Expansion voting.

[Lockyer4President!]

It's the very reason why Tasmania don't have an AFL club even with a start up fan base of a few hundred thousand.

This is why no-one takes fumbleballers seriously...

There are only a few hundred thousand people in the entirety of Tas as it is. Are you suggesting that everyone, from pre-schoolers to retirees, is not only an AFL fan but will automatically convert to become a fan of a new team based there? Especially when we all know how divided they are into north/south hillbillies?

Not to mention that Tasmania has no economy (Their GSP is over eleven times smaller than QLD) so any corporate support would have to come from Melbourne, which'd take away potential earnings from the AFL teams there.

 

[Pj,Rj,Hj]

^^ Not really sure what you are getting at. I agree with your post especially the sponsorship earnings. I intentionally said "a few hundred thousand" instead of ther whole 500 000 as naturally not everyone in the state would get on board but it's safe to assume that half would. I'm not even going to bother going the north / south tassie divide.

If you read between the lines of my original post, I'm for NRL expansion into the locations that can unquestionally support clubs long into the future. Where the clubs ever growing operational costs and sponsorship needs can easily be absorbed. So I'm all for Perth and Ipswich/ West Brisbane.

I want to see the Reds as large as the the Brisbane Lions are to the Broncos. If done right, i hope to see by 2023 the Reds with similar membership and revenue numbers as the smaller AFL clubs.

 

[PaulyTom]

Membership is the future of additional revenue for clubs. It will be a huge part of any teams bid. That is why Ipswich and CQ bid might be behind the 8 ball as they have started their bid way too late.

 

[Phil_22]

I would like to see CC, WA, Ipswich & CCQLD in by 2015. Adelaide are another possability this decade.

 

[kmav23]

Expansion must be combined with Getting rid of dead wood... bad franchises

CRONULLA ....

 

[Perth Red]

Why are we talking about AFL expansion in the NRL expansion thread?

probably because 3 of the 5 bids have brought it up as a reason for their admission?

 

[BDGS]

There is a limit.

 

[docbrown]

There is a limit.

In 10-15 years time, I suspect both comps will have 20 teams.

In 15-40 years time, I suspect both comps will have somewhere between 20-24 teams. I doubt they'd get much bigger after that.

Except for Greater Western Mars... anybody?

 

[_Johnsy]

expansion must be combined with getting rid of dead wood... bad franchises

cronulla ....

nq ???

 

[dgsfan]

Deadwood would mainly consist of Sydney teams like Sharks, Penrith and Manly. All low drawing teams with low member numbers.

 

[PaulyTom]

Sharks need to turn around there club or face the axe. I think they can turn it around but I think it will be at least 3 years before this will happen on the field.

 

[BDGS]

Alright, 249 votes and the majority want the The WA Reds and the CC Bears - fact. No body can dispute this.

NRL - the people have spoken.

 

[jim_57]

Alright, 249 votes and the majority want the The WA Reds and the CC Bears - fact. No body can dispute this.

NRL - the people have spoken.

:lol: the people of one forum, the majority thinking with their hearts not their heads.

This isn't a swipe at the Bears, but the NRL will make the best business decion, opinion polls won't mean sh!t. That business decion could very well involve the Bears but it could very well involve another Brisbane side instead or (unlikely) aswell.

 

[BDGS]

The people from the biggest rugby league forum.

All other points make sense.

 

[mongoose]

:lol: the people of one forum, the majority thinking with their hearts not their heads.

This isn't a swipe at the Bears, but the NRL will make the best business decion, opinion polls won't mean sh!t. That business decion could very well involve the Bears but it could very well involve another Brisbane side instead or (unlikely) aswell.

Just be honest, everyone knows the best business decision for the NRL does not involve the Bears. I would love to see the Bears back in but SEQLD has so much more going for it. Just think about this.... QLD have won origin 5 years in a row and could very well win the next 2 or 3 as well, yet they only have 3 teams compared to 11 in NSW (including the raiders who draw a lot of junior players from southern NSW). There is a major imbalance of teams between the 2 states as it is. But the talent seems to be even if not more in Queenslands favour.

The Bears bid will be put on hold, SEQLD will come in first.

 

[Wilson1]

I'm glad that the poll reflects the importance of having a Western Australian team. Ideally you would have a 4th Queensland team and the Central Coast with a NSW team making way.

 

[roarr]

Surely only one team at a time. The tiges took 4 years to overcome the loss of prince and laffranchi when the titans were introduced. Imagine two teams looking to build a 20-30 top class roster. I even thought that the comp in general around 2007ish was a bit thin on talent and there were a lot of raw 18-20 year olds thrown into the deep end. 2010 was definitely alot stronger.

I'm definitely an advocate for expansion, but lets do it properly so the positives outweigh the negatives. Lets stagger the teams so that they have plenty of time to be ready for the big league and can build a solid amount of players over 3-4 years, rather than a mad scramble over 6-12 months... stealing other teams marquee players.

Maybe I'm jsut a bitter tiger...who knows. But I just want us to improve on the last expansion which has already proven quite a success.

 

[BDGS]

The NRL won't expand by one because they don't want to be in a situation where there are byes every week.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Surely only one team at a time. The tiges took 4 years to overcome the loss of prince and laffranchi when the titans were introduced. Imagine two teams looking to build a 20-30 top class roster. I even thought that the comp in general around 2007ish was a bit thin on talent and there were a lot of raw 18-20 year olds thrown into the deep end. 2010 was definitely alot stronger.

Agree with that. The talent pool sure did dry up with the admission of the Titans and that was just one team. I think the NYC has helped offset that a little bit but it has caused its major drawbacks.

I think the quality of the competition will be under alot of strain by 2020 if the 4 bids are all accepted.

 

[jim_57]

Surely only one team at a time. The tiges took 4 years to overcome the loss of prince and laffranchi when the titans were introduced. Imagine two teams looking to build a 20-30 top class roster. I even thought that the comp in general around 2007ish was a bit thin on talent and there were a lot of raw 18-20 year olds thrown into the deep end. 2010 was definitely alot stronger.

I'm definitely an advocate for expansion, but lets do it properly so the positives outweigh the negatives. Lets stagger the teams so that they have plenty of time to be ready for the big league and can build a solid amount of players over 3-4 years, rather than a mad scramble over 6-12 months... stealing other teams marquee players.

Maybe I'm jsut a bitter tiger...who knows. But I just want us to improve on the last expansion which has already proven quite a success.

It's a genuine concern, though there are alot of things that could/will help the situation:

1. Depending on how much money the TV deal gets we could be back to the days where we don't lose players to Union and Union players could be very much on the market for most NRL clubs. Step one would be to get our stars back SBW, Falou, Hunt, Barnes, F Anderson, C Ashton etc. then maybe even some marquee cross-code signings like Quade Cooper.

2. Less Southern Hempisphere players in SL - There is a decreasing quota system now in place over there which will in coming years see a limit of 4 (?) imports per club. Also if the salary cap is increased it could well mean less than that at most clubs because the NRL will be the better paying comp.

3. PNG - This is the medium-long term fix IMO. The fact there is a country of 6million RL nuts just above us yet only a handful are in the Australian system is ridiculous. First thing should be to introduce a system where the best juniors get an oppurtunity to display their talents to NRL clubs. Maybe even hold annual trials and set a quota of 1-2 PNG players per Toyota Cup side, that way all clubs would be attending looking for talent.