Redcliffe most likely to be the next expansion team according to the Telegraph

[Perth Red]

Lol at broncos ceo squirming on league life when asked about another Brisbane club.

 

[TheRam]

Bennett has always been pro expansion and has called for a perth and second Brisbane team on numerous occasions,

When you say always, was this pre or post Super League?

 

[The Great Dane]

I disagree with the notion of Melbourne being such an important sports market. Their biggest sport relies on the two Perth teams, the two Adelaide teams and the Swans to generate the bulk of their finances.

The biggest problem with the melbourne market is the same issue facing rugby league in Sydney; oversaturation. With so many teams across multiple codes, Melbourne sports fans have too many options, a second NRL team would only divide Storm supporters, it's the RL equivalent of GWS or the Suns, all it does is dilute the support base for the established expansion team.

A second team in Melbourne will happen whether or not there is demand for a second team or not, it'll exist purely for sponsorship, corporate, and advertising money that it'd attract.

 

[flippikat]

Dolphins - Maybe, not convinced they are definitely the best option over Western Corridor.
Adelaide - Yes, Bears.
Central Coast - 4-6 Games a year would probably be fine.
Christchurch - Maybe, again not convinced it is that clear cut over Wellington or even a 2nd Auckland Club.
Melbourne 2 - Not yet anyway.
Perth, CQ & PNG - Agreed.

Agree with you on a lot of this.. I can see the Roosters being the Sydney club that moves 4-6 home games to Gosford (maybe playing Central Coast home games in their red stripey alternate jersey, as a point of difference for those games) - especially if it means access to the juniors there, more sponsorship opportunities & a way to boost crowds at some lower-pulling home games.

It may even be a way to hedge their bets over a permanent relocation to the Central Coast if the pressure really goes onto Sydney clubs in a few years time. I mean, if they've already got one foot there it makes full relocation a bit easier.

 

[MrE_Assassin]

It may even be a way to hedge their bets over a permanent relocation to the Central Coast if the pressure really goes onto Sydney clubs in a few years time. I mean, if they've already got one foot there it makes full relocation a bit easier.

I say this not as a Roosters fan but as a rugby league fan, I don’t think the Roosters would ever make a permanent move up the coast and relinquish their traditional home to Souths. Too many corporate dollars to be made out of staying in Sydney and Uncle Nick’s transition plan is to have the Roosters left with a $500m nest egg to sure up their long term future.

The Roosters have been scouting the Central Coast juniors for players for years. It’s how they get a lot of their players into Harold Matthew’s squads and onwards. It’s not a new thing.

I agree that the Roosters will keep taking games to Gosford, just like they take games to Adelaide. I’m pretty sure the NRL give clubs incentives to take games to those locations and if it means money in the bank then you’d be silly not to take it.

They’ll flex some influence in those locations. They’ve already established a presence to develop touch footy in Adelaide and they have both the Sydney Roosters and Central Coast Roosters in the SG Ball competition. 2 teams both feeding juniors into a strong club seeing as nobody else is really using the area. They’ll just help develop the grassroots in these locations while there’s money to be made there. I don’t think it’s a sign they’d make a permanent move. They pulled out of the Wyong Roos in favour of Norths in the ISP. If you were going to make a move up there then it doesn’t make sense to pull out of the club in the next lowest tier.

 

[Perth Red]

Belongs in Sydney thread, can we keep this one for Queensland expansion talk please otherwise they all just merge Into each other!

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Hey, I realize the immediate concern is just getting ONE team in WA, but from a "maximize revenue" point of view, having a guaranteed late timeslot every week (not just every 2nd week) plus local derbies in the west (an area with a decently growing player base) are pretty compelling.

Sure, maybe not as soon as I originally pondered.. but we can't deny that other codes are looking to derbies to boost their bottom line - the question for the NRL is "After Sydney and Brisbane have multiple NRL clubs, who's next?"

I can definately see your point here. I know you are talking decades down the track but I think you're on to it. Before the Giants and Suns came along you would never imagine that there would be a second Sydney and SEQ AFL team but they are here and the AFL is committed for the long-term. Now, they aren't the best model of success though. It was only in the early to mid-ninties that it was said that RL would never have a Melbourne team and now they are currently top three in terms of crowds and memberships and pull very good TV ratings in Melbourne.

 

[MrE_Assassin]

I think Redcliffe have a good chance and the profile behind them although I personally think the money is in Ipswich/Western Corridor. There’s industry out that way, population expansion, a military base.

I think it’s going to be tough wrestling any kind of support from the Broncos unless they really start to struggle on the field.

I know the idea of a Ipswich/Logan team has been thrown around somewhere but what about linking North and West Brisbane seeing as there’s already an NRL club in close proximity towards the South?

 

[ash the bash]

Hi all,

A problem with Ipswich is lack of financial security I don't think the Jets Leagues club is anything to write home about.

The NRL will look to go the safest bet and I don't see how a plastic franchise in Brisbane city will all of a sudden attract that many neutrals.

I would certainly go for Redcliffe my only quandary would be wether to keep it Redcliffe or make it Moreton Bay Dolphins.

If I had to do a proposal for Redcliffe it would be along the lines of Geelong rather than Manly or Cronulla.

- 9 Games at redeveloped Dolphin Oval, 22K capacity a replica of Central Coast stadium with the leagues club end (Southern) left with out a stand. It does not have to be bigger than that, the club will own the ground it will be asset on their books.
- 3 Event Games at Suncorp, Brisbane - NQ - alternate between a big QLD supported club, Melbourne, St George etc for the third game... certainly not the Titans.

Ash

 

[JamesBrandy]

Everybody keeps saying they should play out of Dolphin Oval. Every single time Brisbane 2 is mentioned the main reason is that they want a game played at Suncorp every weekend.
No matter who the team is, whether it's Redcliffe or Ipswich (IMO the only 2 options that make sense) they should play at Suncorp.
Similar to the Rabbitohs with Redfern, play the pre-season matches and train at Dolphin oval, but NRL matches must be played at Suncorp.
Driving to Redcliffe beach on a normal weekend is a nightmare now, imagine if there was an NRL game there?!

 

[The Great Dane]

Everybody keeps saying they should play out of Dolphin Oval. Every single time Brisbane 2 is mentioned the main reason is that they want a game played at Suncorp every weekend.
No matter who the team is, whether it's Redcliffe or Ipswich (IMO the only 2 options that make sense) they should play at Suncorp.
Similar to the Rabbitohs with Redfern, play the pre-season matches and train at Dolphin oval, but NRL matches must be played at Suncorp.
Driving to Redcliffe beach on a normal weekend is a nightmare now, imagine if there was an NRL game there?!

Exactly!

Adding a club that doesn't play at Suncorp or plays half/most of it's games outside of Suncorp completely negates the reason why the NRL and broadcasters want to add another team in Brisbane: to have a local team playing out of Lang park every weekend.

We may or may not disagree with that stance, but that is literally the whole point of proposed expansion to Brisbane and has been for years.
They want a second Brisbane club, not Morton Bay, not this or that suburb/region, a Brisbane club, playing out of Suncorp every second week.

Now maybe that club will be the Dolphins or the Western Corridor bid, but if it is the Dolphins or the Jets (though the western Corridor bid hasn't settled on the Jets brand, and last I remember were moving away from it so they wouldn't disenfranchise other groups they intend to represent) it won't be the Morton Bay or Redcliffe Dolphins playing out of Dolphin oval, or the whatever Jets playing out of a stadium in Ipswich, It'll be something like the North Brisbane Dolphins or the South/West Brisbane Jets playing out of Suncorp.

Again we may or may not like that approach, but so far that is what is going to happen, so any talk of anything else like a Morton Bay team as the second Brisbane team is pure fantasy.

 

[ash the bash]

Hi TGN,

Why would it matter to the broadcasters whether the team plays at Suncorp or not ? Yes broad cast costs at the ground but they do that for a whole heap of Sydney grounds.

 

[MugaB]

North Brisbane Dolphins, would be the morso close to St.George Illawarra merger team, but games would definitely be at Suncorp minimum 8 home games a year, the remaining 4 at dolphins oval
The colors would need to not only be the red and white of redcliffe but reflect sunshine coast also, either be gold, red and white, or silver/grey, red, gold,
It has to new and far from maroon to not clash with the broncos, any upgrade to their stadium would be at there own cost, Titans should represent South Queensland, Meninga's right about a 2nd brisbane team affecting the titans
But if its a purely northern suburbs dolphins team maybe not as much

 

[Perth Red]

Q’land Govt aren’t going to build another $250mill stadium in outer Brisbane. The next club will. and must, play full time out of Suncorp. Last thing we want is any Brisbane expansion club to be playing in a suburban tip, it would kill them as they would in no way be able to compete with the broncos on any level.

 

[gallagher]

Q’land Govt aren’t going to build another $250mill stadium in outer Brisbane. The next club will. and must, play full time out of Suncorp. Last thing we want is any Brisbane expansion club to be playing in a suburban tip, it would kill them as they would in no way be able to compete with the broncos on any level.

Yep. Sets them up as little brother straight away.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Q’land Govt aren’t going to build another $250mill stadium in outer Brisbane. The next club will. and must, play full time out of Suncorp. Last thing we want is any Brisbane expansion club to be playing in a suburban tip, it would kill them as they would in no way be able to compete with the broncos on any level.

In the immediate future Redcliffe playing at Suncorp is a must and I don't think it is that big of a deal for their current hardcore fans with a direct train line or a 35-45 min drive if it means they are in the big league.

Longer term Brisbane is bidding for the Olympic Games and to also host RUWC matches and FIFA Women's world cup matches, these are the kind of events that could get Redcliffe the upgrade to Dolphin Oval that they want. Governments like legacy projects from these big events and this one would not be out of the question.

 

[Perth Red]

Yep. Sets them up as little brother straight away.

That isn’t a bad thing at all. Freo have traded off the smaller status compared to eagles to attract a different demographic, the balltlers club. It’s been very successful tactic.

 

[Irish-bulldog]

Q’land Govt aren’t going to build another $250mill stadium in outer Brisbane. The next club will. and must, play full time out of Suncorp. Last thing we want is any Brisbane expansion club to be playing in a suburban tip, it would kill them as they would in no way be able to compete with the broncos on any level.

You don’t understand the region sorry mate. 1 million people isn’t a northern tip.

 

[gallagher]

That isn’t a bad thing at all. Freo have traded off the smaller status compared to eagles to attract a different demographic, the balltlers club. It’s been very successful tactic.

Really? Most people, including their fans think they are a basketcase. Plus they play at the same stadium as West coast.

 

[Perth Red]

Really? Most people, including their fans think they are a basketcase. Plus they play at the same stadium as West coast.

$49mill revenue, $2.5million profit in 2017(after $5mill license fee to wafl) . And yes they share a stadium, that’s the point! Any new Brisbane team must play out of Suncorp if they hope to compete.