PARRA_FAN said:
Why should NZ get another team before Central Coast, Perth and Adelaide?
This is NATIONAL Rugby League, we've got to think about going national before putting another team from New Zealand in.
Perth should get another chance, Adelaide try again, Central Coast for real this time.
Lets put the Gold Coast in first and then go Australia wide. Hell you cant ignore Western Australia, its the 3rd biggest Rugby League state in Oz and I've got the fear of losing it Rugby Union is something is not done about it.
The reason New Zealand get in before Central Coast is because they bring in twice as much money as the other sides. The Auckland Warriors are pretty much responsible for an awfully large amount of payTV revenue (from New Zealand), which would be greatly reduced if they werent there. Bringing in the Orcas, not only sures this up, but it has enormous potential to expand on it, if the Orcas are successful. In fact, if they work out, in 5-10 years, the Warriors and Orcas will probably bring in enough NZTV money to not only pay for themselves, but also for an extra couple of teams. Whether those teams end up being a third kiwi team, a Perth or Adelaide or even a central Coast team, will tell. From a juniors point of view, a second Kiwi team, really doesnt have any problem getting players and could probably but up a team (to current wooden spoon standards) without even drawing from current NRL players. Neither of the others can.
In reality, CC is a gamble though, because the are not a traditional RL area. Gold Coast simply isnt. They are a rugby league town through and through. Maybe not quite as strong as Townsville or Newcastle but certainly the equal of Brisbane or Sydney or Central Coast and ahead of Perth, Adelaide, Wellington, Canberra etc. There case is simple. They are now the 6th Largest City in Australia, behind Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and just ahead of Newcastle. This was not the case when they were last in the competition. They are located in the fastest growing area in Australia (not just Queensland). When you consider that it is more than likely that the vast majority of Logan Residents will also feel that Gold Coast are there team, since they are the closest team to them (or at least equal distance from the Broncos HQ and most people prefer to go to the more laid back Gold coast city (with the beaches allowing families to make a day of it), Logan is Qlds third biggest city, behind Brisbane and the Gold Coast and ahead of Townsville. That isnt including places like Ipswich or Nthn NSW and Gold Coast Hinterlands and surrounding areas which are both within 1hrs drive and likely to be the source of many fans (whether primary or secondary) especially given that these areas are as true blue rugby league supporters as you can get.
ON top of all that, you have to consider the hate in Brisbane for the Broncos due to the superleague fallout and other factors, which has left people either not supporting any sides, or only atending one or two games a year when their defacto sydney teams come in. An awful lot of these people would support the Gold Coast. Brisbane to Gold Coast is pretty much just one big city now (much like Sydney and Parramatta). If you add in these other areas, Gold Coast is pretty much as big as Adelaide and Perth. Not having a team in this area (whether they finish with the spoon each year, go broke, or do anything else) is pretty much ridiculous.
The Central Coast do , themselves, have quite a decent case. they are similar to Illawarra in size and location and are also very similar to Penrith. All areas which have quality teams and are better off than several of the inner city teams. The problem is that they are too close to too many teams. They will be most people's second team in the area (the Northern Eagles started like this, but pretty much dropped the tag towards the end of the merger). The problem is that by necessity, they will have some very lean years due to the problems of starting a new comp (so will CG and Orcas). Unfortunately, unlike the GC and Orcas their residents can still support their no1 teams (most of their residents will have one they have supported since birth) by driving an hour or two. This choice means that during their lean times, they will struggle to get crowds (creating the bandwagon illusion). This what happened with the Eagles when competive they got great crowds, but after a while they dropped. History has shown us that in Sydney and areas the size of CC generally, they can expect crowds of under 10,000 during these times. I think that the CC, more than the other 2 could benefit from waiting 5 years or more. They need to settle on a name and colours (if its the bears, the bears must relocate now). All local Rep teams should play under those colours and names and they should try to get an affiliation with CC whether they are accepted or not. like GC, it should be a matter of when and not if. As the CC population rises their case can only get stronger. With the amount of RL available to their residents they can only get better, the central coast are not in danger of becoming a soccer city or any other sport, as many have suggested.
