Expansion prospects in the the future NRL vs afl

[babyg]

Well it was. A massive game.

you'd find me a strange f**ker. Quite often I'll have the league on TV and the AFL in my ear on the radio. or i'll attempt to watch both at the same time (2 TVs)

I can understand that, afl is much better to listen to than actually watch.

 

[MsStorm]

Never heard of the Warriors????????????????????

Whay would Faggotball take 4 games to NZ - maybe to one day get a team there, WHICH WE ALREADY HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!

Next you'll whinge that we aren't taking games to Melbourne.

Loudy, you can be such a twat sometimes.
I am talking about expanding/exposing your product in an area where rugby union dominates and league has a smaller presence, something which the nrl seem loathe to do in afl states.

The afl's next expansion area is Fiji.

You'd be a perfect fit on the nrl board.

 

[Goddo]

AFL targeting FIji and NZ strikes me as them trying to cut off NRL juniors from those regions. Would be a huge task though, rugby codes have been there for a long time.

 

[Billythekid]

Loudy, you can be such a twat sometimes.
I am talking about expanding/exposing your product in an area where rugby union dominates and league has a smaller presence, something which the nrl seem loathe to do in afl states.

The afl's next expansion area is Fiji.

You'd be a perfect fit on the nrl board.

I'll believe it when i see it. I don't expect that they will get much support next year in NZ and they will never get enough support to sustain an AFL team.

As for Fiji the idea is laughable. There is absolutely no interest in the game at all. This is just the AFL putting dots on map and pointing out where they wish they had a team.

Even IF somehow the AFL were able to spread their propaganda and get Fiji interested i doubt they could sustain an NRL team let alone an AFL team.

 

[Perth Red]

you just don't get it do you? Having an AFL/NRL team permenantly based somewhere is not the be all and end all. It is about product reach, jnr bases, neogotiation points for media deals, corporate attractivness etc etc etc. Do you think the ARU play games in Hong Kong and Dubai because they think they will one day have teams there? Or that the AFL thinks it will ever have a team in Tassie or NT? They just know how to position themselves to get the next $billion TV deal that will allow them to continue to support the grass roots whilst expanding "the game" into new areas.

Sadly we totally fail to grasp this concept!

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Andrew Dimetriou must be a League fan, he is putting all their money into the toilet.

 

[Loudstrat]

you just don't get it do you? Having an AFL/NRL team permenantly based somewhere is not the be all and end all. It is about product reach, jnr bases, neogotiation points for media deals, corporate attractivness etc etc etc. Do you think the ARU play games in Hong Kong and Dubai because they think they will one day have teams there? Or that the AFL thinks it will ever have a team in Tassie or NT? They just know how to position themselves to get the next $billion TV deal that will allow them to continue to support the grass roots whilst expanding "the game" into new areas.

Sadly we totally fail to grasp this concept!

Yet League has expanded more than AFL ever will. Just because Perth doesn't have an NRL team doesn't mean expansion didn't/doesn't/won't happen.

AFL expanding into Western Sydney/NZ/Fiji is a pipe dream, but that's all they have. They may as well try an expansion move into Siberia. Yet, it creates panic with League fans from AFL states. If you think any sport with the name "AUSTRALIAN" will be a hit in NZ you are nuts.

Ms Storm, in your haste to panic about NZ, have you ever thought that the ARL was about 20 years in front of the AFL? Or 100 years, depending on your point of view. The AFL know they get great mileage if they fart in any direction because people like you will panic.

 

[MsStorm]

AFL targeting FIji and NZ strikes me as them trying to cut off NRL juniors from those regions. Would be a huge task though, rugby codes have been there for a long time.

Its exactly what they want to do and eventually win over new fans, sponsors, etc. Its already happened, (wish I had a link) the son of one of the rugby league's recruiters in nz is crossing over to play with one of the SANFL clubs in Sth Aust., before the Hawks had a chance to grab him.

 

[Goddo]

They are so obviously trying to kill league off. What they don't seem to get is that while league is their main competition in Australia, there are a hundred other sports overseas fighting for market share, and no matter how big they are in Australia, AFL isn't at all significant.
For AFL, best case scenario is they strangle League here and get a toe hold overseas. Worst case scenario, they over reach and lose billions, and become weak enough for league to pressure them. Big gamble that Demetrueauioue is making. I hope its the latter.

 

[elbusto]

Look lets be serious about NZ. Football dominates the participation figures (sound familiar), Rugby is the Religion there and Rugby League has great potential to grow with good administration (which hopefully is about to be put in place).

Rugby League's potential is based on the sport itself and the literally thousands of grounds there built to suit it.

As for AFL - forget it - and the odd player being poached by the AFL is misleading to say the least.

The great advantage League has is rivalry with Australia and the natural appeal of the game.

The great disadvantage AFL has is its very name apart from the fact it is a ridiculous sport.

 

[elbusto]

They are so obviously trying to kill league off. What they don't seem to get is that while league is their main competition in Australia, there are a hundred other sports overseas fighting for market share, and no matter how big they are in Australia, AFL isn't at all significant.
For AFL, best case scenario is they strangle League here and get a toe hold overseas. Worst case scenario, they over reach and lose billions, and become weak enough for league to pressure them. Big gamble that Demetrueauioue is making. I hope its the latter.

Demetriou's ego is their biggest risk. They AFL has no genuine prospects of real international competition in our life time. The best it can hope to become is the 'NFL of Australia'. Problem is that Australia has only 8% of the USA's population and this means it is small biccies.

League on the other hand has a 4 nations tournament running at the moment and two other lower tier series at the same time.

That remains our great advantage. And we need to keep growing it.

In my opinion League's future looks pretty good and this year has seen good consolidation.

Regardless of what other sports do we need to keep an eye on developing the future.

The AFL would give anyting to have an international presence that we do. And consider where we are compared with football - well that really spells out just how impotent AFL is outside its local base.

Even if things run totally the AFLs way it is two or three generatons away form being anything other than a minor local sport in a small country at the bottom of the world TBH.

 

[Goddo]

I agree el, but that doesn't mean the stupid victorian football league won't try to muscle in overseas. look at the swans, ws, gold coast, brisbane. These merkins aren't afraid to waste money and muscle into a market where they aren't wanted.

I hopes Western Sydney, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, International AFL (LOL) along with a few current clubs in unhealthy states, combined with a TV deal not as big as they want will cause the AFL serious pain over the next twenty years. Union will struggle, especially with 5 union teams, and will have a reduced tv deal due to low market apeal. Soccer will see a few clubs colapse, a few new teams, poor crowds, a bigger free-to-air/pay tv deal but will struggle along with billionaire, government and FIFA support. If we get the world cup, they will get a buble of support for a couple of years (like Union did after 2003), but will still be stuck behind NRL and AFL.

Meanwhile, we establish a comission, improve our international comp, increase TV revenue and open up a "new" market in Perth and established market in Central Coast, with the option to relocate 2 struggling Sydney clubs to Queensland which would give us market saturation in QLD and NSW, the two most important and biggest markets by 2030 and look to grow in NZ. Ours is the least risky of all the football codes positions, we will still be in 2nd place, but the gap between 1 and 2 will shorten.

This is how I see it playing out in Australia; AFL and NRL will grow but the current status quo will be maintained with a slightly stronger NRL (than right now), Soccer will stagnate into 3rd place and Union will go backwards into 4th with a reduced domestic and international significance.

 

[elbusto]

I agree with you - as I stated on the Fight Club the NRL really only needs to be sensible about the future and let the AFL take all of the risks.

The AFL has to kill NRL to become the NFL of Australia and it will not happen.

It throws hundreds of millions of dollars at initiatives that are easily copied and implemented by us and other codes at a much lower costs. Its doing so now.

The NRL just needs to steady its market, focus on developing realistic new ones, get a decent TV deal and the AFL will fail in its ultimate goal - which is total TV domination.

Its arguable the AFL has already failed in Sydney and Brisbane with its pathetic ratings there. It is now doubling the risk in both markets!!!

The NRL is growing a base of support outside QLD and NSW based on its best products (Internationals, SOO, and the Finals Series) and not the weekly grind of rostered matches the AFL dishes out to viewers (and lets remember that is all they have)

This has not happened by design but it might be working to our advantage any way.

Things work out that way sometimes .......

 

[babyg]

The way I read this in terms of prospects is TV coverage and TV deal money. AFL is already saturated on our TV's and therefore has no more room to grow. New teams in Qld/Sydney/Perth are not going to make much difference to the ratings. The unmet demand of the population has been tapped and they can now only rely on slow growth. NRL on the other hand has 3 untapped states in terms of potential. It is already proven that NRL rates from 200k all the way up to 1 million in Mebourne, all we need is a fair go from a decent tv station and there is a bucket of money waiting for them. There is a bunch of people in Perth waiting to see some League there and a new team would see the opening of another untapped market and therefore $$. You'd think 100k ratings would be worth some thing. Same with Adelaide.

 

[smithie]

As far as expansion in the NRL goes, I would have Perth and a second Brisbane team as the new teams for the 2012 or 2013 season.

Perth is a no-brainer. Continually growing population & economy and expand TV rights into a new market. I know plenty of people in Perth that only go to Western Force games because they don't have a NRL team.

Since I live in Brisbane (and not being a Broncos fan), I would love to see a 2nd Brisbane team play out of Suncorp. Having the possibility of a NRL game every week at Suncorp would be fantastic. The Broncos won't like it and a number of people will be against it, but the fact is the Broncos have had Brisbane (and Suncorp) all to themselves for far too long now.

As far as Central Coast is concerned, I believe they should only get a team if one of the Sydney teams relocate or fold. You don't see the AFL looking to setup another team in Victoria. I'd rather see a NZ Sth Island team before another team so close to Sydney.

Now to the TV rights for the NRL. There must be more free-to-air games and must be shown live. Having huge ad breaks during gameplay completely destroys the flow of the game. This is an example of how I would like to see the coverage.

Game 1 - Friday night - 7:30pm live (Nine)
Game 2 - Friday night - 9:30pm delayed (Nine)
Game 3 - Sat twilight - 5:30pm live (Fox)
Game 4 - Sat night - 7:30pm live (Fox)
Game 5 - Sun arvo - 1:30pm live (Nine)
Game 6 - Sun arvo - 3:30pm live (Nine)
Game 7 - Sun night - 7:00pm live (OneHD)
Game 8 - Mon night - 7:00pm live (OneHD or Fox)

 

[Perth Red]

There is no question the NRL has by far the best potential for future growth, will we ever have the leadership to fulfill that potential is the real question?

10 years time we could still be sat here having the same debate with CC our only "expansion".

For all AFL's chest beating and risk taking at least they have a plan, I still fail to see exactly what our is and if we do have one why the NRL feel so reticent to publish it and talk the future of the game up.

 

[Goddo]

Thing is red, there is no plan. it happens hoge poge.

This is because Gallop is so worried/busy keeping the game together with the short role of sticky tape News allows him he doesn't have the time/resources to work on long term stategic direction. People don't seem to understand how weak the NRL head quarters is at the moment. Its a tiny office at Fox Studios ffs with a tiny permanent staff that are most concerned about legal matters and off field dramas. No wonder Gallop gets things wrong and is always behind the 8-ball.

This is where the board of the NRL would come in, providing strategic direction and alowing gallop to run the game day to day.

Problem is, said board doesn't exist. All we have is News and ARL fighting each other and nothing gets done. If the game is to move forward, we need a comission as soon as possible. Abolish the NSWRL, QLDRL and ARL, making each simply state/national team managers, get news out of the game, and give all decision making power to the commission. All profit from Origin/NRL to the commision to distribute as it sees best. All profit from international matches to the RLIF to distribute as it sees best.

Then we can start planning the future.

 

[LeagueXIII]

Yet League has expanded more than AFL ever will. Just because Perth doesn't have an NRL team doesn't mean expansion didn't/doesn't/won't happen.

AFL expanding into Western Sydney/NZ/Fiji is a pipe dream, but that's all they have. They may as well try an expansion move into Siberia. Yet, it creates panic with League fans from AFL states. If you think any sport with the name "AUSTRALIAN" will be a hit in NZ you are nuts.

Ms Storm, in your haste to panic about NZ, have you ever thought that the ARL was about 20 years in front of the AFL? Or 100 years, depending on your point of view. The AFL know they get great mileage if they fart in any direction because people like you will panic.

Agreed, Rugby league has already expanded into our version of "western Sydney".......Melbourne Storm.

 

[LeagueXIII]

Its exactly what they want to do and eventually win over new fans, sponsors, etc. Its already happened, (wish I had a link) the son of one of the rugby league's recruiters in nz is crossing over to play with one of the SANFL clubs in Sth Aust., before the Hawks had a chance to grab him.

Big deal, when they have enough for a team of Kiwi's and can play a test let me know about it.:crazy:

 

[Goddo]

AND ANOTHER THING...

How do AFL fans call their jersey a "jumper": the thing doesn't have any sleves ffs! It is a god damn VEST.

In the words of Monty Burns:

Some men hunt for sport,
Others hunt for food,
The only thing I'm hunting for,
Is an outfit that looks good...

See my vest, see my vest,
Made from real gorilla chest,
Feel this sweater, there's no better,
Than authentic Irish setter.

See this hat, 'twas my cat,
My evening wear - vampire bat,
These white slippers are albino
African endangered rhino.

Grizzly bear underwear,
Turtles' necks, I've got my share,
Beret of poodle, on my noodle
It shall rest,

Try my red robin suit,
It comes one breast or two,
See my vest, see my vest,
See my vest.

Like my loafers? Former gophers -
It was that or skin my chauffeurs,
But a greyhound fur tuxedo
Would be best,

So let's prepare these dogs,
Kill two for matching clogs,
See my vest, see my vest,
Oh please, won't you see my vest.