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

[Dragonwest]

Been saying it since 2011! You'll get no argument from me! The NRL fund NRLWA $750k a year and we have 5 staff inc DO's for a state our size of 2.5million people! If it wasnt for Peter Cumins we'd have no elite systems.
We currently have a high school scholarship program, an U15's region based elite system and the U18's SG Ball system.
you can find our strat plan, which runs out this year, here. Be interesting to know what of it was achieved.

https://nrlwa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/04/NRL-WA-Strategic-Plan-Sept-2018-LR.pdf

One thing the NRL is terrible at is strategy and planning. They'll probably parachute Bears in as the solution of that lack of planning and end up with a clusterfck of a club. sigh.

So we failed to keep SG Ball and didn't enter a State Cup setup ....

Women's game growth has been impressive, juniors seem stable, but there has been a failure to grow our First Grade competition and this year running both a Reserves and Val Murphy competition was thrown in the too hard basket a week before the season started with only one club working to keep all three men's teams.

 

[Iamback]

So we failed to keep SG Ball and didn't enter a State Cup setup ....

Women's game growth has been impressive, juniors seem stable, but there has been a failure to grow our First Grade competition and this year running both a Reserves and Val Murphy competition was thrown in the too hard basket a week before the season started with only one club working to keep all three men's teams.

That is how it looks from afar, Certainly not the way you would like to go if you wanted an NRL team in 5-10 years

 

[The Great Dane]

Linking with PNG will long term be of great benefit to both partners and linking with an established QRL cup club will provide a quicker return, alongside having our own improved pathways and reserve grade side.

The idea that any individual club should be able to hold a monopoly on playing talent from an entire country/region is the sort of crazy, archaic, bull shit, that sets RL so far behind the AFL and other big leagues around the world.

The sort of 'links' you are suggesting were done away with in any competently run league around the world in the 70s or earlier, and if the NRL were run by people whose main goal was simply the best interest of the sport as a whole then they'd be moving away from clubs having a direct influence on junior development as well, not doubling down on it.

Obviously the NRL is totally corrupted by self interest, so the above is never going to happen, however in that case it would still be in PNG RL's best interest for any and all clubs to have the freedom to scout and/or develop talent in PNG, not for an individual club to hold a monopoly that will leave most potential NRL players in PNG without a pathway to the NRL. The only group that would truly benefit from your arrangement would be the Perth NRL club, which is the only reason you're suggesting it frankly.

 

[Dragonwest]

That is how it looks from afar, Certainly not the way you would like to go if you wanted an NRL team in 5-10 years

It comes down to the NRL lack of funding more than anything. Very hard when we have such limited resources while twiggy is throwing cash to Union Clubs which they end up using to buy our players.

Fund it and there will be a large payback.

 

[Iamback]

It comes down to the NRL lack of funding more than anything. Very hard when we have such limited resources while twiggy is throwing cash to Union Clubs which they end up using to buy our players.

Fund it and there will be a large payback.

If RU have 12k players, Is there more untapped players out there?

 

[westerntiger]

The Force crowds are back to being shocking again. This is why they were cut from the league before Forest came in and stirred up the angry locals with the whole evil east coast conspiracy rubbish.

Also do any of the Force players come from Perth?

 

[Dragonwest]

If RU have 12k players, Is there more untapped players out there?

A large percentage of our best juniors end up with a Force contract at 16/17 and into their pathways or head East to chase a league contract. I'd hate to think how many x-pirates are now playing in the union first grade competition here. You can't really blame them when we can't offer them an alternative pathway. When the Force got booted a number of players instantly wanted back into the Pirates until Twiggy saved them.

 

[Colk]

The Force crowds are back to being shocking again. This is why they were cut from the league before Forest came in and stirred up the angry locals with the whole evil east coast conspiracy rubbish.

Also do any of the Force players come from Perth?

Yeah but it is Rugby Union. Their crowds are shocking everywhere except Wallabies matches.

 

[Perth Red]

So we failed to keep SG Ball and didn't enter a State Cup setup ....

Women's game growth has been impressive, juniors seem stable, but there has been a failure to grow our First Grade competition and this year running both a Reserves and Val Murphy competition was thrown in the too hard basket a week before the season started with only one club working to keep all three men's teams.

TBF we have had new clubs start up in this period, some just at jnr level though - Ellenbrook, Albany, Mandurah, Serpentine, Alkimos I think all started up since 2018?

SG ball understandable given Covid and travel

NSW cup side is totally reliant on NRL support. Won't happen without it, and shouldn't happen unless its part of a strategy for NRL inclusion.

womens game going gangbusters

Mens game is a challenge but we arent orphans in that from what I hear across the country.

For the resources we get its hard to be critical of John and the team at NRLWA, especially as we no longer have a local board driving strategy in the West.

 

[Perth Red]

That is how it looks from afar, Certainly not the way you would like to go if you wanted an NRL team in 5-10 years

I dont know, whilst I hear of other areas without an NRL club struggling for any growth weve got new Jnr clubs popping up all over.

 

[Perth Red]

The idea that any individual club should be able to hold a monopoly on playing talent from an entire country/region is the sort of crazy, archaic, bull shit, that sets RL so far behind the AFL and other big leagues around the world.

The sort of 'links' you are suggesting were done away with in any competently run league around the world in the 70s or earlier, and if the NRL were run by people whose main goal was simply the best interest of the sport as a whole then they'd be moving away from clubs having a direct influence on junior development as well, not doubling down on it.

Obviously the NRL is totally corrupted by self interest, so the above is never going to happen, however in that case it would still be in PNG RL's best interest for any and all clubs to have the freedom to scout and/or develop talent in PNG, not for an individual club to hold a monopoly that will leave most potential NRL players in PNG without a pathway to the NRL. The only group that would truly benefit from your arrangement would be the Perth NRL club, which is the only reason you're suggesting it frankly.

dont disagree but it is what it is. At the moment they could benefit from a stronger NRL link up and a genuine partnership approach on the ground in PNG. We have a need, they have a need. Maybe together we can solve both problems.

 

[Dragonwest]

TBF we have had new clubs start up in this period, some just at jnr level though - Ellenbrook, Albany, Mandurah, Serpentine, Alkimos I think all started up since 2018?

SG ball understandable given Covid and travel

NSW cup side is totally reliant on NRL support. Won't happen without it, and shouldn't happen unless its part of a strategy for NRL inclusion.

womens game going gangbusters

Mens game is a challenge but we arent orphans in that from what I hear across the country.

For the resources we get its hard to be critical of John and the team at NRLWA, especially as we no longer have a local board driving strategy in the West.

I'm not critical of them, they just need more funding full stop. The people there all love the game and work long hours, but without the right funding we won't attract the right people into the roles to succeed.

COVID has passed and I can't see SG Ball coming back or the Ken Allen having a proper awards night again.

 

[Perth Red]

I'm not critical of them, they just need more funding full stop. The people there all love the game and work long hours, but without the right funding we won't attract the right people into the roles to succeed.

COVID has passed and I can't see SG Ball coming back or the Ken Allen having a proper awards night again.

Unless Cumins has withdrawn his funding Id be very surprised if we arent back in SG ball next year.

 

[Dragonwest]

I'm not critical of them, they just need more funding full stop. The people there all love the game and work long hours, but without the right funding we won't attract the right people into the roles to succeed.

Unless Cumins has withdrawn his funding Id be very surprised if we arent back in SG ball next year.

Trials needs to be happening as we speak ..... I haven't heard a thing at club land.

 

[Perth Red]

The Force crowds are back to being shocking again. This is why they were cut from the league before Forest came in and stirred up the angry locals with the whole evil east coast conspiracy rubbish.

Also do any of the Force players come from Perth?

An example. Pirates Jnr, picked for Jnr Wallabies, now in Force 1st team squad.

Ollie Callan named in Junior Wallabies Squad - NRL WA

This time last year, Ollie Callan was captaining the West Coast Pirates during the 2018 SG Ball season and preparing for the WA Smarter Than Smoking Premiership season with the Joondalup Giants. Fast forward 12 months and the 18-year-old has just been announced in the Junior Wallabies’ 45-man...

nrlwa.com.au

 

[Dragonwest]

An example. Pirates Jnr, picked for Jnr Wallabies, now in Force 1st team squad.

Ollie Callan named in Junior Wallabies Squad - NRL WA

This time last year, Ollie Callan was captaining the West Coast Pirates during the 2018 SG Ball season and preparing for the WA Smarter Than Smoking Premiership season with the Joondalup Giants. Fast forward 12 months and the 18-year-old has just been announced in the Junior Wallabies’ 45-man...

nrlwa.com.au

Did a great job in SG Ball in a badly beaten pack each week, really should of been picked up by a NRL club for 20s.

Luke his younger brother is in the junior Wallaby squads too.

 

[Perth Red]

Trials needs to be happening as we speak ..... I haven't heard a thing at club land.

Fair point, trials are normally around now.

 

[The Great Dane]

dont disagree but it is what it is. At the moment they could benefit from a stronger NRL link up and a genuine partnership approach on the ground in PNG. We have a need, they have a need. Maybe together we can solve both problems.

They'd benefit even more from finding a way to get visas into young Papuan players hands. Help with developing the Digicel Cup into a product that creates enough revenue that it can be reinvested back into the sport locally would be better as well.

Getting visas has been real problem with developing Papuan players for decades. The clubs can find the talent, they just have trouble getting into the country, and that's not really something that's in the NRL's control. It is however within the NRL's power to help develop the Digicel Cup, and getting the Digicel Cup, and players that participate, recognised as professionals would also go a long way to helping with the visa problem.

Or we could do the even more sensible thing and clean our own backyard before we start telling others how to clean theirs. . .

RL Grassroots and junior development in Australia are an almost universally underfunded shitshow, so how about we get about fixing that instead of worrying about PNG. The amount of talent in NSW, Qld, and the ACT alone that the NRL either fails to compete for, or simply allows to go to waste through lack of opportunity, is insane, and that's before we even start talking about athletic talent in the other states and territories.

In fact if a Perth NRL club wanted a steady supply of NRL quality talent, and they wanted to get it for significantly cheaper than developing talent in PNG would cost them, then 'linking' with one of the NSWRL's regions, or even just the clubs from a single group competition within one of those regions, would get them results similar to, or even better than, linking with the PNGRL.

 

[The Lounge Lizard]

Wished I never looked into this thread.

It appears that some people like the sound of their own keyboards. Just like some people like the sound of their own voice.

 

[MugaB]

Wished I never looked into this thread.

It appears that some people like the sound of their own keyboards. Just like some people like the sound of their own voice.

Welcome to the echo chamber
.... when's the WA bears getting here already