This is probably the worse possible outcome from the bids point of view. No expansion for 5 years and they would have packed up and gone home, expansion now and they could have presented their bids and the winner got on with it. No decision for two years means all the bids are going to continue working hard and spending money trying to get a place when it is reviewed in 2 years time. A very decision imo.
Just been reading some stuff around that and I can see that may well be an outcome. Having said that Bears, CQ and Ipswich won't so that only leaves PNG and Bombers to possibly join Q'land cup and Pirates to join NSW cup.
Agree 100% your thoughts on 9th game value....of couse it adds value to the game - if they use that its an excuse.
This is precisely the position of Bears speculation - minimal cost/low risk expansion pre-next deal for a year or two to ensure a bumped up TV deal which would allow additional expansion in the subsequent deal. The only way that could happen is Bears plus a SEQ team out of Suncorp - not my preferred outcome, but thats the Bears best case scenario at this stage it appears....will see what happens next week.
If they announce no strategic direction re expansion, and just state we'll begin looking at it again in 2015, there will be some very pissed off bid teams.
THE NRL's strategic plan to ditch expansion will see booming league strongholds in Ipswich and Brisbane's west quickly recede in the face of challenges from other sports.
The warning comes from western corridor NRL bid director Steve Johnson, who said yesterday's ARL Commission announcement that expansion would not be discussed until the end of 2014 gave rival codes a leg-up in southeast Queensland.
Johnson said the NRL's strategic plan for the next five years made it obvious his and rival consortiums would not gain NRL admission until at least 2017.
"It is disappointing. We could lose the educational and development programs we are establishing as without an NRL brand and national exposure we can't get the funding," he said.
"I hope they inject more funding into the area to compensate. Juniors might lose out."
The western corridor bid recently linked with the University of Queensland to use rugby league as a means for getting more indigenous people interested in further education.
They also have sponsors, including a multi-national property developer, and jersey manufacturers lined up.
"Our case is already compelling and by 2017, it will be impossible to ignore," Johnson said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...d-to-rival-codes/story-e6frexnr-1226505629086
If we rushed expansion we could end up with the same situation as the A-League. The game hasn't been in the hands of the commission for a year yet and we've got a billion dollars and strategic plan.
It's only two seasons before they say who's joining the comp. In the meantime the ARL have said that they'll spend $200M on growing the game.
I can't really fault their plan (It's so good to be able to say that btw.) even though I wanted expansion teams to come in for 2013.
A 20 team comp with perhaps a conference like set up should be seriously looked at if these "administrators" ever wake up to themselves and allow the game to grow properly!
1. The logical sense is the relevant stake holders don't want expansion. They want it delayed because they want the entirety of this tv deal to themselves.One of the things that irks me about Grants announcement was the suggestion that the ARLC don't know enough about the impact on expansion so will commission a report at the end of 2014. Fair enough if they feel they need more time to review the pros and cons (like doh!) but why wait two years to look at it. Why not start looking now, compete the review end of 2013, invite bids or choose areas/bids in 2014 and have them admitted in 2016. I see no logical sense in waiting two years before even starting the process (again). I don't see funds that expansion will require making any difference to the existing 16 teams and lets be honest they have had decades to sort themselves out, does anyone think they will be in a much different state in two years time?
The 20 team comp was not ordinary!