The Bears

[reanimate]

But you already have 9 Sydney clubs. Move one of them to North Sydney. It’s the lead story on FSN just now, the amount of press it has got in just one day supercedes that of a Perth or NZ franchise or any other option which is very concerning

Just have one/some (e.g. Roosters/Manly split) of the existing NRL clubs cover the North Shore!

If, like Santino said, there were 2 NRL teams exiting the Sydney market at the same time, it wouldn’t be the worst idea. North Sydney is a huge, important market and deserves more thought and attention from the NRL. This is a dumb bid though, NSO is a terrible NRL ground, it will never be a rectangular ground and the viewing angles are terrible. The other elements of the bid, such as games in regional centres, can easily be covered by existing NRL clubs, it honestly offers nothing good or useful to the game.

 

[Colk]

Exactly. I would love your club Manly to look at the north shore. There is a big opportunity for the Sea Eagles to expand their brand and grow their supporter base.

 

[MugaB]

Just have one/some (e.g. Roosters/Manly split) of the existing NRL clubs cover the North Shore!

If, like Santino said, there were 2 NRL teams exiting the Sydney market at the same time, it wouldn’t be the worst idea. North Sydney is a huge, important market and deserves more thought and attention from the NRL. This is a dumb bid though, NSO is a terrible NRL ground, it will never be a rectangular ground and the viewing angles are terrible. The other elements of the bid, such as games in regional centres, can easily be covered by existing NRL clubs, it honestly offers nothing good or useful to the game.

They're better of basing themselves in Gosford for 6 games, then take a few each to tamworth, coff harbour, port macquarie, and NSO, that to me is a better idea than 6 at NSO and 1 to random country areas, eventually central coast would have a better representation and so will the northern country areas too... i mean dubbo and wagga wagga are way too far from the other areas they mentioned, and other teams like penrith, wests and canberra take games to those areas already, why not be more specific with an area

 

[reanimate]

Exactly. I would love your club Manly to look at the north shore. There is a big opportunity for the Sea Eagles to expand their brand and grow their supporter base.

We’ve made moves there before, but it’s ended in tantrums from the Bears, due to their never ending ambition to be a first grade side again. With no NRL support and no vision for the area, it makes investment there very hard. Basically, because the North Sydney district still exists (again, bizarrely, no other former top grade team has this arrangement), the Bears claim control and don’t want any NRL team doing anything in the region that they don’t approve of (due to their desire to play in the NRL again). They don’t even let the Roosters or their former allied NRL clubs market themselves in schools etc there (unless their players are currently playing for the Bears).

 

[Colk]

I have heard of that issue reanimate. That’s probably why the NRL have to show some leadership and to give them an ultimatum that we will consider your re-entry in an area outside of NSW

 

[Captain Apollo]

I have heard of that issue reanimate. That’s probably why the NRL have to show some leadership and to give them an ultimatum that we will consider your re-entry in an area outside of NSW

Which is why it won't happen. I mean in all seriousness why would the North Sydney Leagues Club put money into such a side? They'd have no logical reason to, and without the financial backing of North Leagues, they'd have no financial base for re-admittance.

 

[t-ba]

This is exactly the kind of hare brained scheme PVL would be down for.

"The Bears" would absolutely be back on the North Shore full time within 5 years calling themselves North Sydney.

But it probably won't happen.

 

[t-ba]

Which is why it won't happen. I mean in all seriousness why would the North Sydney Leagues Club put money into such a side? They'd have no logical reason to, and without the financial backing of North Leagues, they'd have no financial base for re-admittance.

Because the Leagues Club would know it's a poorly disguised Trojan Horse for Norths to come back full time to the area.

 

[Colk]

Ultimately, there needs to be some change to the current situation. Essentially in the absence of another club actually going and expanding, either directly or indirectly as a result of the North Sydney Bears, you are leaving the area to be squandered on this stupid notion that the Bears can come back and add another club to an already saturated market.

Either three things have to happen

1.) The Bears are told they are never coming back in and to get out of the way of Manly/Roosters or other who wants to take on NS/CC

2.) The Bears will be considered but only as a team from Perth/Adelaide/NZ. They can play a certain away games at NS oval against Manly and other certain clubs for nostalgia. To answer the question about NS Leagues Club not funding the team frankly who cares? That is not the NRL’s problem - you make the licence incumbent upon it being in NZ/Perth etc and if they can’t get funding then they don’t get the licence

3) You bring them back as the North Sydney Bears but you move at least two other clubs from Sydney immediately

Any of these options have to be done straight away as the current situation is untenable and is damaging the game the area

 

[flippikat]

Spot on, @Colk - Your 3 options cover it off perfectly.

The NRL & NSWRL need to man-up and make a definitive call on an issue that's been left open for the last couple of decades.

 

[Chippy73]

We’ve made moves there before, but it’s ended in tantrums from the Bears, due to their never ending ambition to be a first grade side again. With no NRL support and no vision for the area, it makes investment there very hard. Basically, because the North Sydney district still exists (again, bizarrely, no other former top grade team has this arrangement), the Bears claim control and don’t want any NRL team doing anything in the region that they don’t approve of (due to their desire to play in the NRL again). They don’t even let the Roosters or their former allied NRL clubs market themselves in schools etc there (unless their players are currently playing for the Bears).

Can you blame them though, I would want MW RLFC to act like that if we got booted.

 

[The Great Dane]

2.) The Bears will be considered but only as a team from Perth/Adelaide/NZ. They can play a certain away games at NS oval against Manly and other certain clubs for nostalgia. To answer the question about NS Leagues Club not funding the team frankly who cares? That is not the NRL’s problem - you make the licence incumbent upon it being in NZ/Perth etc and if they can’t get funding then they don’t get the licence

Current NRL clubs relocating is one thing, but new markets should have the right to build their own traditions, not be lumped with a long dead, borderline irrelevant, team from Sydney. A Team, BTW, whom don't really want to be in the new market in the first place, and whom would almost certainly just use the market as a stepping stone to get back to Sydney in the long run.

Besides, most of the Bears old fanbase wouldn't accept a relocated version of the club anyway, which would totally defeat the purpose of bringing them back in the first place, but that is a whole other discussion.

 

[Captain Apollo]

Ultimately, there needs to be some change to the current situation. Essentially in the absence of another club actually going and expanding, either directly or indirectly as a result of the North Sydney Bears, you are leaving the area to be squandered on this stupid notion that the Bears can come back and add another club to an already saturated market.

Either three things have to happen

1.) The Bears are told they are never coming back in and to get out of the way of Manly/Roosters or other who wants to take on NS/CC

2.) The Bears will be considered but only as a team from Perth/Adelaide/NZ. They can play a certain away games at NS oval against Manly and other certain clubs for nostalgia. To answer the question about NS Leagues Club not funding the team frankly who cares? That is not the NRL’s problem - you make the licence incumbent upon it being in NZ/Perth etc and if they can’t get funding then they don’t get the licence

3) You bring them back as the North Sydney Bears but you move at least two other clubs from Sydney immediately

Any of these options have to be done straight away as the current situation is untenable and is damaging the game the area

I don't think the Bears have any role on the Central Coast. Otherwise the Roosters would not be funding an academy up there and forged a link with and now fund the Central Coast Roosters (formerly the Central Coast Centurions) in the SG Ball, Harold Matthews Cup competitions as well as in the NRLW.

 

[Captain Apollo]

Spot on, @Colk - Your 3 options cover it off perfectly.

The NRL & NSWRL need to man-up and make a definitive call on an issue that's been left open for the last couple of decades.

WTH has the NSWRL got to do with it?

 

[Bomboss]

Ultimately, there needs to be some change to the current situation. Essentially in the absence of another club actually going and expanding, either directly or indirectly as a result of the North Sydney Bears, you are leaving the area to be squandered on this stupid notion that the Bears can come back and add another club to an already saturated market.

Either three things have to happen

1.) The Bears are told they are never coming back in and to get out of the way of Manly/Roosters or other who wants to take on NS/CC

2.) The Bears will be considered but only as a team from Perth/Adelaide/NZ. They can play a certain away games at NS oval against Manly and other certain clubs for nostalgia. To answer the question about NS Leagues Club not funding the team frankly who cares? That is not the NRL’s problem - you make the licence incumbent upon it being in NZ/Perth etc and if they can’t get funding then they don’t get the licence

3) You bring them back as the North Sydney Bears but you move at least two other clubs from Sydney immediately.

I don’t understand why people think relocation would work? If I lived in an area that wasn’t represented I’d want a new team with its own identity, not support some other team that’s been moved because they struggled to be competitive. I think any team that’s been relocated is doomed to fail

 

[Jamberoo]

We’ve made moves there before, but it’s ended in tantrums from the Bears, due to their never ending ambition to be a first grade side again. With no NRL support and no vision for the area, it makes investment there very hard. Basically, because the North Sydney district still exists (again, bizarrely, no other former top grade team has this arrangement), the Bears claim control and don’t want any NRL team doing anything in the region that they don’t approve of (due to their desire to play in the NRL again). They don’t even let the Roosters or their former allied NRL clubs market themselves in schools etc there (unless their players are currently playing for the Bears).

Living in Melbourne where the VFL/AFL never had any competitions run by clubs, where recruiting zones zones disappeared 40 years ago, games stopped being played at local stadiums 20 - 30 years ago and if you live in Collingwood you are no more likely to follow Collingwood than any other AFL teams, the way RL operates in Sydney baffles me.
So, what actually happens in the Bears old zone? Is RL still strong? Do people all follow other clubs now? How would NSB be able to have any say over what happens in schools? Why is a defunct club running the show? What's in it for them anyway?
Is there ever any talk in Sydney of getting the NRL to actually run the game, and adopting a draft and centralised system like the AFL in Melbourne? Seems to be working from them here.

 

[The Great Dane]

Can you blame them though, I would want MW RLFC to act like that if we got booted.

Are you sure?

As an old Bears fan I find a lot of the ways the club has acted infantile and embarrassing.

Broadly speaking, the way they've acted hasn't done anything to help the club get back into the NRL, it's only further damaged RL as a whole in NS and more generally, which has only further compounded the club's situation. In other words they've just cut their nose off to spite their face.

The Bears, the NRL, RL generally, would be better off if the club had just accepted the position it was in and acted to better the club's, and by extension RL as a whole's, position within that framework. If that lead to an opportunity to re-enter the NRL then great, if not then so be it, it doesn't really matter.

 

[bazza]

I think its pie in the sky. This summed up how desperate they are (from the article in Foreign Legion's post) - "It's understood the club will still be based out of North Sydney, but part of the bid will see the team venture out to regional NSW areas such as Dubbo, Coffs Harbour, Wagga Wagga, the Central Coast and Tamworth."

Is John Barilaro involved?

 

[The Great Dane]

Living in Melbourne where the VFL/AFL never had any competitions run by clubs, where recruiting zones zones disappeared 40 years ago, games stopped being played at local stadiums 20 - 30 years ago and if you live in Collingwood you are no more likely to follow Collingwood than any other AFL teams, the way RL operates in Sydney baffles me.
So, what actually happens in the Bears old zone? Is RL still strong? Do people all follow other clubs now? How would NSB be able to have any say over what happens in schools? Why is a defunct club running the show? What's in it for them anyway?
Is there ever any talk in Sydney of getting the NRL to actually run the game, and adopting a draft and centralised system like the AFL in Melbourne? Seems to be working from them here.

Put simply grassroots RL has basically slowly rotted on the vine in NS because the Bears no longer have the means to properly administer it, or provide direct professional pathways into the NRL.

Frankly, the reason they do it is as a way of getting back at Manly (whom would have/should have inherited the Bear juniors), the NRL, and the world more generally, for how they were treated, and they have delusions of re-joining the NRL and want to keep the junior territory for when that happens.

It's case and point for why the NRL's whole junior system is an archaic relic of the 50s that should have been updated decades ago, but anytime there's been a significant push for change the usual suspects and their cries of 'tradition' have quickly squashed it.

 

[bazza]

Living in Melbourne where the VFL/AFL never had any competitions run by clubs, where recruiting zones zones disappeared 40 years ago, games stopped being played at local stadiums 20 - 30 years ago and if you live in Collingwood you are no more likely to follow Collingwood than any other AFL teams, the way RL operates in Sydney baffles me.
So, what actually happens in the Bears old zone? Is RL still strong? Do people all follow other clubs now? How would NSB be able to have any say over what happens in schools? Why is a defunct club running the show? What's in it for them anyway?
Is there ever any talk in Sydney of getting the NRL to actually run the game, and adopting a draft and centralised system like the AFL in Melbourne? Seems to be working from them here.

there is a north sydney junior competition - though at older age groups the teams tend to play with other leagues e.g. manly district
North Sydney still run junior rep teams - which I assume is from their local league and players that missed the cut in their junior leagues

There is a good case for these junior leagues to be restructured as team numbers can be quite low in places like St George, Balmain, Eastern Suburbs (who all ready play with South Sydney) and North Sydney.

The competitions should really be run by NSWRL rather than the local NRL club and boundaries based on the number of teams

I note that Parramatta and Cantebury have combined competitions from I think U15 and up. I think the more teams and grades the better as lower numbers mean only the best players stay and more people playing for fun tend to drop out