Is it time to relocate the following……

[Jonty]

Gold Coast titans to Ipswich and cronulla sharks to central coast/adelaide/South Island New Zealand.

after 30+ years professional RL on the Gold Coast just isn’t working/hasn’t worked both on and off the pitch.

as for the sharks I can’t see how their “stadium“ is sustainable in the modern era.

 

[flippikat]

Gold Coast titans to Ipswich and cronulla sharks to central coast/adelaide/South Island New Zealand.

after 30+ years professional RL on the Gold Coast just isn’t working/hasn’t worked both on and off the pitch.

as for the sharks I can’t see how their “stadium“ is sustainable in the modern era.

Nice try, but no team will move unless

A ) Some huge "black swan" event (eg another pandemic) that cruels a clubs finances happens

...and..

B ) No prospect of an unconditional bailout from the NRL

...and..

C ) There's decent offer from another location to be the teams new home.

Possible? Maybe.

Likely? No.

 

[Jonty]

Nice try, but no team will move unless

A ) Some huge "black swan" event (eg another pandemic) that cruels a clubs finances happens

...and..

B ) No prospect of an unconditional bailout from the NRL

...and..

C ) There's decent offer from another location to be the teams new home.

Possible? Maybe.

Likely? No.

Sadly I think you are right but do you

A. Think people would miss the titans and sharks?

and

B. Think Ipswich and central coast/adelaide/South Island NZ would be better options and more productive for the game than the Gold Coast and cronulla currently are?

 

[flippikat]

Sadly I think you are right but do you

A. Think people would miss the titans and sharks?

and

B. Think Ipswich and central coast/adelaide/South Island NZ would be better options and more productive for the game than the Gold Coast and cronulla currently are?

It's hard to answer A without being subjective - and that's a trap.

OF COURSE the fans of those clubs would miss them, but what you're suggesting is a relocation instead of just binning the teams like what happened with Souths (and eventually Norths in a more convoluted way via a failed joint venture).

For Sharks fans, a relocated Sharks would still have several away games in Sydney - maybe using a new, modern jersey at their new home, and the 1970s/80s design for games in Sydney? That could work. It's close to what the Perth Bears are shaping up as.. and might be workable IF the Perth Bears can show that the model works.

Gold Coast is a puzzle. Horrible branding IMO, and a location that's renown as a graveyard for sports teams - regardless of the fact that it's a big population centre. Then there's the AFL operating a team there, so the fear is that leaving that market basically cedes it to AFL. While I've been a big proponent of them rebranding (heck even a soft re-brand to the teal & orange the Gold Coast Dolphins bid used.. or making their jerseys more GOLD instead of blue), my feeling is that they just need a sustained period of success to capture more fans AND get taken seriously. They haven't had that yet.

For B.. well, there's ways to *potentially* get the best of both here. We'll have to see how the Bears go with their Perth operation, and if it works it could ABSOLUTELY be a model for the Sharks moving to NZ. As for the Gold Coast, nah.. I think we're stuck there.. and Western Corridor/Ipswich will be their own entity, their own club... but the potential for Gold Coast is there *where they are*... it's just getting the right formula... (maybe getting Brisbane Easts & their money/expertise on board with GC?)

 

[Jonty]

It's hard to answer A without being subjective - and that's a trap.

OF COURSE the fans of those clubs would miss them, but what you're suggesting is a relocation instead of just binning the teams like what happened with Souths (and eventually Norths in a more convoluted way via a failed joint venture).

sharks would be a straight relocation whilst on second thoughts the titans would have to be binning and rebranding of the club to either the Ipswich…….or south Queensland……fill in the blanks.

For Sharks fans, a relocated Sharks would still have several away games in Sydney - maybe using a new, modern jersey at their new home, and the 1970s/80s design for games in Sydney? That could work. It's close to what the Perth Bears are shaping up as.. and might be workable IF the Perth Bears can show that the model works.

i think the sharks branding and colours could work on the central coast and Adelaide.

not sure about South Island new Zealand though?

Gold Coast is a puzzle. Horrible branding IMO, and a location that's renown as a graveyard for sports teams - regardless of the fact that it's a big population centre. Then there's the AFL operating a team there, so the fear is that leaving that market basically cedes it to AFL. While I've been a big proponent of them rebranding (heck even a soft re-brand to the teal & orange the Gold Coast Dolphins bid used.. or making their jerseys more GOLD instead of blue), my feeling is that they just need a sustained period of success to capture more fans AND get taken seriously. They haven't had that yet.

my point is why continue to pour good money down the drain on the Gold Coast when there’s better opportunities and locations in Queensland.

as for the AFL I’d let them have it . Are the Gold Coast AFL team faring any better crowd wise?

For B.. well, there's ways to *potentially* get the best of both here. We'll have to see how the Bears go with their Perth operation, and if it works it could ABSOLUTELY be a model for the Sharks moving to NZ. As for the Gold Coast, nah.. I think we're stuck there.. and Western Corridor/Ipswich will be their own entity, their own club... but the potential for Gold Coast is there *where they are*... it's just getting the right formula... (maybe getting Brisbane Easts & their money/expertise on board with GC?)

relocations open up the possibilities of even more expansion for team #20.

relocate the sharks to Adelaide and rebrand the titans to Ipswich jets freeing up team #20 for the South Island(New Zealand) bulls.

everyones a winner

 

[T to the T]

Have people had their head in the sand for the past 30 years? I mean this week we are about to heal one of the last wounds of the SL War, and the OP is proposing relocating 2 clubs

 

[steeden.]

How has this thread not been moved to the fight club lol.

titans have two owners who wants them on the coast. They’re not moving

 

[BuffaloRules]

Gold Coast titans to Ipswich and cronulla sharks to central coast/adelaide/South Island New Zealand.

after 30+ years professional RL on the Gold Coast just isn’t working/hasn’t worked both on and off the pitch.

as for the sharks I can’t see how their “stadium“ is sustainable in the modern era.

No …not a chance of either

 

[Jonty]

No …not a chance of either

I agree but still think it would be for the betterment of the competition.

 

[Jonty]

Have people had their head in the sand for the past 30 years? I mean this week we are about to heal one of the last wounds of the SL War, and the OP is proposing relocating 2 clubs

Perth bears is a relocation is it not?

 

[BuffaloRules]

I agree but still think it would be for the betterment of the competition.

Not particularly… they need a team on the GC … it’s too big a metro area in QLD to go without a team

 

[Jonty]

Not particularly… they need a team on the GC … it’s too big a metro area in QLD to go without a team

It is a big metro area but as previously stated it’s a graveyard for professional sports teams.

 

[BuffaloRules]

It is a big metro area but as previously stated it’s a graveyard for professional sports teams.

Says who? The AFL is spruiking about how their team is going ( this week ) …

There is no chance the NRL is handing over that prime turf to those twats

 

[steeden.]

Not particularly… they need a team on the GC … it’s too big a metro area in QLD to go without a team

It’s the second biggest city council in the country after all

 

[Jonty]

It’s the second biggest city council in the country after all

That doesn’t give 2 f#cks about a professional RL team.

 

[flippikat]

It is a big metro area but as previously stated it’s a graveyard for professional sports teams.

Again, something that can be fixed by SUCCESS on the field.

The puzzle is just finding the right coach & back-office combination that delivers that.

I honestly think there's more chance of a Sydney team relocating than the Titans, and EVEN THEN it's very long odds, and waiting for an alignment of factors that probably won't happen.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Hell no! No one is getting axed, relocated or anything. We were in the middle of a boom in 1994, shot ourselves in the foot and took two decades to recover. Not happening again.

Gold Coast is fine, they produce heaps of talent for the NRL, are Australia's 6th biggest city and is a RL area. Would be absolutely nuts to move them and just hand it over to the AFL

 

[Gobsmacked]

The only trouble the Gold Coast has is its too nice. A place like that is great for cold beer and BBQ. It lacks the gritty atmosphere required to produce a hardened football team like Penrith..

If the Titans every get it right on the pitch they'll be in the top 5 biggest clubs in the comp.

 

[mongoose]

The only trouble the Gold Coast has is its too nice. A place like that is great for cold beer and BBQ. It lacks the gritty atmosphere required to produce a hardened football team like Penrith..

If the Titans every get it right on the pitch they'll be in the top 5 biggest clubs in the comp.

This is a actually not far from the truth. Too many players (and maybe coaches) who have come up from NSW and think its just a nice break, a transit lounge.

The region produces a lot of players and has something many other clubs wish they had - a modern rectangular stadium, so it's imperative the Titans persist.

 

[Gobsmacked]

This is a actually not far from the truth. Too many players (and maybe coaches) who have come up from NSW and think its just a nice break, a transit lounge.

The region produces a lot of players and has something many other clubs wish they had - a modern rectangular stadium, so it's imperative the Titans persist.

If any Sydney clubs had experience at long a period in the bottom half of the ladder, in mediocrity and never even played deep into finals- they would have crowds of under 10k and close to folding.
The Titans will be big, Des was supposed to get that done and so far they've gone backwards. If they don't play finals this year, he should give the money back!