NRL Expansion Priorities

[woodyk2]

The people of North Sydney were always more inclined to support union. These days union is losing out to AFL on the north shore.

I know stacks of former Bears supporters who would love a team again,even at Gosford.

 

[taipan]

The people of North Sydney were always more inclined to support union. These days union is losing out to AFL on the north shore.

They may well have been more inclined,but there was a decent supporter base for rl there and a junior set up bigger than today.
But there was also a decent number who followed union and league.League left .they followed there other option.
They got 21,000 for a game against the Sea Eagles at NSO.
The reason union is losing out to AFL,union has no money,AFL is getting into private schools and spending up bigtime,and there is no NRL team as another opposition sport.IOW AFL have been given a leg up.

 

[taipan]

To all those people who threaten to switch allegiance to Afl if they don't have an NRL team in their suburb all I can say is.....goodbye.
Brisbane has one team and yet most would agree that area is league heartland. One team for the whole city, not nine.

And they still can't fill Suncorp ,being the only NRL team in town.

 

[taipan]

So the NRL is a coastal game?

With about 80% of the country's population living on the coast,you got your answer.

 

[Perth Red]

They may well have been more inclined,but there was a decent supporter base for rl there and a junior set up bigger than today.
But there was also a decent number who followed union and league.League left .they followed there other option.
They got 21,000 for a game against the Sea Eagles at NSO.
The reason union is losing out to AFL,union has no money,AFL is getting into private schools and spending up bigtime,and there is no NRL team as another opposition sport.IOW AFL have been given a leg up.

Last time I looked there wasn't a north Sydney team in the afl or S15 so why would someone growing up in NS feel more affinity to those codes than RL where they have a choice of 4-5 NRL teams within easy reach to choose from?

The reason league has declined with kids etc is much more to do with the old ARL/nswrl neglecting grass roots RL in that region. Hopefully with the money and new leadership that won't be an issue in the future.

 

[paulmac]

Last time I looked there wasn't a north Sydney team in the afl or S15 so why would someone growing up in NS feel more affinity to those codes than RL where they have a choice of 4-5 NRL teams within easy reach to choose from?

The reason league has declined with kids etc is much more to do with the old ARL/nswrl neglecting grass roots RL in that region. Hopefully with the money and new leadership that won't be an issue in the future.

I grew up on the North Shore and all my mates had to play union at school ( league wasn't an option) but we were all mad bears fans,actually there was very rarely any union talk in our group.But rugby was always in the background so when the Bears got the arse it was only natural that rugby took over.The challenge for league is to get into the schools and not just the private ones.I went to Normanhurst Boys for a while and couldn't believe league wasn't played there.

 

[Diesel]

To all those people who threaten to switch allegiance to Afl if they don't have an NRL team in their suburb all I can say is.....goodbye.
Brisbane has one team and yet most would agree that area is league heartland. One team for the whole city, not nine.

The one team thing for Brisbane has grown weary up here, the Courier Fail & Nein's obsession with this team is sickening and when the Cowboys (and at times Titans) are playing better they get a small mention I between pro-Broncos media.

The one team puts a few off going to watch the Broncos every second week due to no variety and this is why Brisbanities want another team that is not the Broncos/Bombers.

If WC/Brothers get the nod then this will ensure a minimum 30k every week at Suncorp

 

[Miller was a legend]

If Cronulla pay the dragons outstanding rent can we take them over and be done with that lot?

 

[newman]

"Too many teams in Sydney" is the biggest deadshit, uneducated f**kwit statement uttered in regards to the NRL, and it gets uttered here a lot, so what does that tell you?

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Given the Broncos are the most successful and biggest modern day NRL club I also struggle to see the problem of someone replicating them!

Clearly Perth and brisbane2 are in next. Another ten years we can debate the merits of the next two potentials.

When you are in a massive market with no direct competition, youd have to be an idiot to f*ck that up.

The Broncos massively underachieve given their location and a lot of that would be to do with the whole corporate image they have.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The one team thing for Brisbane has grown weary up here, the Courier Fail & Nein's obsession with this team is sickening and when the Cowboys (and at times Titans) are playing better they get a small mention I between pro-Broncos media.

The one team puts a few off going to watch the Broncos every second week due to no variety and this is why Brisbanities want another team that is not the Broncos/Bombers.

If WC/Brothers get the nod then this will ensure a minimum 30k every week at Suncorp

Its not just about getting variety either. The Broncos are the NRLs biggest team without even trying, they dont seem to care that much about filling their games.

If however the Brothers were to be introduced and within 5 year they were to have more members and be drawing bigger crowds than the Broncos, that would light a fire under their butts for sure.

Just look at the Sydney clubs. For ages, they were all happy with getting 3000 members and avaraging crowds of 10000 every year, because thats what all the other teams were getting, it wasnt embarrassing. But then Souths came out and started clawing in members and fans and now every team is in a race to the top because no one wants to get left behind (*cough* Panthers *uncough*)

 

[Perth Red]

"Too many teams in Sydney" is the biggest deadshit, uneducated f**kwit statement uttered in regards to the NRL, and it gets uttered here a lot, so what does that tell you?

lol, facts are smacking you in the face, 2010/2011 1/2 sydney clubs (if not most) were in seruious financial strife, the new TV deal has given clubs in a oversaturated market a life line. We have what we have due to historic development not by choice or good business sense.

Its all a mute point anyway, NRL doesn't have the balls to cull or force mergers/relocations, the massive grant increase has pulled small clubs out of the sht for a few years more and the likelihood is the end of 2014 the NRL will claim we "need to get our existing clubs strong before we expand" as they have said for the past 5 years and delay any more talk of expansion until 2018. One thing our game is very good at is procrastinating.

 

[Perth Red]

Its not just about getting variety either. The Broncos are the NRLs biggest team without even trying, they dont seem to care that much about filling their games.

If however the Brothers were to be introduced and within 5 year they were to have more members and be drawing bigger crowds than the Broncos, that would light a fire under their butts for sure.

Just look at the Sydney clubs. For ages, they were all happy with getting 3000 members and avaraging crowds of 10000 every year, because thats what all the other teams were getting, it wasnt embarrassing. But then Souths came out and started clawing in members and fans and now every team is in a race to the top because no one wants to get left behind (*cough* Panthers *uncough*)

Happened here with the Eagles, only team in town, cruising along, Dockers came in and Eagles lifted to another level under the competition. Hopefully a Brisbane2 when eventually introduced can motivate the Broncos to kick on, they have been stagnant for quite some time.

 

[The Great Dane]

I know stacks of former Bears supporters who would love a team again,even at Gosford.

The problem with that is that having a team in Gosford isn't realistic at the moment and the Bears refuse to give up on their broken dream until the NRL tells them they've got no chance, but the NRL doesn't have the balls to tell the Bears they've got no chance.

So we're stuck in a vicious cycle of the Bears and their fans getting their hopes up only to be let down over and over.

The Bears should be in the NRL again and soon, but their no hope of gaining that license they so desperately want on the CC and rightly so.

If the Bears fans want their club back they need to be prepared for it to be much further away then Gosford, at the moment that doesn't seem to be the case.

They may well have been more inclined,but there was a decent supporter base for rl there and a junior set up bigger than today.
But there was also a decent number who followed union and league.League left .they followed there other option.
They got 21,000 for a game against the Sea Eagles at NSO.
The reason union is losing out to AFL,union has no money,AFL is getting into private schools and spending up bigtime,and there is no NRL team as another opposition sport.IOW AFL have been given a leg up.

That's just the thing, league never left!

The ineptness of the NRL for the last 15 years and the absolute hopelessness of the Eagles (business wise) during that time also are no reasons to reintroduce the Bears on the CC and/or in North Sydney.

The situation in NS can still be reversed within a generation or two with the right governance from the NRL and Manly, and the last thing that the NRL needs in North Sydney is for the Bears to comeback so close to home and throw a spanner in the works.

Bringing the Bears back on the CC would almost certainty condemn the Eagles to becoming another Cronulla, surrounded on all sides and with little room to grow, so all we would be doing is adding another club to an over saturated market and condemning another one to the too hard basket when we could be creating a very strong club and making one of the weaker Sydney clubs a strong one.

The reason league has declined with kids etc is much more to do with the old ARL/nswrl neglecting grass roots RL in that region. Hopefully with the money and new leadership that won't be an issue in the future.

Almost hit the nail on the head, the other reason that league has declined in North Sydney is because all of the other Sydney clubs (particularly Manly) have ignored the area which could be bent molded to support their clubs.

Both the NRL and the Sydney clubs have a massive area full of potential die-hard supporters sitting on their door step and they have left it to rot instead of trying to amalgamate it into their supporters bases.

"Too many teams in Sydney" is the biggest deadshit, uneducated f**kwit statement uttered in regards to the NRL, and it gets uttered here a lot, so what does that tell you?

Apart from having preconceived biases How do you come to that conclusion!?

Though nobody wants to hear it (including myself) in almost every way the amount of teams in Sydney is unsustainable. Unless there are massive unprecedented changes within the next decade, we will need to lose at least two Sydney teams in the near future and maybe more down the track.

Now don't get me wrong I think that sucks and I just like everybody else doesn't want to see any team relocated, merged or worst of all fold, but just because we don't like it doesn't mean that it isn't reality and if we don't start preparing for it now it'll turn out a lot worse then it could have been if we had prepared.

Creating a contingency plan that makes sure that no team (whether they be based in Sydney or not) ever completely folds is the way to go IMO, not trying to pick and choose which teams should stay and which should go because that always just ends up creating more problems then it solves. So let the clubs that need to go choose themselves but never ever completely let them go, always have a safety net in place that will save the club from completely folding and move them on to greener pastures whether that be through relocation, merger or whatever other way that we can use to save them.

 

[spoonman]

I'm not saying the Brothers bid is up to scratch either, all of the bids from Brisbane have their issues. I think you're kidding yourassumption sout the Bombers being 'years ahead'...

Regarding the Bombers from the start they appeared to be a splinter faction of disgruntled ex-Broncos staffers and supporters. From the way they pretended to gauge public interest and then announced a pre market tested generic shortlist (have friends who did the polling) to the final Bombers moniker they seem determined to be a clone of the Broncos. There's nothing wrong with good market research btw it's just the way they went about it.

Not just that but their focus isn't in the south-west and any new team intending to quickly catch up to the Broncos to be their equals (not just a an inferior copy) needs to be engaging that large strong growth market first and foremost. On the plus side they've got the corporate structure and they're playing at Lang Park.

What the Brothers group can offer is pre-existing statewide branding and support whose genuine heritage value could be the key to developing a QRL Brothers heritage vs Corporate Broncos rivalry. Even before the Brothers announced their intention to bid people were commenting that was the key ingredient to making the second Brisbane team the equal of the Broncos as it's a common trait of rugby league fans in Brisbane that don't support the Broncos. Again though the Brothers need to get their financial plan together.

As an average punter who is busting for a second brisbane team to exist, the bombers are the most vocal and 'seem' years ahead therefore will get my support. Your assuptions on how the bombers name came about shows you know something the rest of us don't or you are guessing.

All I can do is throw my complete support behind the brisbane franchise I feel could win and currently that is the bombers. With there online and physical presence and their seemingly strong corporate game plan. How could there be another choice?

If my mind is to be changed the brothers bid better pull their finger out.

 

[Misanthrope]

I've always thought Manly in North Sydney was a bad idea. They were traditionally rivals and it was Manly that basically killed North Sydney with their awful, lop-sided merger.

Honestly, Souths would have more luck up there. They even have some Bears juniors in their ranks.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

As an average punter who is busting for a second brisbane team to exist, the bombers are the most vocal and 'seem' years ahead therefore will get my support. Your assuptions on how the bombers name came about shows you know something the rest of us don't or you are guessing.

All I can do is throw my complete support behind the brisbane franchise I feel could win and currently that is the bombers. With there online and physical presence and their seemingly strong corporate game plan. How could there be another choice?

If my mind is to be changed the brothers bid better pull their finger out.

You could support the idea of holding off on expansion until the best possible franchise is formed.

There seems to be this idea that all of the bids right now are the only possible choices and that expansion has to happen soon regardless of the quality of the bids. But why do we have to accept that these bids, that were brave/rich/dumb enough to begin campaigning before bids were called for or another licence was confirm, are the only possible choices.

Why does expansion need to occur in 2017 if it means we must accept a badly placed team or a poorly run organisation.

Id personally like to see the NRL come out at the end of their expansion review and say "we are going to give licences to teams located in x and y. In 2 years time we will call for all applications, anyone can enter a bid".

This would mean that groups in Brisbane for example could put together a bid with the assurance of a bidding phase in 2019 (or whenever). This could bring out francises of old BRL teams (the Valley Diehards), dead first grade teams (the Jets/Bears/Crushers) or brand new teams (the Bombers).

Id rather the ARLC choose from this selection that feel some kind of misplaced loyalty to current bids, just because they have been going for 10 years with no promise of even being considered at the end (Again, you could debate whether this proves them to be rich, brave or just dumb, but i can promise this current process will prove the the best choice).

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

I've always thought Manly in North Sydney was a bad idea. They were traditionally rivals and it was Manly that basically killed North Sydney with their awful, lop-sided merger.

Honestly, Souths would have more luck up there. They even have some Bears juniors in their ranks.

Ive always thought the Roosters would be a good fit for the area, as well as moving further north into the Central Coast area.

 

[The Great Dane]

As an average punter who is busting for a second brisbane team to exist, the bombers are the most vocal and 'seem' years ahead therefore will get my support. Your assuptions on how the bombers name came about shows you know something the rest of us don't or you are guessing.

All I can do is throw my complete support behind the brisbane franchise I feel could win and currently that is the bombers. With there online and physical presence and their seemingly strong corporate game plan. How could there be another choice?

If my mind is to be changed the brothers bid better pull their finger out.

You've been blinded by your desperate yearning for another team in Brisbane and need to take a step back and have a little look at the bigger picture.

Just because the Bombers seem to be the most prepared and realistically would be the Brisbane bid that could throw together a functioning club in the shortest time doesn't mean that they are the best option for the second club in Brisbane.

The Bombers simply don't meet the majority of the things that the NRL should be looking for in their new Brisbane based club, but the main things that the Bombers lack is a point of difference from the Broncos in their image and a tie to the old BRL/QRL.

There are many reasons why the new Brisbane club needs these two things but the main reasons are that if the Bombers are too much like the Broncos it is unlikely that they will appeal to a new demographic and thus will cut into the Broncos supporters base more then necessary rather then bring new supporters to the NRL, as you can imagine that is very problematic because it can severely weaken the original club and stunts the possible growth of both the old club and the new one. The reason that the new Brisbane club needs an instantly recognizable tie to one of the old BRL clubs is because the largest demographic of RL fans in Brisbane that do not already support an NRL team are the ones who hate the fact that the introduction of the 'plastic' Broncos almost monopolized RL in Brisbane and killed the old BRL and many of it's proud heritage and tradition rich clubs, in other words the people that hate the corporate image of the Broncos are the ones you want to get on board and the best way to do that is to pick up an old brand that the people can identify with (a good example of a similar situation to this can be seen in the A-League with Sydeny FC and the Wanderers).

The Brothers may not be the answer to the NRL's Brisbane problem either (IMO they aren't a very good option either) but they meet a damn sight more of the things the NRL should want in a new Brisbane based club then the Bombers do and if that means that Brisbane needs to wait a couple more years then so be it, there's no great rush at the moment and the NRL needs to get this right.

 

[bobmar28]

I know stacks of former Bears supporters who would love a team again,even at Gosford.

that would make them league fans. That is good news.