greenhat said:
my two cents:
The NRLs strategy has been to tighten their grip on the east coast as a defence against the AFL - with a long term view to moving out from that as a solid base in future
with that in mind, you'd have to say CC seems like the next choice, because of the A-league presence there. But that will really depend on how the A-league goes for the next few years
if support for soccer drops off dramatically now the world cup is over, then i'd think perth moves ahead in urgency (unless you think the western force have totally killed any prospects - ive never been to perth i dont know)
theres always the possibilty that a sydney team will move to the CC too, tho now souths seems to have got his sh*t together theres no obvious option there
i can't see that the next team will be another QLD one when the titans are just starting
and a 2nd NZ team would be risky,
it could be a good idea in that it would improve the NZ national side (and therefore the profile of international league), but i think it will be put on the back burner because theres not the urgency of competition from AFL or soccer there
The NRL has a tight grip on the East Coast with the inclusion of the Titans. The only thing needed is a second Brisbane/SE-QLD team to have a game in Brisbane every week and create an inter-city rivalry (should be looking at this in about 10 years time once the Titans are entrenched). If you think the AFL will put a team on the Central Coast you are mad, it would be like the NRL basing a team out of Geelong.
The NRL is now concerning themselves with increasing their revenue generated by the sale of the TV rights, and increasing the exposure of sponsors to new markets.
The
only way a team will be playing full time out of the Central Coast is the relocation of a Sydney based side. League is already the no.1 game there TV ratings wise, and the region has no-where near the corporate support or exposure for sponsers of places such as Wellington or Perth.
When the NRL accepts proposals for new sides in 2010 the first thing they will ask themselves is
"Which proposals are going to increase our financial situation?" The NRL's highest source of income is TV rights,
"Another NSW side" is not the answer to this question. Eventually a Sydney side will be under financial pressure from being located in such a competitive market and the money on offer from the NRL for relocation and the huge untapped juniors base will become an opportunity too rich to pass up. From 2007 a CC team no longer has to be called the Bears or play in their strip, so the issue will sort itself out over time.
For this reason the next 2 teams to be included will likely include Perth, given it's positive reception to a non-AFL sport in Union.
I would guess that Wellington will be given serious consideration as NZ is producing large numbers of quality players, a second team will strengthen NZ for international games, and intrest in league would be stronger if the Warriors are travelling poorly. I truely believe however, that with the Warriors finally getting their front office in order that they will fulfilling their promise of becoming a permenant force in the NRL which they came so close to doing in the past.
Does anyone know if the TV rights in NZ are bundled with the rights sold in Australia, or if they are negotiated seperately?
I posted earlier that I forsee the NRL developing into an 18 team comp as such by about 2020:
North QLD
Brisbane
SE QLD/Sunshine Coast/Brisbane II (Possibly a relocated Sydney team)
Gold Coast
Central Coast (A relocated Sydney team)
Newcastle
Canberra
Sydney x7 (2 teams to relocate/joint-venture/go broke)
Melbourne
Perth
Auckland
Wellington
