Nsw and q'land are the jewels. I still fail to be convinced that you need nine teams in one city to attract 1million viewers. Having said that I would not wish the loss of their club on any fellow RL supporter so I am all for a 20 team comp but I don't believe the arlc are and therefore you have to admit that the over saturation in one city is restricting the games growth elsewhere. No easy answers sadly!
Agree that NSW & QLD are the jewels and adding teams like another Sth QLD team and Central Coast Bears are win/wins!
Population base and historical recognition are major elements of
why the Sydney based clubs are
fundamental to the strength and marketing of RL.
You tamper with these established clubs and you tamper with market loyalty which is the advantage RL has over rival codes!
Twenty team comp is a must do in future years and does not require carving up established clubs.
Hopefully the NRL powers that be will see this point as it is integral to market popularity,loyalty and recognition within the Aussie sports market.