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Nrl plans for a 20 team comp

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
6,645
The way it seems Perth Bears are team 18 with PNG locking up team 19 spot.
I do think there is a case to have 22 teams in total or mergers are needed if 20 teams is the go.

Team 20 - South island NZ
Team 21 - Central Queensland
Team 22 - Adelaide

i for one would not mind in seeing Sydney teams reduced to form super teams

Souths & Cronulla merger - Souths Sharks
Roosters & Manly merger - Sydney City Sea Eagles
Canterbury & Wests merger - Inner West Bulldogs
Parra & Penrith - Western Sydney Panthers

that will take current number to 13 teams add 5 teams ( new total 18 teams)

17 week comp
top 8 finals series
mid season rep season break
no byes
To quote Phil Gould, "no, no, no, no, no"

We've just spent 25 years recovering from the fallout of the SL War. All the teams are staying.
 

AdelaideSharky

Juniors
Messages
979
Technically not culling, mergers aren't getting culled
Tbf the mergers from 1999 (plus Souths getting kicked out at the same time) did significantly weaken the game and giftwrap supporters to the other codes.

It's no secret the Swans benefitted greatly from the Super League war and the mergers that followed on from that.

It's pretty well known the bulk of the Swans fanbase comes from the North Shore (Bears) and the inner west (those Balmain fans who disagreed with the Wests merger).

It's pretty scandalous that 25 years on people still haven't learned the lessons from that period.
 

MugaB

Coach
Messages
15,307
Tbf the mergers from 1999 (plus Souths getting kicked out at the same time) did significantly weaken the game and giftwrap supporters to the other codes.

It's no secret the Swans benefitted greatly from the Super League war and the mergers that followed on from that.

It's pretty well known the bulk of the Swans fanbase comes from the North Shore (Bears) and the inner west (those Balmain fans who disagreed with the Wests merger).

It's pretty scandalous that 25 years on people still haven't learned the lessons from that period.
All agreed, still mergers are not culling, and not my preference either, and none of this will happen under PVLs reign anyways, so it a moot point to talk about it
 

Matt_CBY

Juniors
Messages
1,839
St George fans will argue that’s because Illawarra Steelers sold their share to WIN Corp.

I’d argue that WIN corp just own the Illawarra share on the Steelers behalf.
 

MugaB

Coach
Messages
15,307
Same with the Dragons. Everyone carries on as though it's the old St George. The Illawarra Steelers is an absolute afterthought in that club despite giving the Dragons the lion's share of players and juniors.
Correct, but other that the word Illawarra in the title and away strip here and there, there's bugger all in that form of the steelers, maybe just need a bit more representation when in Wollongong, with wearing red away moreso
 

AdelaideSharky

Juniors
Messages
979
Correct, but other that the word Illawarra in the title and away strip here and there, there's bugger all in that form of the steelers, maybe just need a bit more representation when in Wollongong, with wearing red away moreso
The old Steelers jersey should be the away one and for WIN Stadium home games imo.

The old Illawarra logo on the sleeve like Wests does with the magpie too.

As it is that club should be playing all their games in Wollongong imo.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,819
Problem is corporates are in Sydney not Wollongong. So they need a foot in both regions. St George is the iconic branding but Wollongong is going to be their home when the new centre at innovation campus is finished.
Ideally they’d play 7games at WIN and 5 select games at allianz With reciprocal membership deal. These games should be V souths, roosters, eels, tigers, bulldogs. Gives Sydney dragons fans value 10 game sydney membership and gong fans a 7 game local membership
Heritage round game v sharks at kogorah if they have to.
 

TheEroticGamer

Juniors
Messages
1,183
The nature of their mergers are inherently problematic. Two locations distant from one another with differing socio economic and cultural circumstances. Each with other teams in between the two. Each wanting to appeal to both rather than be a new entity.

It’s barely a merged club at that point. Just two half clubs getting by on their own.
 

Matt_CBY

Juniors
Messages
1,839
Perhaps we can get more players from Fiji for the 20 teams.

____________________

Nayacalevu claimed corruption was rife within the Rugby House, after revealing that he and a number of players were ready to boycott their quarterfinal clash against England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, in a tell-all interview with Daily Mail's rugby correspondent Nick Simon.

He confirmed what has been a long-held view in Fiji about financial management and player welfare concerns at the FRU head office in Suva.

The 34-year-old, who has over 40-caps in the white jersey, told the Daily Mail that corruption was rife within FRU, likening it to a "virus" that needed to be "cut off" for things to improve.

"We've never said this in public, but it's time for it to go out," Nayacalevu was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail's report.

"We need to cut off this virus that has always been there.

"There's corruption in the Fiji rugby house. We weren't going to play the match against England, we were going to walk out. They promised us things and we didn't get it. We were promised a bonus.

"We were staying in Marseille and I organised a presentation, a Zoom call, I organised everything, to talk about what they had promised us. We gave them a date and said, 'If you don't pay by this day, nobody is going to play this quarter-final'."

 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
34,202
Mergers are culling. Western Suburbs Magpies and Balmain Tigers no longer exist in the NRL.
One hundred percent

The old clubs no longer exist at nrl level it’s a whole new entity

They don’t count the dragons 11 straight in the mergers prem tally
 
Messages
240
IMG_8452.jpeg

We HAVE to look at Hawaii for the 20th!

Island of +1mil, very high average income, establish Gridiron culture so RL is not a huge jump.

This would be a genuinely new market and a potential foothold in the US to develop a decent USA national team for rep games.

More potential here than anywhere else (and if it goes to shit, relocated to NZ)
 
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