dodge said:
You are a blind arrogant fool if you believe the reason the GC deserves the spot is because of patronage.
You are forgetting other factors like juniors, previous club successes, stadiums, finances, viability for the long term amongst a shitload of other criteria. I think you're delusional if you believe CC is last out of the three. The area has been deserving for a long long time.
I will call it what I want. The played as the Gold Coast for all of those years. Look over every ladder every game every draw and it shows Gold Coast, make excuses, tell me they were Tweed Heads (all of 5 k's down the road across a border), do whatever, Gold Coast Seagulls playing at Seagulls Stadium means Gold Coast and it's area to me, and they had 10 years to make something of it. They didn't. Now it's the Central Coasts turn to have their own (I want you to read that carefully - their own) side.
I'll place money on the fact that crowds will begin to fall away at Carrara if NRL keeps postponing the 16team decision.
Yes - I do believe GC deserves a go, but not until the CC gets going.
Gold Coast would have a massive drawing of juniors. I doubt that'd be a concern for them. Likewise Southern Orcas. Gold Coast were financially viable when they were cut, Southern Orcas have no past history to speak of so its not applicable, finances are not an issue for either of the other two ventures if you consider who is supporting the Orcas, and their "no cost" (travel/accommodation etc. paid for) offer to the NRL sub committee.
I personally see Central Coast third in most aspects, second in some. First in none.
Central Coast seems a long way third for mine. They've had their chances with the Northern Eagles (yes, it wasn't perfect, but it was a chance nonetheless - likewise Southern Orcas had their chance with the Warriors and Bulldogs, one whom was going through a major controversy the other was in horrid form and heading towards a serious crisis and still posted 13,000 on a pretty average night). They've also had various trials, and really should have got a bigger crowd to City/Country. That was the real test. Most places you'd sell that game out.
The other aspects are stadia, I'm not sure on Carrara, but Westpac Trust Stadium is top class, modern, and used regularly as an international sports venue. Juniors, the ground swell in Wellington alone would be massive, the surrounding areas and South Island are also very strong league areas. Finances, Orcas billionaire supporter is still heavily involved and enthusiastic.
The only other idea I can come up with is location, and in my estimation I'd consider Gold Coast and Southern Orcas more geographically necessary. Queensland should have a third side, New Zealand could use a second side to lift both respective representative side's potential openings in the NRL. Central Coast juniors, in the short term could be looked after by Manly or Newcastle which is what 90 minutes max either way?
And then to top Central Coast's bid off, the head honcho, perhaps the major positive of the bid threw his toys in the cot and went home. The bid hasn't covered itself in glory yet, and for all those reasons there's no way it'll be the first accepted. Its challenge now is to get it altogether again and see if it can beat the Southern Orcas out of the second successful submission to the NRL.
