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

[Iamback]

We had a team in jim beam cup with a plan for it to move up to nsw cup after a couple of years. We were told in no uncertain terms by Grant (I was at the meeting) to stop wasting our time and money.

Yet Fiji are running a team in the same competition, They linked up with a feeder arrangement with the Roosters

PNG are atleast 20 years from being an option in NRL yet are running a QLD Cup team

 

[Colk]

Mounties are in NSW Cup without a feeder arrangement. What is wrong with them linking up now?

Running a Flegg and SG Ball team together and putting a sprinkling of WA top juniors in it?

Most sides have country kids who stay home all week and only come train on Friday, Play then go home after the game

There are ways to build up talent from a far

Why would they do that without a promise of or an actual side? Again you are looking at it backwards.

I’m sure that if if when WA or SA had an NRL side they would do exactly what you are suggesting

There are ways to build talent for sure but you know as well as I, that there is a lack of opportunity if there isn’t a professional team in that state and that in turn seriously inhibits any talent development. That’s not even going to in the fact that areas outside of NSW and QLD receive an absolute pittance.

Think of it this way: a talented junior rugby league player could either choose to move to the other side of the country in the hope that they might make it or instead try their luck getting a gig at the Force: what do you think that they are most likely to choose? For example my club have done with WARL but let’s be honest nine times out of ten, a person who is 16, 17 and 18 is going to choose to stay close to their family and stay in their state then fly to the other side of the country

 

[Colk]

Yet Fiji are running a team in the same competition, They linked up with a feeder arrangement with the Roosters

PNG are atleast 20 years from being an option in NRL yet are running a QLD Cup team

Yeah are they funded by the Australian government. It is a bit easier to do if it’s not your money.

 

[Perth Red]

Reserve grade isn't an NRL competition though, Warriors and Storm pay for their travel, why should Perth/Adelaide get special treatment?

An extra $20m from TV does nothing if the team is running last due to having no 2nd tier structure

NRL gives every team funding for its reserve grade sides in NSW /Qlnd cup. Around $3-500k a year on top of the $13mill grant, plus those NSW/QRL cup sides also get a direct grant from NRL.

 

[Perth Red]

Reserve grade isn't an NRL competition though, Warriors and Storm pay for their travel, why should Perth/Adelaide get special treatment?

An extra $20m from TV does nothing if the team is running last due to having no 2nd tier structure

How about an extra $100-$150mill from TV?

 

[Perth Red]

Yet Fiji are running a team in the same competition, They linked up with a feeder arrangement with the Roosters

PNG are atleast 20 years from being an option in NRL yet are running a QLD Cup team

Whose funding them?

 

[Colk]

How about an extra $100-$150mill from TV?

To be fair the difference can be attributed mainly to having a defective chairman of management but you can’t say that having sides in all metro markets wouldn’t net us more money than say having some of the other ideas proposed.

 

[Perth Red]

To be fair the difference can be attributed mainly to having a defective chairman of management but you can’t say that having sides in all metro markets wouldn’t net us more money than say having some of the other ideas proposed.

Whilst it is true about the idiot in charge that doesnt explain how they had three options fighting each other for the rights and we seemingly only ever the incumbents interested. Lets face it our comp isnt as valuable or enticing as their's and a part of that is our metro relevance nationally. The good thing is it is fixable with a leadership that actually leads

 

[Iamback]

Why would they do that without a promise of or an actual side? Again you are looking at it backwards.

I’m sure that if if when WA or SA had an NRL side they would do exactly what you are suggesting

There are ways to build talent for sure but you know as well as I, that there is a lack of opportunity if there isn’t a professional team in that state and that in turn seriously inhibits any talent development. That’s not even going to in the fact that areas outside of NSW and QLD receive an absolute pittance.

Think of it this way: a talented junior rugby league player could either choose to move to the other side of the country in the hope that they might make it or instead try their luck getting a gig at the Force: what do you think that they are most likely to choose? For example my club have done with WARL but let’s be honest nine times out of ten, a person who is 16, 17 and 18 is going to choose to stay close to their family and stay in their state then fly to the other side of the country

Again Fiji and PNG aren't getting in the NRL any time soon. Yet to build the talent up are running teams in the best comp to do that

 

[Colk]

Again Fiji and PNG aren't getting in the NRL any time soon. Yet to build the talent up are running teams in the best comp to do that

Yes funded by the Australian government. Do you think a private interest in Fiji or PNG would fund a second grade side without an explicit agreement (I wouldn’t use a verbal agreement with V’Landys lol) that there was an NRL side forthcoming?

You know they wouldn’t.

 

[Perth Red]

Yes funded by the Australian government. Do you think a private interest in Fiji or PNG would fund a second grade side without an explicit agreement (I wouldn’t use a verbal agreement with V’Landys lol) that there was an NRL side forthcoming?

You know they wouldn’t.

It'd be a waste of money. Reality is without NRL reserve grade players in the side it isn't competitive so you're asking someone to pay out a million $'s plus of their own money a year to put a side in NSW cup for no good reason. Not to mention any talent we have gets picked up at 15-18 and signed to NRL systems on the East coast further diluting what would be available for a NSW cup side. Simply doesn't stack up.
There wouldn't be a side in NSW or QRL cup that isnt funded by pokies, the Govt or an NRL club.
What we need now is the NRLWA funding to go up from $750k a year to $3mil a year and for the SG Pirates side to be funded properly by the NRL, not just relying on the good will of Peter Cumins. AFL is pumping in many $tens of millions into NSW and Qlnd to grow their sport. NRL are putting in a couple of mill across WA,SA and Vic!!

 

[Colk]

It'd be a waste of money. Reality is without an NRL reserve grade players in the side it isn't competitive so you're asking someone to pay out a million $'s plus of their own money a year to put a side in NSW cup for no good reason. Not to mention any talent we have gets picked up at 15-18 and signed to NRL systems on the East coast further diluting what would be available for a NSW cup side. Simply doesn't stack up. There wouldn't be a side in NSW or QRL cup that isnt funded by pokies, the Govt or an NRL club.

Exactly. You need to bring a side in first and let them join up with an existing QLD Cup side

It’s not possible to do it the other way unless you were able to put in a draft (which we know will never happen)

 

[Perth Red]

Exactly. You need to bring a side in first and let them join up with an existing QLD Cup side

It’s not possible to do it the other way unless you were able to put in a draft (which we know will never happen)

I would like to see a Pirates reserve grade side in NSW cup alongside a link up or two once we are sure their is a NRL club coming. We can produce local talent as we have seen already so that should be our #1 goal but we have to be realistic and recognize we will also need to draw on other areas as well, especially in the first decade or so.

2023 SG Pirates rejoin comp
2024 NRL announce West Coast Pirates will be team 18 with a revised tv deal kicking in from 2027 for nine games.
2025 Pirates enter NSW cup
2027 Pirates enter NRL

that would be the ideal!

 

[Iamback]

For comparisons

The Dolphins have signed Bostick NSW U19's
The 4 guys from the Panthers SG Ball premiers team. On top of

Are in the Prelim Final for QCup
In the Prelim Final for QCup u20's

So they have junior pathways in place

Storm
Warriors both will have teams in the NSWRL u18's next year
Storm run an u20's too

While they aren't very good it is better for the top local players development wise, Which is key in developing markets

 

[Perth Red]

Storm
Warriors both will have teams in the NSWRL u18's next year
Storm run an u20's too

While they aren't very good it is better for the top local players development wise, Which is key in developing markets

And I'm sure WC Pirates will have similar, WHEN they are in the NRL lol.

 

[Colk]

For comparisons

The Dolphins have signed Bostick NSW U19's
The 4 guys from the Panthers SG Ball premiers team. On top of

Are in the Prelim Final for QCup
In the Prelim Final for QCup u20's

So they have junior pathways in place

Storm
Warriors both will have teams in the NSWRL u18's next year
Storm run an u20's too

While they aren't very good it is better for the top local players development wise, Which is key in developing markets

You have to be realistic though and sometimes the commercial benefit is more beneficial.

Of course areas that don’t have a league presence (strong one at least) are not going to have a mountain of juniors coming through. Even in the Dolphins case, they have pilfered juniors and bought players from other teams until such time as they can produce their own players.

Anyway, the relative success of the Dolphins will be judged by a number of factors - hoe much money do they bring into the competition, the level of new support they bring, corporate support etc.

 

[Reflector]

1. Who says they wouldn’t or couldn’t?

2. Money, scouting and good management is much more important to having a successful team than having a 2nd tier structure.

You could put in a side in an area like Central Coast which is a renowned junior nursery, if you will, but that area has no corporates and would struggle relatively with financing a side (see CC Mariners or even Newcastle Jets in the A-League). A side like that would more likely struggle then putting a side in areas that easily have over a million people in each and greater access to funding and corporates.

This is why the CC Bears, playing the majority of their home games in Gosford and (say) 2 or 3 per season at North Sydney Oval covers both bases:

CC has the grassroots, juniors AND a growing population to capitalise on in terms of creating new NRL talent.

The North Shore is one of the wealthiest areas in Australia, with North Sydney the heart of the region's business district. Through the Bears' historic ties with this area (and the leagues club smack back in the middle of it) this takes care of much of the ongoing corporate support. NRL representation and more funding towards junior league in this area also eats into Rugby's presence in the area long-term.

 

[Perth Red]

This is why the CC Bears, playing the majority of their home games in Gosford and (say) 2 or 3 per season at North Sydney Oval covers both bases:

CC has the grassroots, juniors AND a growing population to capitalise on in terms of creating new NRL talent.

The North Shore is one of the wealthiest areas in Australia, with North Sydney the heart of the region's business district. Through the Bears' historic ties with this area (and the leagues club smack back in the middle of it) this takes care of much of the ongoing corporate support. NRL representation and more funding towards junior league in this area also eats into Rugby's presence in the area long-term.

Most Sydney clubs don't have the corporate support they need now, adding another club competing for the same corporates doesn't seem to make much sense.

 

[Iamback]

This is why the CC Bears, playing the majority of their home games in Gosford and (say) 2 or 3 per season at North Sydney Oval covers both bases:

CC has the grassroots, juniors AND a growing population to capitalise on in terms of creating new NRL talent.

The North Shore is one of the wealthiest areas in Australia, with North Sydney the heart of the region's business district. Through the Bears' historic ties with this area (and the leagues club smack back in the middle of it) this takes care of much of the ongoing corporate support. NRL representation and more funding towards junior league in this area also eats into Rugby's presence in the area long-term.

That is why that was a good partnership, Something like that is a perfect

 

[Colk]

This is why the CC Bears, playing the majority of their home games in Gosford and (say) 2 or 3 per season at North Sydney Oval covers both bases:

CC has the grassroots, juniors AND a growing population to capitalise on in terms of creating new NRL talent.

The North Shore is one of the wealthiest areas in Australia, with North Sydney the heart of the region's business district. Through the Bears' historic ties with this area (and the leagues club smack back in the middle of it) this takes care of much of the ongoing corporate support. NRL representation and more funding towards junior league in this area also eats into Rugby's presence in the area long-term.

That’s all well and good if there weren’t 10 sides in NSW already.

If you wanted to get rid of an Sydney side for this side or move another to CC if it desperately needs a side (which is highly debatable) then propose that but the last thing the game needs is another NSW side

Also, I don’t know how you would expect a team to financially prosper when you are competing with 10 other sides for corporate money. It also would add nothing to TV dollars