I do like the idea of a Hobart Mariners side though haha
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Soccer is big in Melbourne
theres an identity to being from WA. Do people across the South Island of nz identify themselves in the same way? Not to mention theres 2.2mill in perth and 200k in rest of WA so we’re not exactly reliant on attracting people from everywhere in same way. I would not be suggesting we play games in Albany and Geraldton lol.
I think this is a great thread (lets hope it does not get ruined).
NZ is very interesting as there is no particular location that can you can confidentially say "yes thats it". It also presents RL with an enormous opportunity. If for example the AFL had the footprint RL has in NZ they would be milking it for every cent. AFL will probably never have that chance so it shows how much potential growth RL can have. In fact the whole of the south pacific is RL's to grow into, sort the Origin eligibility stuff and watch Fiji, Samoa, Tonga reach their true potential. Something Union in the islands would not be able to match, anyway thats another discussion.
Now in the short run the NRL along with NZRL, ARL, Warriors etc need to sort pathways/juniors. In the long run for a Kiwi team to have a better chance for success will have to include a majority of local juniors. Not all but a majority would have to be, takes away the concern of homesick Aussie's.
Having being fortunate to have spent a wee bit of time in South island (heading back to QT in the NewYear) I can't see any potential for a team at present in Christchurch. Won't have the corporate support either and just because Union seems to be a bit on the nose does not mean they will just take up supporting RL. South island will need more time but that new stadium coming can only be a positive for RL in the long run. Few clients that I know that run pretty significant businesses in South island also share the view. The Crusaders maybe the version of Storm in NZ but they are also struggling for corporate partners etc. These guys are always getting hit up to sponsor/come to events for the Crusaders.
Both the Warriors and NZRL recommend any new team in NZ to be in a different location to the Warriors. I can see the positives of 2 teams in the biggest market. Game every week during the season at the biggest market in country. However it's the set up of Auckland that discourages a second Auckland team. League is strong in the West/South of the city. As poster mentioned earlier north shore is union heartland similar to what the north shore is here in Sydney. So a team in North harbour for me would not work. Having another team at Mt Smart would cannibalise the Warrior's support.
The safest bet at present which may not the popular bet would be Wellington. Yes it may have a smaller city population than Christchurch but this potential team will be getting most of its support initially at least from the Hutt/Porirua etc.. The surrounding area's have a bigger population (Wellington Region 527K) than Christchurch and have lots of Maoris and Polynesian's and good rail links to the cake tin. I think Chalmers in his Orca's bid had plans for a training base to be located in the Hutt.
Anyway an interesting discussion good to get the input from Kiwi's too.
I think there’s a few. Corporates, is there a big enough fanbase in either of the two cities, does Australian tv want another nz club given how poorly warriors rate? There’s plenty of advantages as well but that last one will be the decider given how media still controls nrl decision making.
Just responding to Jim at the possible difference between a club called wa and one called the south island somethings. Be interested to hear from flippikat if you could creat a sports entity that would attract a fan and corproate base from all across the South Island To help overcome the small city that Christchurch is. Would people in towns and cities across South Island support a predominantly Christchurch club?
It's interesting cos one of the true heartlands of RL in NZ besides South Auckland would be the west coast in South island. That won't really have an affect on attendances on games in Christchurch.
arlc is allegedly going to up the funding to nzrl but I wonder if that will help given it seems a Lot of the nz talent leaves and comes to australia in their teens? I get warriors can only offer so many development places to young kids but it doesn’t seem to be spotting the best ones and then able to keep them in the country.
Thanks for that, and the designs you have there - especially the colour palette - would IMO be fantastic for a "Province neutral" NZ 2 team.
I reckon, if going with the south island scorpions route, black, white and yellow, there isn't a team with those colours, and can easily differentiate between Christchurchs red and black, and warriors blue, white, green and red, along with the rest of the competition, im a fan of having a team in yellow, there isn't too many teams that sport it, only parra and bronx but they are generally primarily using the other colors they have in blue or maroon, generally the yellow is often darker or gold, but a bright shade along with black and white would be great, and generally scorpions have yellow or lime representing that mascotThanks for that, and the designs you have there - especially the colour palette - would IMO be fantastic for a "Province neutral" NZ 2 team.
The only province that uses green and black is the lower-tier rugby union team "South Canterbury", which is based in Timaru & surrounding small towns. (Photo of the Green & black striped jerseys of their RU team, and local netball logo) - and that combination appears on Timaru-based teams across other sports in 2nd/3rd tier Provincial competitions too.
There's also Manawatu - the province based around Palmerston North in the North Island - who wear a similar peppermint green with WHITE across rugby union and a lot of other codes.
(Photos of Manawatu Turbos & Cyclones men's & women's RU teams, and Manawatu Jets singlet from out top tier NBL basketball league)
TLR - I think that shade of green & black would be a great brand - however I'd be tempted to make a third colour/trim colour/alternate jersey colour SILVER instead of white- far more options for merchandising, and silver isn't really used in the NRL at the moment.
Not sure about that call, having a Christchurch based team in colours that's more reflective of Wellington (black with some yellow), Taranaki (equally black and yellow), even Hawkes Bay (black and white) may oddly cut across all those potential supporter bases, and seem a bit odd.
