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

[Colk]

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

It was fine in 1998 or 1999 and the Bears probably should’ve been cast off but that ship has sailed now (or should have by now)

 

[Perth Red]

Have we learnt nothing? TV isn't interested in yet another Sydney club or a regional NSW side! Capital cities are where it is at. Perth next, then Adelaide, then either NZ2 or Brisbane3. That needs to be the plan or we will continue to be left in the dust by our rivals.

 

[flippikat]

Have we learnt nothing? TV isn't interested in yet another Sydney club or a regional NSW side! Capital cities are where it is at. Perth next, then Adelaide, then either NZ2 or Brisbane3. That needs to be the plan or we will continue to be left in the dust by our rivals.

Yet there's still a sizable proportion of the RL community that *just don't "get" that*

I'm not just talking about here, I mean Fandom outside the online communities, hell even the media.

It's no wonder the likes of Steve Mascord get disillusioned & pretty much walk from the game....

 

[Perth Red]

Yet there's still a sizable proportion of the RL community that *just don't "get" that*

I'm not just talking about here, I mean Fandom outside the online communities, hell even the media.

It's no wonder the likes of Steve Mascord get disillusioned & pretty much walk from the game....

Well they cant bury their head in the sand any longer. If this TV deal doesn't wake them up to that fact then nothing will!

 

[Reflector]

That’s all well and good if they 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

As I've stated before, what I propose kind of matches your suggestion-

The Wests Tigers are the weak link in Sydney. A JV with no clear identity, a largely atomised fanbase and a history of mediocrity. The JV should be disbanded, with Wests returning to Campbelltown f/t to focus on making the booming S-W Sydney a RL stronghold for decades (further thwarting the AFL's vision with the Giants).

Balmain can pair up with Easts (QRL), thereby freeing up the Firehawks bid to use the Tigers name/ brand. This gives us another Qld team, from the southside of the river, an established brand (like the Bears) to capitalise off and also another QRL affiliated club (like Redcliffe) has a place in the biggest RL comp in Australia.

Unlike many (it would appear) I'm of the firm belief that the best way to fight the AFL is not to limit our thinking in terms of how many teams we can have. The more sides, the better, provided they:

a) Have a sustainable business plan
b) Grow the game of RL at a grassroots level in their region/ town/ city, with the aim to producing more NRL quality players

We can easily work out a conference/ points based system to decide the draw in a given season, even 2 divisions. The AFL sets up teams in areas with barely a murmur of support for a team (see GC and GWS) then pump obscene amounts of money in, hoping it pays off and they can win the hearts and minds of the locals (barely happened, if at all)

The NRL on the other hand has a whole bunch of areas/ organic bids with genuine interest to be accepted into the competition. Provided they fit the 2 criteria I listed above, let them in. An NRL that has a whole lot of established clubs in their traditional areas, relocated established clubs in growth areas AND expansion bids is a winner.

 

[Iamback]

Yet there's still a sizable proportion of the RL community that *just don't "get" that*

I'm not just talking about here, I mean Fandom outside the online communities, hell even the media.

It's no wonder the likes of Steve Mascord get disillusioned & pretty much walk from the game....

It isn't that there are no interest but it is harder logistically then most on here care to admit

We have half a dozen players decide against moving to NZ
Several others say no to Dolphins because of not wanting to move

Yet a team on the other side of the country will attract all imported players?

Zero chance, So you need a strong development system to get country kids/locals into the top grade

How do you get that without linking with an established team? No one is saying in 20 years it will still have the 10/2 split or whatever. In the start though it is almost a must

 

[Iamback]

As I've stated before, what I propose kind of matches your suggestion-

The Wests Tigers are the weak link in Sydney. A JV with no clear identity, a largely atomised fanbase and a history of mediocrity. The JV should be disbanded, with Wests returning to Campbelltown f/t to focus on making the booming S-W Sydney a RL stronghold for decades (further thwarting the AFL's vision with the Giants).

Balmain can pair up with Easts (QRL), thereby freeing up the Firehawks bid to use the Tigers name/ brand. This gives us another Qld team, from the southside of the river, an established brand (like the Bears) to capitalise off and also another QRL affiliated club (like Redcliffe) has a place in the biggest RL comp in Australia.

Unlike many (it would appear) I'm of the firm belief that the best way to fight the AFL is not to limit our thinking in terms of how many teams we can have. The more sides, the better, provided they:

a) Have a sustainable business plan
b) Grow the game of RL at a grassroots level in their region/ town/ city, with the aim to producing more NRL quality players

We can easily work out a conference/ points based system to decide the draw in a given season, even 2 divisions. The AFL sets up teams in areas with barely a murmur of support for a team (see GC and GWS) then pump obscene amounts of money in, hoping it pays off and they can win the hearts and minds of the locals (barely happened, if at all)

The NRL on the other hand has a whole bunch of areas/ organic bids with genuine interest to be accepted into the competition. Provided they fit the 2 criteria I listed above, let them in. An NRL that has a whole lot of established clubs in their traditional areas, relocated established clubs in growth areas AND expansion bids is a winner.

It really is a no brainer, even linking with a semi pro team like Burleigh.

Gives you the juniors and a strong 2nd tier system to develop the fringe guys which should be a must

 

[Reflector]

It really is a no brainer, even linking with a semi pro team like Burleigh.

Gives you the juniors and a strong 2nd tier system to develop the fringe guys which should be a must

If I had a Santa's wishlist, my ultimate NRL would look like this:

Easts
Souths
St George- Illawarra
Cronulla- Sutherland
Manly-Warringah
Canterbury-Bankstown
Parramatta
PENRITH!!!
Western Sydney (Magpies)
Central Coast (Bears)
Canberra
Melbourne
Newcastle
Gold Coast
Brisbane (Tigers)
Brisbane (Broncos)
Dolphins
North Queensland
PNG
Auckland
Wellington
Perth

MAYBE'S-

Ipswich

Central Queensland

Adelaide (unless I am mistaken, Adelaide isn't really projected for much growth in the coming decades?)

 

[Iamback]

If I had a Santa's wishlist, my ultimate NRL would look like this:

Easts
Souths
St George- Illawarra
Cronulla- Sutherland
Manly-Warringah
Canterbury-Bankstown
Parramatta
PENRITH!!!
Western Sydney (Magpies)
Central Coast (Bears)
Canberra
Melbourne
Newcastle
Gold Coast
Brisbane (Tigers)
Brisbane (Broncos)
Dolphins
North Queensland
PNG
Auckland
Wellington
Perth

MAYBE'S-

Ipswich

Central Queensland

Adelaide (unless I am mistaken, Adelaide isn't really projected for much growth in the coming decades?)

All but 2 have some sort of 2nd tier side atleast

Ipswich signed on with Roosters for a pathway deal too, which will help the area long term

 

[westerntiger]

Ipswich signed on with Roosters for a pathway deal too, which will help the area long term

God forbid they try and get juniors from the eastern suburbs or north shore...

 

[Iamback]

God forbid they try and get juniors from the eastern suburbs or north shore...

More juniors the better, Who cares where they come from

 

[Perth Red]

If I had a Santa's wishlist, my ultimate NRL would look like this:

Easts
Souths
St George- Illawarra
Cronulla- Sutherland
Manly-Warringah
Canterbury-Bankstown
Parramatta
PENRITH!!!
Western Sydney (Magpies)
Central Coast (Bears)
Canberra
Melbourne
Newcastle
Gold Coast
Brisbane (Tigers)
Brisbane (Broncos)
Dolphins
North Queensland
PNG
Auckland
Wellington
Perth

MAYBE'S-

Ipswich

Central Queensland

Adelaide (unless I am mistaken, Adelaide isn't really projected for much growth in the coming decades?)

Adelaide has a population of 1.4million estimated. On pure population reach alone it would sit higher than all but 4 clubs on your list!

 

[Iamback]

Adelaide has a population of 1.4million estimated. On pure population reach alone it would sit higher than all but 4 clubs on your list!

Why is everyone only on population with you?

 

[The Penguin #6.]

That’s all well and good if they 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

Only one proviso I would add to that though is IIRC, the Bears when they were in the NRL, due to their lower North Shore connections often seemed to attract a shirt front sponsor not dissimilar to what the waratahs did in their heyday like Citibank, Avco Finance.
It would certainly be great if the NRL could once again have a club that attracted those front of shirt high-end finance company types and the fans associated with that.
I`m not totally against the Bears returning to the NRL if they are predominantly based out of the CC but do agree there would certainly seem a lot more value long term if we got into the other capital cities first.

 

[Perth Red]

Why is everyone only on population with you?

Because it translates to $'s. For club and code.

Here's an example as I have the annual reports open.
3million v 400k reach
Lions v Sharks

Sponsorships $9.8 mill v $4mill
Memberships and gate takings $8.7mill v $1.6mill
Merch sales $1.7mill v $860k

Football revenue
$20.2million v $6.5million

 

[Iamback]

Because it translates to $'s. For club and code.

Here's an example as I have the annual reports open.
3million v 400k reach
Lions v Sharks

Sponsorships $9.8 mill v $4mill
Memberships and gate takings $8.7mill v $1.6mill
Merch sales $1.7mill v $860k

Football revenue
$20.2million v $6.5million

Do the Lions run a junior league program or a junior League as such?

 

[Billythekid]

Because it translates to $'s. For club and code.

Here's an example as I have the annual reports open.
3million v 400k reach
Lions v Sharks

Sponsorships $9.8 mill v $4mill
Memberships and gate takings $8.7mill v $1.6mill
Merch sales $1.7mill v $860k

Football revenue
$20.2million v $6.5million

Not to mention the benefits for advertisers. It’s why big national companies prefer the AFL. It doesn’t matter if there reach is relatively small in 2 states they want to advertise nationally.

 

[Perth Red]

Do the Lions run a junior league program or a junior League as such?

That's not how AFL operates. Jnr clubs/comps and participation programs are run by the state league/AFL. The AFL club concentrates on running a professional sports club. They pick up their players from the draft.

 

[Perth Red]

Not to mention the benefits for advertisers. It’s why big national companies prefer the AFL. It doesn’t matter if there reach is relatively small in 2 states they want to advertise nationally.

Probably why AFL/W naming rights are worth over $21mill and NRL/W's $10mill.

 

[Iamback]

That's not how AFL operates. Jnr clubs/comps and participation programs are run by the state league/AFL. The AFL club concentrates on running a professional sports club. They pick up their players from the draft.

Correct. Hence why these comparisons are dumb

Clubs like Sharks spend millions a year on junior development

Some Perth company has no interest in the u12's locally but a local plumber is a different story

Again as the NRL model is clubs developing talent. SA has 2700 juniors as a whole

Sharks have 4700, Then of course there is Port Macquarie partnership they are building.