NRL can't let Melbourne fold!!

[mickdo]

Bye bye Storm

 

[Gregbyday]

Definately not having a dig here but would like answers as there is all this talk of Melbourne being a huge loss to the game. Although I feel very disappointed for Melbourne Storm supporters and their players in all this mess I can't help but feel that they are only treading water in the state of Victoria.

In 14 odd years(off the top of my head),Three Premierships and a large number of minor premierships, some of the games best ever players, massive corporate backing and yet as far as I know they still had yet to have a local junior crack the ranks of Toyota cup(although they claimed Gareth Widdop as their own). Crowd numbers haven't really rose is accordance to the great success they have had on the field so I would hate to see what was to happen if they were to have a year in the competition where they were to miss the top 8.

If someone can correct me please do but it seams to me that Melbourne and its administration cared nothing for developing local juniors in Victoria and would have been happy to keep shipping them in from feeder clubs in NSW and QLD for another 14 years. Having an NRL team based in Victoria with no locals doesn't make it a national competition in my eyes.

Does that go both ways with the AFL as well. Not many players from Sydney playing in the AFL after being here for how many years?

 

[johns_reds]

They would be stupid to let them fold, they better not, NRL needs melbourne, losing Storm would be a major backward step in expansion.

 

[JF_Henson_Hill]

Im not saying AFL isn't number 1 but the NRL and AFL are easily numbers 1 and 2. The NRL in terms of TV ratings and increasing crowds and memberships were hot on the AFL's tale and looking at a huge tv deal for 2013. If the Storm folds the AFL will streak ahead of us and be a national competition while the NRL will be a minor sport played in NSW and QLD.

By having Storm compete for nil points all season the club & game of RL is effectively being put on life support as it is.

If players end up going to Super League or wherever, so be it. But all this is the biggest leg-up the Melbourne Rebels rugger team could ever have.

I still remain cynical about the timing of all this. News Limited have stated they want out of the Storm this season. They appointed Waldron. Now all this is released now. Would be all rather convenient to count their losses & pull out of the team at its darkest hour, wouldn't it?

I mean this is the same News Limited who said the Perth Reds & Adelaide Rams "weren't viable", (ie News Limited knew there would be little return in terms of extra Foxtel subscribers for having both teams there & thus decided to wind them up)

JF

 

[JF_Henson_Hill]

Does that go both ways with the AFL as well. Not many players from Sydney playing in the AFL after being here for how many years?

Lewis Roberts Thompson
Henry Playfair
Paul Bevin
St Kilda team captain Lenny Hayes

Having said that, the Storm SG Ball team from memory are half Victorian-bred. Maybe this mess will see some of them being blooded into First Grade.

JF

 

[adamkungl]

Massive step backwards if the Storm fold.

 

[Noa]

We've just got to get through this year with decent crowds.

The talent will still be there to compete next year and beyond.

 

[JF_Henson_Hill]

Melbourne Storm can get stuffed.
They just take, take, take.
They have no juniors & instead have to rely on raping the junior talent of true clubs. They're not a club. They are a franchise.
Their fan base is made up of ex pat NSWmen QLDers & Kiwis. How many AFL supporters have actually been converted?

Teams like the Sharks are copping a floggin & are doin it tough cos the Storm are rorting the system & taking the lions share of rep players. Its totally unjust.
The Melbourne Storm concept was an experiment that worked for a few years until it committed suicide. Let it die. Lets not pump more bloody money into Melbournestan just so we can say that we are the #2 game in Aust. It will only cost more money trying to repair the damage that has been done & again shafting the other clubs out of financial support.
The sooner the NRL includes dispensations for retaining juniors within the salary cap the better.

Bring back the Bears & pump the money in to a team that actually has a place in our game & fans who want to see it.

Those cretins in Vic are a bunch of fair weather friends & will bail like rats on a sinking ship after this disgraceful fiasco.

Cretins in Victoria? What sort of small-minded redneck are you? The last time I looked we drew 25000+ to watch your team when they came to Melbourne. Was that not only good for rugby league but good for the people of Melbourne as well.

If you want a Sydney suburban comp with games between suburbs then fine. But then don't come crying when the next TV deal you get is pitiful when compared to the AFL's.

With everyone leaving the Sydney ratrace Melbourne is getting more and more expats every year. Many are from RL states & would be quite happy to watch Storm games. Plus people ARE taking notice of the team. I went to see the last quarter of a Richmond-Bulldogs AFL game in my Storm gear & was stunned as to how many people A) knew EXACTLY that I was a Storm fan ,B) wanted to know the score & C) were stoked when they found out Storm won.

If Melbourne Storm end up folding over this, there will be losers everywhere not just in Victoria. And us people living down here can go back to reading 25 pages in the Herald Sun about one code & having the "rugby scores" combined with Super 14 scores like they are in the Adelaide Advertiser.

JF

 

[East Coast Tiger]

I think it's clear to see who the "cretins" are in this debate. These are people who would probably want Mark Geyer as Prime Minister.

 

[SaintNewy]

Cretins in Victoria? What sort of small-minded redneck are you? The last time I looked we drew 25000+ to watch your team when they came to Melbourne. Was that not only good for rugby league but good for the people of Melbourne as well.

If you want a Sydney suburban comp with games between suburbs then fine. But then don't come crying when the next TV deal you get is pitiful when compared to the AFL's.

With everyone leaving the Sydney ratrace Melbourne is getting more and more expats every year. Many are from RL states & would be quite happy to watch Storm games. Plus people ARE taking notice of the team. I went to see the last quarter of a Richmond-Bulldogs AFL game in my Storm gear & was stunned as to how many people A) knew EXACTLY that I was a Storm fan ,B) wanted to know the score & C) were stoked when they found out Storm won.

If Melbourne Storm end up folding over this, there will be losers everywhere not just in Victoria. And us people living down here can go back to reading 25 pages in the Herald Sun about one code & having the "rugby scores" combined with Super 14 scores like they are in the Adelaide Advertiser.

JF

I think it's clear to see who the "cretins" are in this debate. These are people who would probably want Mark Geyer as Prime Minister.

Fair call from both parties.
I used the term "cretin" referring to the good time charlie AFL fans who couldn't give a toss about the Storm but who chose to carry on like peacocks when a Vic side dominates the NRL for 10 years.
I gotta say I feel for the fans. My younger brother has been a long term supporter & the kid is gutted.

My gripe is that this has turned to sh*te & the Storm are in it up to their neck. I don't believe they should be kicked out as such however if they fold, they shouldn't be bailed out at the expense of the other clubs or potential clubs.

I still stand by what I said & I'd vote for Geyer.

 

[The Tank]

It's hugely important.

 

[FamilyFirst]

It's hugely important.

They want them to fold. They are a money sink. News has no reason to prop up Melbourne anymore.

Melbourne are as good as dead and buried.

FF

 

[ForestDragon]

We need a team in Melbourne. Fullstop. Period.

With all this talk of folding, will the NRL let the Storm go under? Surely not after all the work that has been put in and it finally looks like we are getting somewhere (not to mention AAMI stadium). No team in Melbourne would set the NRL back 15 years imo and open the door for the AFL to be the number one code in Australia with their new teams coming into Rugby League heartland.

Thats just what I think. Yes I hate Melbourne and part of me wants them to fail. But an even bigger part of me loves Rugby League and wants it to prosper with a national competition.

Spot on,Nrl must keep league alive outside of NSW,Queensland.

 

[Brutus]

We need a team in Melbourne. Fullstop. Period.

With all this talk of folding, will the NRL let the Storm go under? Surely not after all the work that has been put in and it finally looks like we are getting somewhere (not to mention AAMI stadium). No team in Melbourne would set the NRL back 15 years imo and open the door for the AFL to be the number one code in Australia with their new teams coming into Rugby League heartland.

Thats just what I think. Yes I hate Melbourne and part of me wants them to fail. But an even bigger part of me loves Rugby League and wants it to prosper with a national competition.

Good post mate.

I am no Storm supporter, but as more of a RL fan than a fan of any individual club, I too want to see the game flourish the best it can on a national basis. Melbourne is a must for this. The Super League-inspired debarcle surrounding the demise of the Reds and Rams was bad enough, but to lose the Storm after 12 or so years would be an absolute tragedy.

 

[Brutus]

Spot on,Nrl must keep league alive outside of NSW,Queensland.

Just like the AFL is throwing countless amounts of cash at this Western Sydney team (which it will need to), we need the NRL to be doing the same with Melbourne.

 

[simostorm]

News Ltd boss John Hartigan.. the man that owns the Storm.. has no desire at all to end the Storm.. and seems more then commited to stick with them for the long run..
The money that the largest Media company in thw world put into the Storm.. is play money.. loose change.

Storm are going nowhere lads.

 

[The Tank]

News Ltd boss John Hartigan.. the man that owns the Storm.. has no desire at all to end the Storm.. and seems more then commited to stick with them for the long run..
The money that the largest Media company in thw world put into the Storm.. is play money.. loose change.

Storm are going nowhere lads.

I've been thinking the same. TBH, it's vital that Bellamy and the vast majority of players didn't know - that'd make it easier to support the 'team' (the football) rather than the 'club' (the admin).

 

[bender]

I agree that the NRL must support melbourne and keep them in the comp.

But if that is there opinion, this hasnt been thought out at all. They are already struggling to break even. They have and will lose major sponsors for a while. The bad publicity means there crowds will be down massively in fact they may drop dangerously low. The lack of ratings now to be expected in Melbourne for the GF will hurt the TV deal massively. The fines are massive. The prizemoney paid back is massive. The club is already in the minus. So, if the NRL is to step in and help, wont they just be handing this money straight back to Melbourne. ie it is the NRL and therefore all the other clubs who will be feeling the brunt of the penalty, as melbourne will.

Something tells me that this hasnt been thought through properly.