is it time for a Pro comp in New ZEALAND

[Foreign Legion]

Just been wondering is it time to form a 8 team NZ professional Comp.
Each club would be a professional club with a smaller salary cap then the NRL but each club would be affiliated with NRL clubs.

* All games televised live
* 5 clubs from the North Island, 2 of them being from Auckland
(North Auckland and South Auckland ......create abit of rivalry)
* 2 clubs from the South Island
* 1 club from Fiji
* Middle of the season have a Island of Origin Series, North Island, South Island, Pacific Islands

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Not possible.

If the NZRL wanted a fully pro comp it would have tried by now. There isn't the money or the interest, especially with the Warriors in the NRL. It's no different to why Qld can't have a fully pro league post Broncos.

The national league has more or less failed there and has had to be revived in a different format. Even so it is a small, semi pro comp based on regional sides and still dominated by the old South Auckland heartland. Adding Fiji only makes it less feasible. And North Island v South Island is not going to be a contest either. If anything a Kiwi Origin has to be Auckland v The Rest to be competitive.

What is more realistic and arguably more beneficial would be a second NRL side. But that's been done on other threads.

 

[Foreign Legion]

thanks for going out and killing the dream mate...

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Sorry. Just one of those things that is not doable. The up side is that NZRL is stronger now than probably ever before and it has done that without a proper national league. Even if the NZRL had the money to fund a pro league it would be better putting it into other things, like grassroots participation and a second NRL club to represent the rest of NZ (outside Auckland). If it did this the game there would be in great shape.

 

[playdaball]

We could call it ..
The Lion Red Cup or the Bartercard Cup!

 

[Skinner]

Yep, where is Graham Carden when you need him....

 

[SpaceMonkey]

I would go as far as saying that in general the days of separate professional sporting competitions in Australia or NZ are over- the model that is proving to work is a single trans-Tasman competition with Amateur or semi-pro leagues feeding into that. The only exception really is the Top division of the NPC in NZ Rugby, but that only works because the competition above it (Super Rugby) is spread over 3 nations and relatively short.
The best hope for League in NZ is to eventually get a second NRL side and to then use the National Competition as a feeder for it rather than the NSW Cup, and try and get some regular TV exposure for that.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

The old Lion Red Cup, those were the days !!

The Canterbury Cardinals and the Christchurch City Shiners, what a terrible name !!

My cuz got me a Counties Manukau Heroes membership pack through his work so they were my side haha

 

[Skinner]

The old Lion Red Cup, those were the days !!

The Canterbury Cardinals and the Christchurch City Shiners, what a terrible name !!

My cuz got me a Counties Manukau Heroes membership pack through his work so they were my side haha

At least the Heroes got a premiership BH.

North Harbour grabbed the other two

 

[flippikat]

Not possible.

If the NZRL wanted a fully pro comp it would have tried by now. There isn't the money or the interest, especially with the Warriors in the NRL. It's no different to why Qld can't have a fully pro league post Broncos.

The national league has more or less failed there and has had to be revived in a different format. Even so it is a small, semi pro comp based on regional sides and still dominated by the old South Auckland heartland. Adding Fiji only makes it less feasible. And North Island v South Island is not going to be a contest either. If anything a Kiwi Origin has to be Auckland v The Rest to be competitive.

What is more realistic and arguably more beneficial would be a second NRL side. But that's been done on other threads.

Ultimately I think 3 NRL clubs might be sustainable in New Zealand. If each has an under-20s side and a reserve team then that really grows the depth of the game here.

It would be interesting to see how the sides use their reserves.. would they all enter in the NSW cup? Perhaps they might all enter in the Qld cup? Or even something else entirely?

How good would it be to have NRL clubs based in Auckland, Wellington & Christchurch? Or Auckland, Hamilton/BoP & Christchurch?

The thing is, the NRL is in a dogfight with the AFL.. and until Australia is saturated with NRL clubs, just getting a second NZ team is going to be an uphill battle.

 

[Diesel]

The Bartercard Cup was good, but I think with so many under 20's playing for the Warriors and other NRL clubs a 2nd NZ club is the way to go.

With so much more exposure for Kiwis into the NRL there is no reason why we won't be World Cup champs again come November.

 

[siv]

We could call it ..
The Lion Red Cup or the Bartercard Cup!

What caused the old NZ National Cup to stop ?

 

[spear tackle]

What caused the old NZ National Cup to stop ?

All the players went to play in the NRL/Qld cup/NSW cup and ESL, well not really but an awful lot of players were grabbed by overseas clubs and I'm not sure enough people went to the games to sustain it.
And it was run by the NZRL.

 

[siv]

All the players went to play in the NRL/Qld cup/NSW cup and ESL, well not really but an awful lot of players were grabbed by overseas clubs and I'm not sure enough people went to the games to sustain it.
And it was run by the NZRL.

Other than natural attrition the Vulcans and Warriors U20s were formed

This is a 40 player drain on the comp

It will cause a 1 or 2 year impact but they should be able to rebuild and move forward

That's not the real issue. So what is ?

What's the issue with the NZRL ?

 

[ozenzud]

There is no way a professional club competition is sustainable in NZ.

The NZRL are on the right track however in my opinion with the current provincial competition. By breaking up Auckland into effectively 3 provinces (northern, Auckland and Counties) plus Wellington and Christchurch, then development sides in Waikato, Central, running with a 15s and 17's side for all the Districts is a good format, much better than a club based competition.

 

[Illiterate]

Maybe a short pro comp over the Nrl off season might work.

 

[siv]

now many clubs play in Auckland ?

Maybe the solution is a expansion of the Auckland comp plus provinces. This is the QLD Cup model

 

[Diesel]

That was what the Bartercard Cup was I thought and IMO was a good competition

 

[ozbash]

That was what the Bartercard Cup was I thought and IMO was a good competition

yeah, awesome comp and the NZRL should have pulled out all the stops to keep it going.

 

[mean_maori_mean]

yeah, awesome comp and the NZRL should have pulled out all the stops to keep it going.

bartercard was awesome in theory, or in the history books.
There was definately

Who did bring it down??
I know ARL would have had a big hand in it.

Towards the end the quality was laughable