NRL's growth mindset points to 18th team. And it ain't Perth.

[Iamback]

Its going to be a massively lopsided comp if poorly funded and resourced clubs compete against NRL quality sides.

The spread of talent will be completely disproportionate.

Hence why all those NRL sides should be together.

Roosters aren't going to give Norths players next year, As a result Bears will run last.

Hunters had 1 good season, Have been in the bottom few every season since.

 

[mongoose]

Its going to be a massively lopsided comp if poorly funded and resourced clubs compete against NRL quality sides.

The spread of talent will be completely disproportionate.

is this what is happening? i thought there was going to be a reserve grade comp with just NRL teams then the state leagues are under that.

 

[Perth Red]

is this what is happening? i thought there was going to be a reserve grade comp with just NRL teams then the state leagues are under that.

not yet, but this feels like a first step to get there.

 

[mongoose]

not yet, but this feels like a first step to get there.

I don't know why you would want this? A reserve grade comp will be a closed shop, the NRL clubs will not allow any new clubs to join it. The Perth's, PNG's, Fiji's, Adelaide's will still have to join the underfunded, poor quality state comps.

 

[Wb1234]

They might not die but like the Brisbane sides in QCup they will become irrelevant. The regional sides in the QCup will be in serious trouble under this proposed model

So ?

if they don’t serve much current purpose let them find a level which suits their current situation.

why should the nrl waste so much money on an inefficient system ?

 

[Wb1234]

Its going to be a massively lopsided comp if poorly funded and resourced clubs compete against NRL quality sides.

The spread of talent will be completely disproportionate.

Bit like the nrl for the last ten years ?

 

[Perth Red]

I don't know why you would want this? A reserve grade comp will be a closed shop, the NRL clubs will not allow any new clubs to join it. The Perth's, PNG's, Fiji's, Adelaide's will still have to join the underfunded, poor quality state comps.

I'm agnostic to some degree on this one but I can see that at the moment it is incredibly difficult, if not nigh on impossible, for a new area/club to join the semi pro second tier unless you have an NRL link up and/or a LC to fund it. We dont really have anywhere that is realistic for the likes of Perth, Fiji, Gosford Logan etc's of the world to develop and aim for at the moment, because what they should be aiming for is a pseudo reserve grade and therefore funding and player strength means they cant compete.

Likewise fans have shown no real interest as the competition isnt legit and is very heavily swayed by whose got the most NRL fringe players, or the teams in it are same as the NRL team so thats who you are going to watch. Just seems to me that it neither serves well as a reserve grade or as a second tier comp for the game at the moment.

I wouldn't expect Perth to be joining a reserve grade comp (unless we had an NRL club or one due shortly of course) but I would expect us to be aiming for a genuine second tier comp admission. If Pirates weren't getting in NRL and joined a legit second tier national comp I'd be there very game.

 

[Colk]

I don't know why you would want this? A reserve grade comp will be a closed shop, the NRL clubs will not allow any new clubs to join it. The Perth's, PNG's, Fiji's, Adelaide's will still have to join the underfunded, poor quality state comps.

Of course it is. It is not that hard to work out - you will get the same homogenised product over two grades and any area that doesn’t have an NRL side attached to it will have very little funding

 

[mongoose]

I'm agnostic to some degree on this one but I can see that at the moment it is incredibly difficult, if not nigh on impossible, for a new area/club to join the semi pro second tier unless you have an NRL link up and/or a LC to fund it. We dont really have anywhere that is realistic for the likes of Perth, Fiji, Gosford Logan etc's of the world to develop and aim for at the moment, because what they should be aiming for is a pseudo reserve grade and therefore funding and player strength means they cant compete.

Likewise fans have shown no real interest as the competition isnt legit and is very heavily swayed by whose got the most NRL fringe players, or the teams in it are same as the NRL team so thats who you are going to watch. Just seems to me that it neither serves well as a reserve grade or as a second tier comp for the game at the moment.

I wouldn't expect Perth to be joining a reserve grade comp (unless we had an NRL club or one due shortly of course) but I would expect us to be aiming for a genuine second tier comp admission. If Pirates weren't getting in NRL and joined a legit second tier national comp I'd be there very game.

hmm ok, so you think the QLD and NSW cups will eventually dissolve into some national second (or third) tier comp where teams like Adelaide, Fiji, Hunter Mariners can join?

 

[Colk]

So ?

if they don’t serve much current purpose let them find a level which suits their current situation.

why should the nrl waste so much money on an inefficient system ?

Huh? What purpose do you wish for them to serve.

If you pull funding away from all areas outside of Sydney and Brisbane (which is what will happen under a RG model) how do you think that the NRL sides will get the quantity of players they need? Surely it is not that hard to work out?

 

[Colk]

hmm ok, so you think the QLD and NSW cups will eventually dissolve into some national second (or third) tier comp where teams like Adelaide, Fiji, Hunter Mariners can join?

A national third grade competition. I have argued about this with Perth Red for a while now. What he is arguing for is a minor league idea (that’s not a bad idea) however he seems to think that can happen with NRL sides also having RG sides. You can’t have a professional competition below RG - it just wouldn’t work

 

[mongoose]

A national third grade competition. I have argued about this with Perth Red for a while now. What he is arguing for is a minor league idea (that’s not a bad idea) however he seems to think that can happen with NRL sides also having RG sides. You can’t have a professional competition below RG - it just wouldn’t work

yeah i see.... is the NRL going to fund it, where is the money going to come from? If anything these 3rd tier clubs will rely more heavily on having pokie dens to stay afloat.

 

[Perth Red]

hmm ok, so you think the QLD and NSW cups will eventually dissolve into some national second (or third) tier comp where teams like Adelaide, Fiji, Hunter Mariners can join?

Its one possible option if the ARLC want to keep a semi professional second division competition. Depends on if they feel it worth funding and if thats what the clubs want.
Im not sure what the answer is otherwise for the current QRL cup and 4 NSW cup sides if NRL does go to a stand alone reserve grade

 

[Perth Red]

yeah i see.... is the NRL going to fund it, where is the money going to come from? If anything these 3rd tier clubs will rely more heavily on having pokie dens to stay afloat.

The NRL are willing to pump up to $1.7mill a club into NRLW. Would it be any different?
You'd need to consider what the ROI is for the ARLC of having a semi pro league, but its charter is to grow the sport at all levels, not just at the top tier.

The real danger I can see is these clubs dont just run the first grade, they run all the systems and jnrs under that. Without the first grade there's a massive risk that these clubs could diminish and that has a major knock on into our participation rates which will ultimately knock on into NRL down the track.

I'd like to think they've thought all this through and have along term strategy! I cant see why the NRL would be pushing for every NRL club to have a reserve grade side unless the ultimate goal was a reserve grade stand alone comp.

 

[Wb1234]

Huh? What purpose do you wish for them to serve.

If you pull funding away from all areas outside of Sydney and Brisbane (which is what will happen under a RG model) how do you think that the NRL sides will get the quantity of players they need? Surely it is not that hard to work out?

Heartland areas are saturated with rugby league

if some die off or find a level below reserve grade it will have zero impact on the game

 

[Perth Red]

Trying to keep it to the expansion theme of the thread I still say a stand alone semi pro national comp lends itself much better to new clubs coming in and joining. At the moment it just isnt possible for most.

 

[mongoose]

Trying to keep it to the expansion theme of the thread I still say a stand alone semi pro national comp lends itself much better to new clubs coming in and joining. At the moment it just isnt possible for most.

Australia just doesn't have the money or population for this kind of comp to work.

This article suggests that bringing back reserve grade is all Phil Goulds idea - https://pythagonrl.com/2022/03/29/homogenised-rugby-league/

Gould pretends he cares about grassroots, the bush and QLD rugby league (LOL!) but he doesn't. He cares about pathways into NRL and by NRL I mean Sydney NRL clubs.

 

[Wb1234]

Australia just doesn't have the money or population for this kind of comp to work.

This article suggests that bringing back reserve grade is all Phil Goulds idea - https://pythagonrl.com/2022/03/29/homogenised-rugby-league/

Gould pretends he cares about grassroots, the bush and QLD rugby league (LOL!) but he doesn't. He cares about pathways into NRL and by NRL I mean Sydney NRL clubs.

Lmao

yeh Gus doesn’t know how to get clubs producing juniors

If Gus supports it then it’s a winner

 

[Perth Red]

Australia just doesn't have the money or population for this kind of comp to work.

This article suggests that bringing back reserve grade is all Phil Goulds idea - https://pythagonrl.com/2022/03/29/homogenised-rugby-league/

Gould pretends he cares about grassroots, the bush and QLD rugby league (LOL!) but he doesn't. He cares about pathways into NRL and by NRL I mean Sydney NRL clubs.

I'm not so pessimistic that it couldn't work. Funding yes it would need some significant investment by the ARLC (hate to mention it but if we hadnt fcked the Tv deal that wouldnt be an issue!) but also has the potential to attract sponsors and streaming coverage as well as build a fanbase. Not to mention many clubs will still have their LC's and other revenue generators. The AFL state leagues generate a lot more funding than the current RL state bodies, I suspect thats because they've grown fat and lazy from NRL handouts.

What would we realistically be talking from ARLC investment for a 14 team comp? $2mill grant a year per club plus travel and running costs maybe. Salary cap $1mill.
Probably around $40-50mill a year all up.
Recoup around $10mill in sponsors, govt grants etc for ARLC? By no means chump change but also at around 8% of ARLC revenue not a massive hole in the budget.

re population, yes it does. We are talking about putting clubs mostly where there is no NRL club serving the fans in that region. If you have a city/region of 200-300k with no NRl club then you most def do have the population. If there'd be interest in that population, that's an interesting one to debate.

8 clubs from QRL cup
4 NSW clubs
2 interstate/international clubs

that'd be a start point Id suggest with potential to add more if they put through good business cases and the games revenue keeps growing,

 

[Canard]

The NRL are willing to pump up to $1.7mill a club into NRLW. Would it be any different?
You'd need to consider what the ROI is for the ARLC of having a semi pro league, but its charter is to grow the sport at all levels, not just at the top tier.

The real danger I can see is these clubs dont just run the first grade, they run all the systems and jnrs under that. Without the first grade there's a massive risk that these clubs could diminish and that has a major knock on into our participation rates which will ultimately knock on into NRL down the track.

I'd like to think they've thought all this through and have along term strategy! I cant see why the NRL would be pushing for every NRL club to have a reserve grade side unless the ultimate goal was a reserve grade stand alone comp.

The NRLW isn't the same as a third tier comp. The player pool for NRLW is huge, TV will happily broadcast it, participation rates at junior level are through the roof and the companies wanting to be associated with Women's sport are never ending. Frankly the NRLW has only come about because the NRL see it as a license to print money, and massively grow our junior base to push for more govt funding etc.

There isn't a world where the NRL will provide any funding below Reserve Grade level for anyone but themselves, and to give the NRL credit no sports organisation in Australia would spend millions on such a level either.

Lastly, It makes zero sense to think that expansion can be achieved via semi-pro/amateur teams playing third tier footy.