NRL Expansion. Ideas and opinions.

[reanimate]

it’s crazy swans have got 62k members yet most Sydney clubs struggle to get 20k!
Storm are run by savvy businessmen, have strong corporate support, one of the biggest active fanbases in the nrl and don’t look liKe hitting a bad slump on the field anytime soon. Considering some nrl clubs require $1-3mill plus of pokie funding every year to stay afloat storm rank well in the sustainability stakes in comparison.
I can onLy hope that if we ever get a club it’s as successful on and off the field as the Storm.

AFL fans basically treat the sport like a religion; going to games is like going to temple, the membership is their required yearly tithe etc.
Almost every hardcore Swans fan in Sydney is at the ground every game- their tv ratings in Sydney are barely better than their crowds sometimes.

I agree with your points on the Storm, I think under the stewardship of people like Tripp they’ll only keep growing and their numbers will keep improving.

 

[jim_57]

AFL fans basically treat the sport like a religion; going to games is like going to temple, the membership is their required yearly tithe etc.
Almost every hardcore Swans fan in Sydney is at the ground every game- their tv ratings in Sydney are barely better than their crowds sometimes.

I agree with your points on the Storm, I think under the stewardship of people like Tripp they’ll only keep growing and their numbers will keep improving.

I have no evidence to back it up but I've had a theory for a while that teams that are consistently successful could be better in the long run having some lean years.

Fans probably get complacent in situations like Storm the last 2 decades & Broncos in the 90's & 00's. If they come back to the pack for a few years then bounce back crowds could be bigger than ever. Could you imagine the crowds Parra would be getting this year if not for Covid? Yet if they'd had Storm or Rooster's level of sucess recently it'd probably just be the norm.

I'm not sure if that makes sense and I have no stats to back it up, just how I would feel as a fan.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I have no evidence to back it up but I've had a theory for a while that teams that are consistently successful could be better in the long run having some lean years.

Fans probably get complacent in situations like Storm the last 2 decades & Broncos in the 90's & 00's. If they come back to the pack for a few years then bounce back crowds could be bigger than ever. Could you imagine the crowds Parra would be getting this year if not for Covid? Yet if they'd had Storm or Rooster's level of sucess recently it'd probably just be the norm.

I'm not sure if that makes sense and I have no stats to back it up, just how I would feel as a fan.

Makes sense, hard times make the good times all the more sweet.

 

[Perth Red]

I have no evidence to back it up but I've had a theory for a while that teams that are consistently successful could be better in the long run having some lean years.

Fans probably get complacent in situations like Storm the last 2 decades & Broncos in the 90's & 00's. If they come back to the pack for a few years then bounce back crowds could be bigger than ever. Could you imagine the crowds Parra would be getting this year if not for Covid? Yet if they'd had Storm or Rooster's level of sucess recently it'd probably just be the norm.

I'm not sure if that makes sense and I have no stats to back it up, just how I would feel as a fan.

Im not so sure, sustained success generally breeds sustained crowds. For yo yo clubs who have a bit of success it seems the crowd growth is at times minimal in success years and never sustained (Cronulla 2016, NQ 2015, Manly 2008-2010 etc). Roosters crowds are all over the place so doesn't seem their success has created consistent large crowds yet, though has led to some sporadic good avg's.

 

[mistertaylor]

How about Fittler suggesting tigers merge with panthers, or sharks merge with Dragons as there are too many teams in sydney?

Yet wont even suggest a souths/easts merger for sone reason...

 

[MugaB]

How about Fittler suggesting tigers merge with panthers, or sharks merge with Dragons as there are too many teams in sydney?

Yet wont even suggest a souths/easts merger for sone reason...

The other issue with any proposed mergers is there are too many inner city clubs, The population growth is in the outer suburbs so any mergers should be with clubs like Easts, Souths, St George, West Tigers, Bulldogs etc

I notice this on my panthers forum.
I watched the freddy& the 8th video, where he suggested this, it wasn't a question of mergers, it was a question of who moves on for expansion teams to enter.
Freddy said he would like to see campbelltown being used more, and maybe a merger for the tigers, to another club to really grow them bigger,
Then threw penrith in there, personally i would merge the inner city clubs first

 

[T-Boon]

The most sensible relocation would be to partially relocate Panthers or Tigers to Western Australia. Either one (but not both) should be paid to relocate 6 games to Perth and change name to Western and be allowed to play 6 home games at their existing home stadium. Give it ten years before making it permanent or not.

Penrith never took off as the big city it was predicted to become so they should change the name to Western regardless of a move. Penrith is a small suburb.

 

[Perth Red]

The most sensible relocation would be to partially relocate Panthers or Tigers to Western Australia. Either one (but not both) should be paid to relocate 6 games to Perth and change name to Western and be allowed to play 6 home games at their existing home stadium. Give it ten years before making it permanent or not.

Penrith never took off as the big city it was predicted to become so they should change the name to Western regardless of a move. Penrith is a small suburb.

no thanks

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

How about Fittler suggesting tigers merge with panthers, or sharks merge with Dragons as there are too many teams in sydney?

Yet wont even suggest a souths/easts merger for sone reason...

Yep. It’s the same with Andrew Johns a while ago... any many other ex-players. Like Nimbys...

All good to suggest teams merge/relocate, but it’s never the club they played for or have ties with..

 

[T-Boon]

no thanks

Its the quickest (possibly only) way for Perth to get a team. I don't mind that you would rather have no team than a relocated team. But you are just one person and if Perth is worthy of some RL football then the others (not you) will lap up an arrangement like this. So stop acting like you speak for Perth.

 

[T-Boon]

The other big move we need to make is for Newcastle to consume the Central Coast. The Newcastle CC Knights playing 2 games at Gosford each yeah and having the club train in and around the CC once a week would make them the biggest club in NSW and would probably make their home games at Newcastle about 28k each week because it is very easy to get from Woy Woy, Gosford and Wyong to Newcastle. They are probably already the number 1 supported team on the CC.
Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Central Coast what a club.

 

[Perth Red]

Its the quickest (possibly only) way for Perth to get a team. I don't mind that you would rather have no team than a relocated team. But you are just one person and if Perth is worthy of some RL football then the others (not you) will lap up an arrangement like this. So stop acting like you speak for Perth.

I dont want a short term half arsed answer to our problem, thanks,

 

[T-Boon]

I dont want a short term half arsed answer to our problem, thanks,

Too bad for you. Your towns not worthy of any other options.

 

[TheEroticGamer]

Why doesn’t Penrith just rename themselves to the Planet Earth Panthers? I mean think about it you guys. People all over the globe from the Middle East, Asia and the Americas and so forth will finally have a team to support, as the totally not bullshit semantics of name changes will open up teleportation portals going to Panthers stadium from all over the planet as the power of rebranding is so enormous it can apparently eradicate any length of time and distance that’s needed to be travelled which previously was the hurdle preventing people to go.

PVL you have my number mate let’s get this shit happening.

 

[T-Boon]

Why doesn’t Penrith just rename themselves to the Planet Earth Panthers? I mean think about it you guys. People all over the globe from the Middle East, Asia and the Americas and so forth will finally have a team to support, as the totally not bullshit semantics of name changes will open up teleportation portals going to Panthers stadium from all over the planet as the power of rebranding is so enormous it can apparently eradicate any length of time and distance that’s needed to be travelled which previously was the hurdle preventing people to go.

PVL you have my number mate let’s get this shit happening.

Don’t get all emotional. Most Penrith fans don’t come from Penrith they come from some other part of western Sydney like Blacktown or Rooty Hill. Western is a much better name than Penrith.

 

[MugaB]

Don’t get all emotional. Most Penrith fans don’t come from Penrith they come from some other part of western Sydney like Blacktown or Rooty Hill. Western is a much better name than Penrith.

Rubbish, i'd be using Great Western Panthers named after the highway that leads you there, also represents the central west country towns, but as for mergers, bulldogs and souths should merge, and tigers relocate permanently to campbelltown, in a boutique stadium PVL has suggested, i agree with red, perth needs its own team, relocate roosters to Adelaide or CC, add more teams in QLD

 

[greenBV4]

1. Brisbane Broncos
2. Newcastle Knights
3. Melbourne Storm
4. Parramatta Eels
5. Northern Eagles
6. Sydney Roosters
7. Canberra Raiders
8. St George Illawarra Dragons
9. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
10. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
11. Wests Tigers
12. Penrith Panthers
13. Auckland Warriors
14. North Queensland Cowboys
15. Adelaide Rams
16. South Sydney Rabbitohs
17. Gold Coast Chargers
18. Perth Reds

That list there is one of the most frustrating things about Rugby League expansion - it is the inaugural NRL season ladder, with the mergers going ahead and the Reds retained

18 teams and an almost perfect national spread, all it needs is Brisbane 2 and NZ 2 either through relocations/axes for 18 or expansion/retaining the crushers for 20 teams and we would of been set...

can someone get a time machine and make this happen

 

[MugaB]

1. Brisbane Broncos
2. Newcastle Knights
3. Melbourne Storm
4. Parramatta Eels
5. Northern Eagles
6. Sydney Roosters
7. Canberra Raiders
8. St George Illawarra Dragons
9. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
10. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
11. Wests Tigers
12. Penrith Panthers
13. Auckland Warriors
14. North Queensland Cowboys
15. Adelaide Rams
16. South Sydney Rabbitohs
17. Gold Coast Chargers
18. Perth Reds

That list there is one of the most frustrating things about Rugby League expansion - it is the inaugural NRL season ladder, with the mergers going ahead and the Reds retained

18 teams and an almost perfect national spread, all it needs is Brisbane 2 and NZ 2 either through relocations/axes for 18 or expansion/retaining the crushers for 20 teams and we would of been set...

can someone get a time machine and make this happen

Ive been saying this for ages with cowboys, warriors having their 25th year anniversary, imagine we kept the other 2-3 expansion teams, Perth, Sth Qld and Adelaide,
Its annoying that the bulk of fans who advocate for expansion want Sth Qld and Perth, when we already had it in 1995, looking at the list you've posted it even includes CC and Adelaide

 

[greenBV4]

Ive been saying this for ages with cowboys, warriors having their 25th year anniversary, imagine we kept the other 2-3 expansion teams, Perth, Sth Qld and Adelaide,
Its annoying that the bulk of fans who advocate for expansion want Sth Qld and Perth, when we already had it in 1995, looking at the list you've posted it even includes CC and Adelaide

yep 4 of the 5 most popular "expansion" areas already had teams
What we want isn't even really expansion, its just fixing past mistakes and getting back to what we already had

 

[T-Boon]

I think the Sea Eagles need to take over the whole of the Northern Suburbs of Sydney and the Central Coast needs to be taken over by the Knights. Both those would become much bigger clubs than they currently are.