution occurs. Just like the codes remarkable fall from relevance in North Sydney. If you want to replicate that disaster go ahead. Not my idea!

The Bears still exist. What are they doing for North Sydney at the moment? What are Manly doing for North Sydney? What are the NRL doing for North Sydney? I hear that it is now AFL / Union territory but neither code has a North Sydney team in the top teir of their sport in Australia but still manage to market their game to the people of the area. We just need to do the same.

Adding another Sydney team is not the answer. If that is the anwer then Sydney needs an NRL team in every suburb and we'll be set!

Giving the big Sydney clubs (Parra, Dogs, Souths, Tigers, Eels) room to grow in Sydney to absolutely dominate the sporting market in the city and then adding other capital city teams (Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane 2) to the comp and giving them a chance to grow is the answer.

 

[Stallion]

The Bears still exist. What are they doing for North Sydney at the moment? What are Manly doing for North Sydney? What are the NRL doing for North Sydney? I hear that it is now AFL / Union territory but neither code has a North Sydney team in the top teir of their sport in Australia but still manage to market their game to the people of the area. We just need to do the same.

Adding another Sydney team is not the answer. If that is the anwer then Sydney needs an NRL team in every suburb and we'll be set!

Giving the big Sydney clubs (Parra, Dogs, Souths, Tigers, Eels) room to grow in Sydney to absolutely dominate the sporting market in the city and then adding other capital city teams (Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane 2) to the comp and giving them a chance to grow is the answer.

There is no one answer. Damage has been done in Sydney and surrounds. Fix it!