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NRL Expansion. Ideas and opinions.

Who would you admit as the next team into the NRL?

  • Perth

    Votes: 75 57.7%

  • PNG

    Votes: 8 6.2%

  • Wellington/2nd NZ team

    Votes: 5 3.8%

  • Adelaide

    Votes: 6 4.6%

  • Darwin

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Fiji

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Central Coast

    Votes: 10 7.7%

  • Central Queensland/4th Queensland team

    Votes: 12 9.2%

  • Samoa

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Other (please specify)/No Expansion

    Votes: 12 9.2%
  • Total voters
    130
Perth Red

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
70,467
DlEHARD said:
St George was a dragonslayer. I always find it funny that they now go by Dragons.
Click to expand...

Yeh St George knights would have made more sense lol.

Did Newcastle ever consider using Steelers?

As for broncos and titans, just because others have chosen random names doesn’t mean a new club has to, and yes before you ask WA did have Australia’s only recognised Pirate!

Dolphins are sinonamous with the coast I’d have thought not a city inland, fair enough if it ends up being Moreton bay dolphins or north Brisbane dolphins I suppose.
 
mistertaylor

mistertaylor

Juniors
Messages
415
Perth Red said:
Yeh St George knights would have made more sense lol.

Did Newcastle ever consider using Steelers?

As for broncos and titans, just because others have chosen random names doesn’t mean a new club has to, and yes before you ask WA did have Australia’s only recognised Pirate!

Dolphins are sinonamous with the coast I’d have thought not a city inland.
Click to expand...
While Brisbane itself isn't on the coast, Redcliffe is. I maintain that a successful Dolphins bid would have the geographic identifier "Brisbane" instead of Redcliffe.
 
RedVee

RedVee

First Grade
Messages
7,154
Perth Red said:
Yeh St George knights would have made more sense lol.

Did Newcastle ever consider using Steelers?

As for broncos and titans, just because others have chosen random names doesn’t mean a new club has to, and yes before you ask WA did have Australia’s only recognised Pirate!

Dolphins are sinonamous with the coast I’d have thought not a city inland, fair enough if it ends up being Moreton bay dolphins or north Brisbane dolphins I suppose.
Click to expand...
St George Saints
 
mistertaylor

mistertaylor

Juniors
Messages
415
But is there any need for a second Brisbane team to have North/West/South in their name? It's not like the Sydney Thunder T20 Big Bash team felt it necessary to include West in their name...
 
herbert henry1908

herbert henry1908

Referee
Messages
21,880
mistertaylor said:
But is there any need for a second Brisbane team to have North/West/South in their name? It's not like the Sydney Thunder T20 Big Bash team felt it necessary to include West in their name...
Click to expand...

I’m no expert on Brisbane geography, but if the team is born out of an existing club that’s based in the north of Brisbane, it’s going to be a hard sell to other areas no matter what.

I think if you want wide appeal then the brothers bid is the best.
 
mistertaylor

mistertaylor

Juniors
Messages
415
I prefer the Brothers bid too. I hope that the bid team is still active, in light of Beattie's recent comments re expansion.
 
magpie_man

magpie_man

Juniors
Messages
1,973
I think with better junior pathways both locally and in NZ/PNG/The PIs the NRL could comfortably field 20 teams without a catastrophic dip in the quality of the competition.
Within the next 5 years I'd love too see:

Perth Pirates
Moreton Bay Dolphins (Redcliffe or an amalgam of Redcliffe and other QRL clubs promoted)

Then in a further 5 years:

New Zealand Orcas (Wellington-Christchurch-Dunedin)
West Brisbane Jets (Ipswich or an amalgam of Ipswich and other QRL clubs promoted).
 
jim_57

jim_57

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
4,659
The fact there is so much competition for locations and different bids from within those locations is a great sign IF the NRL ever decide to expand.

I still maintain the NRL should work with any bid/s to create what works best for the competition if that means merging or bids taking over certain areas so be it. Using Bombers as an example, if they could pool rescources with Western Corridor and settle on a name like West Brisbane Jets the bid would be an unbackable favorite.
 
Springs09

Springs09

Juniors
Messages
1,903
I think in the next 20 years if the NRL are smart we should have more than enough talent to have 20 teams, maybe 22. Hopefully we choose brands that will have their own place in the game. The Titans have never really forged their own identity. They're just there. Haven't really made a dent competitive-wise, no big rivalries, no controversies, struggle off the field etc. This compared to Melbourne who had to struggle for relevance in AFL-mad Victoria, were immediately successful, changed the game with their shitty wrestling tactics, cheated, then came back and won as well as having several of the best players of the era in their side.

Next 5 years:
West Coast Pirates (or Perth Pirates or whatever)
Brisbane Brothers (with some games in country QLD)

10-15 years:
West Brisbane Jets
South Pacific (Wellington-Christchurch-Dunedin-Fiji-Samoa)

15-20 years:
Central Coast Bears
Northern Hunters (Cairns-PNG)

Perth would have the benefit of a one-team state as well as the history of the Reds.

The extra Brisbane teams would have the history of teams in the QLD Cup and throughout the state in the case of Brothers. They aren't just brands that spring up out of nowhere like the Titans or Brisbane Bombers.

South Pacific would benefit from a team representing the rest of NZ, with the Warriors being almost exclusively Auckland. One game a year in Fiji & Samoa would give us greater representation in the islands and reward them for the great players and moments they've provided us with. They'd also have the obvious rivalry with the Warriors.

Central Coast has the bears behind them - the long struggle to get back in. A lot of fans would hate them as well judging by how many 'there's too many Sydney teams' arguments come up when their name is brought up. They'd have immediate conflict with Manly and Newcastle.

The Hunters would have 2 QLD Cup teams backing them as well as 2 reserve sides in the Pride and PNG Hunters. Players live and train in Cairns, play half their games in PNG.


Other possible options - Adelaide, 2nd Melbourne side, the Bears taking over Gold Coast or Perth etc. shouldn't be considered for a long time. Adelaide has nothing behind it, they shouldn't be considered over teams like Central Coast or PNG even if it is safer or 'geographical spread' to quote Greenberg. No need for Melbourne 2 ever really. Bears on the Gold Coast or West Coast instead of Central Coast won't have any support apart from the one game a year they want to play at North Sydney.
 
mistertaylor

mistertaylor

Juniors
Messages
415
Springs - some nice ideas in your post. Definitely in agreement with you re: Melbourne 2 and Adelaide. The ARLC has to consider that there are heartland areas without NRL representation (Gosford, PNG, CQ, SEQ 2) as well as mooted expansion territories in NZ 2 and Perth. These areas should be the focus for future expansion in both top and second tiers.
 
titoelcolombiano

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
6,664
Neither Jets or Dolphins fans would cop Brisbane in their club name and do we need more suburban teams in the NRL? It will just turn South-East QLD into Sydney. Suburban based teams with a ceiling to their growth. The time for Ipswich and Redcliffe to join the NRL was in 1988. There should have been a NSWRL / QRL merge to form a new ARL with the three or four strongest QRL clubs joining the then 13 NSWRL clubs.
 
Perth Red

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
70,467
Petero: Fijian team would be 'life-changing'

As rugby union franchises around the world continue to make inroads, Petero Civoniceva insists there is no time to lose for Fiji to enter a side in the NSW-based Intrust Super Premiership.

The Fijian-born former international is the bid chief for the team and with expansion of the game at the second-tier level in the works he has warned rugby league cannot afford to be complacent.

"French rugby union are setting up camps and New Zealand rugby are, and they are making inroads," Civoniceva told NRL.com.


"That's why guys like Suliasi Vunivalu and others get picked up initially by New Zealand schools after they see them playing rugby as kids.

"If we set up an Intrust Super Premiership team in Fiji we provide the conduit and, as a game, we can get the jump on them."

There are many youthful talents in Fiji who are outside the rugby league system, who are then having to be recruited back into it from rugby union by scouts working on behalf of NRL clubs in places like New Zealand.

"With a Fijian league team we can get them straight into the Intrust Super Premiership or the junior grades that fold underneath that," Civoniceva said.

"The game is so loved in Fiji right now. Rugby union has been number one but kids can now turn on the NRL and see Suliasi Vunivalu, Bill Kikau, Kevin Naiqama, Jayson Bukuya and the list goes on.

"It just makes sense to build that bridge from a village in Fiji all the way to the Intrust Super Premiership and then to the NRL, which will be life changing. That would mean so much to a kid in a Fijian village to not only themselves but also their families and their village.

"I'm going to keep knocking on doors. I'll never give up. We've seen the success of the PNG Hunters [in the Intrust Super Cup] and that can be duplicated, and even more so, by creating a team in Fiji."


Civoniceva said he was still talking to sponsors and aiming for a 2019 entry into the Intrust Super Premiership

"There are huge costs involved in running a team but we are talking to some really good sponsors and we are close," he said.

"The biggest part of it was negotiating with the Fiji National Rugby League (FNRL) and we have got that endorsement after what was such a hard slog for me.

"We have got the Fiji Government's endorsement so now it is all about finding the dollars."

The dollars are significant with approximately $1.5 million needed for running costs each year.

Civoniceva has explored various possible funding sources, including the NRL.

"I have asked (the NRL). I have been floating this for five years but unfortunately it is not in their parameters," he said.

"I hear (ARLC chairman) Peter Beattie talking about expanding the game and I think this will be a wonderful way to start that process, to encourage a team from Fiji into a feeder competition for the NRL.

"To have a professional team in Fiji is going to be huge and it will include luring back players who have come over to Australia to chase their dreams.

"With our team they will be able to live, train and play in Fiji in a full-time environment."

https://www.qrl.com.au/news/20182/04/03/petero-fijian-team-would-be-life-changing/
 
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