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Major expansion U-turn is needed

Jetka100

Juniors
Messages
82
Any clubs outside the main markets of Qld and NSW are going to need some long lead in times, which is why I would be pushing for Western Brisbane (with PNG involvement) as the 18th team, with Team 19 (Perth) and Team 20 (NZ 2) being given a licence with at least 3 to 4 years notice.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
66,661
The silktails are getting pumped every game in the jersey flegg comp and Fiji has a population of 1 million so I would genuinely fear for the likes of Tonga and Samoa with populations of 100k and 200k respectively.

having said all that it’s still a better option than giving the pacific an NRL team.
Most likely because like most things Rl its being done half arsed and without the investment thats actually needed. These systems need to start from a young age and some serious coaching and facilities development on the ground. No point having an elite team if the kids that feed it are far from elite in their preparations.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
66,661
Any clubs outside the main markets of Qld and NSW are going to need some long lead in times, which is why I would be pushing for Western Brisbane (with PNG involvement) as the 18th team, with Team 19 (Perth) and Team 20 (NZ 2) being given a licence with at least 3 to 4 years notice.
They wont add another Brisabne club so soon. Any genuine expansion club should have a 3-4 year lead in. In fact they should have had a 10 year lead in to get systems in place! If the NRl had supported the Pirates plan back in 2012 we would now have a very different scenario for Perth admission than we have. The game is so short sighted!

Meanwhile our competitor gives a new club a 5 year lead in and commits $123mill to grassroots and pathways for the new club.
 
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Jetka100

Juniors
Messages
82
They wont add another Brisabne club so soon. Any genuine expansion club should have a 3-4 year lead in. In fact they should have had a 10 year lead in to get systems in place! If the NRl had supported the Pirates plan back in 2012 we would now have a very different scenario for Perth admission than we have. The game is so short sighted!

Meanwhile our competitor gives a new club a 5 year lead in and commits $123mill to grassroots and pathways for the new club.

I’m not against Perth, but there needs to be a way of getting some Federal money for PNG without committing to a full time team there or in Cairns. Combining with a Brisbane based franchise is the only logical choice and if funding becomes an issue with a change of Government, then it can stand alone. It is also the only option to have something in place leading into a new broadcast deal to secure a 9th game. There would also be an opportunity to give Perth and NZ 2 a long lead in time which they would definitely need.
 

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
5,516
According to Perth Rat it's fine for two English counties to hold the majority of ESL licences, but a horrible sin for rugby league in Australia to be centred around two states.
The reality is that the AFL is only huge in Victoria and a few wasteland states whose combined population is less than QLD.

Quite a few of Rugby Union's so called top nations have fans and playing stocks concentrated in pockets of the country.

I am all for a Perth team and think it's a worthwhile long term growth exercise for RL, but the reality is, if you are as strong as we are in NSW and QLD and have a good niche foothold in Melbourne (and growing), you have a very good coverage of the Australian population.

The AFL would trade WA, SA and TAS for QLD in a heartbeat if given the choice.
 
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Dark Corner

Juniors
Messages
1,381
The reality is that the AFL is only huge in Victoria and a few wasteland states whose combined population is less than QLD.

Quite a few of Rugby Union's so called top nations have fans and playing stocks concentrated in pockets of the country.

I am all for a Perth team and think it's a worthwhile long term growth exercise for RL, but the reality is, if you are as strong as we are in NSW and QLD and have a good niche foothold in Melbourne (and growing), you have a very good coverage of the Australian population.

The AFL would trade WA, SA and TAS for QLD in a heartbeat if given the choice.
Do you not think both codes can co exist despite have bosses who hate each code.
Always liked the time Eddie McGurie and co would give to Billy Slater etc as you never saw that on the NRL show with the Swans.
 
Messages
13,385
The reality is that the AFL is only huge in Victoria and a few wasteland states whose combined population is less than QLD.

Quite a few of Rugby Union's so called top nations have fans and playing stocks concentrated in pockets of the country.

I am all for a Perth team and think it's a worthwhile long term growth exercise for RL, but the reality is, if you are as strong as we are in NSW and QLD and have a good niche foothold in Melbourne (and growing), you have a very good coverage of the Australian population.

The AFL would trade WA, SA and TAS for QLD in a heartbeat if given the choice.
Perth is the sort of market I would enter after the game has maximised its potential in Queensland and New Zealand. An NRL team based in Christchurch can help the NZRL grow the game at every level in the South Island and provide a better return than Perth. There's so much talent in New Zealand and our main competitor in that market is in a much weaker position than AwFuL is in Perth.
 
Messages
13,385
Do you not think both codes can co exist despite have bosses who hate each code.
Always liked the time Eddie McGurie and co would give to Billy Slater etc as you never saw that on the NRL show with the Swans.
In the 1990s there was a Brisbane version of The Footy Show. It gave air time to Sam Newman to talk about fumbleball.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
66,661
The reality is that the AFL is only huge in Victoria and a few wasteland states whose combined population is less than QLD.

Quite a few of Rugby Union's so called top nations have fans and playing stocks concentrated in pockets of the country.

I am all for a Perth team and think it's a worthwhile long term growth exercise for RL, but the reality is, if you are as strong as we are in NSW and QLD and have a good niche foothold in Melbourne (and growing), you have a very good coverage of the Australian population.

The AFL would trade WA, SA and TAS for QLD in a heartbeat if given the choice.
1715129298566.png
 

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
5,516
Do you not think both codes can co exist despite have bosses who hate each code.
Always liked the time Eddie McGurie and co would give to Billy Slater etc as you never saw that on the NRL show with the Swans.
I dispise their game, but the evidence suggests that they can co-exist and are really the two sports pulling ahead of everything else in Australia
 

Brian potter

Bench
Messages
4,536
Well they were doing ok in the Ron Massey cup a few years back, they were winning games well then, I remember covid stuffed a bit of it up, they must have gotten bumped up, they'll get better the more they play good opponents, I think this is the first year in flegg
Ron Massey cup is 3rd tier RL and didn’t really do much for the development of Fijian RL filling the silktails team up with mostly mid-late 20’s aged players.

jeresy flegg is the way to go and even better would be the addition of an S.G. ball side.
 

Brian potter

Bench
Messages
4,536
South Pacific produces more RL and RU players than Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth.
The amount of rugby talent that Fiji produces is ridiculously impressive.

The NRL should have wrapped this market up decades ago but with the popularity of the 7’s format and now the Drua in super rugby this looks ever more distant than ever but the silktails can reserve this somewhat especially with Fijian schoolboys.
 

MugaB

Coach
Messages
12,855
Ron Massey cup is 3rd tier RL and didn’t really do much for the development of Fijian RL filling the silktails team up with mostly mid-late 20’s aged players.

jeresy flegg is the way to go and even better would be the addition of an S.G. ball side.
Yeah that's what I said they must have bumped them up
 

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