Another thing is, where the Sydney comp expanded in the 1980s usually already had a successful RL club comp.
Illawarra/South Coast, Newcastle/Hunter, Brisbane...
Newcastle was offered admittance for 1982 and baulked at the idea as they believed it would erode their Newcastle comp. By 1988, seeing other teams in the comp like Canberra (essentially a Queanbeyan club as an ACT/Riverina team) and Illawarra, they got scared of missing out. They were right though, their comp was eroded. But then they had the Knights as a focal point.
Central Coast and Campbelltown wanted a team in this same 1982 expansion.
Brisbane came along at a time similar to the AFL introducing the Brisbane Bears in 1987, although plans were in force for that expansion for some time for RL. In fact, the BRL knocked back a team to compete for 1987.
Gold Coast were just to round the teams to 16 and avoid the bye and were the guys who missed out on a "Brisbane" licence. I don't think they ever really wanted or needed the Giants.
To be fair, I think the old NSWRL was looking at broadening its outlook. They played many clubs games in potential markets. Through the 1980s, they brought in Illawarra, Canberra, Brisbane and Newcastle. All those areas could actually survive as a 'city' based team. Then they pursued Townsville, Perth and Auckland...with an eye to Adelaide and Melbourne too.
The NSWRL's downfall probably came in the culling. They got rid of Newtown, who when you read, actually did much to 'relocate' to Campbelltown, and Western Suburbs. Wests fought, won and moved to Campbelltown. They were a weakened inner city club who languished for the next decade anyway.
Souths would have died naturally, but kicking them out in 2000 galvanised them.
Norths, desperately unlucky during the 1990s at not winning at least one comp with their team, prepared to move to Central Coast and lighten the Sydney load, but they got screwed. Ideally they would have been a North Sydney / CC spread team. Alas, it did not occur. When the Northern Eagles failed, the NRL should have just said it was a CC licence and be done with it but they let Manly back in. The Wests / Balmain merger took two weak clubs and made one weak club. The ideal scenario would have been Para/Balmain and Canterbury Wests. They didn't pursue the Roosters / Saints or Rabbits / Sharks merger options. The Saints / Illawarra merger just weakened the South Coast IMHO. Then the Adelaide and Melbourne options of a relocated Sydney team was frittered away.
Of course Super League muddied all this. And they squandered Perth and to a degree Adelaide. They also gave Sydney teams a heads up in 1993/94 allowing dying teams like Para and Roosters and opportunity to rebuild. They could have easily jettisoned Roosters, Rabbits, Wests and Balmain. For all their history and grand standing, St George continue to struggle over the years.
So we're stuck where we are until some one pulls the trigger. I've said that most, if not all, Sydney teams could survive if they all got their shit together and marketed well, grew memberships and actually 'fished where the fish are'. TBH, I don't have much faith in Sydney teams ever getting their shit completely in order. Certainly the game is cyclical and teams fortunes come and go, but ultimately, no one makes the hard decisions, or if they do, they get overturned or fought over ad nauseam.
Same goes with player development, the player draft etc. Self interest rules.
Anyway...my two cents worth continues that Adelaide and Perth need to come in. Then the national sponsors will be more interested.
