The Case for Adelaide.....

[siv]

Sure the professional pathways is about developing strong professional players to feed the system, however that doesn't mean that the pro pathway has to be controlled exclusively by the NRL clubs.

We are just about the only major sport in the world that I can think of that does it that way, and it seems to me that the only reason we do it that way is for the same reason that is the root of most of the major problems in the sport; there are a handful of clubs at the top whom have to much power over the sport, don't care about the health of the sport more broadly outside of their club, and do everything in their power to try to have a monopoly over everything in the sport because they are terrified of any new competition that may arise, because that competition might erode their power over the sport.

You talk about multiple games on game day and how important it is, but we've had multiple games on game day almost all of my life and the reality has always been that 95%+ of the fan-base of the clubs that it's supposedly so important to don't give a f**k about any of the leagues but first grade, and only an extremely tiny minority are paying the price of entry to watch the lower tier matches.
I mean look at the NRLW or the Under 20s a few years back, they'd be lucky to be playing in front of more than 1k people most matches.

Linking those leagues to the NRL clubs kills their potential as commercial products, which is a disservice to them because they could be built into commercial products (particularly the women's league and the second tier), and it's a disservice to the sport because it just makes them a net cost on the clubs and NRL when they could be making the NRL a profit.

Also you say your kids become disinterested in the lower tiers when the teams aren't their team as it were, but did you ever stop to think that maybe they (and you) aren't the target audience and that maybe that is ok? Not everything needs to be about the NRL clubs and their fan-bases, and the fact that almost everything is about the NRL clubs and their fan-bases is one of the biggest things holding our sport back.

Just imagine where the sport would be right now if the thousands and thousands of fans in the bush were attending games locally every fortnight, that can't happen so long as the lower tiers are so strongly linked to the NRL.

Its interesting to see how clubs have decided its not how they want to run their professional operation

Penrith tried with St Marys/Windsir and then came back as Penrith

Newcastle tried the CC then cameback as Newcastle

Warriors tried as Auckland then reverted back to the Warriors

Souths tried as the Bears then reverted back to Souths

Canterbury tried as the Sydney Bulls then returned as Canterbury

Wests-Tigers tried as Wests and Balmain-Ryde-Eastwood then returned as Wests-Tigers or just Wests once they took full control of the licence

St George-Illawarra tried as St George and Illawarra and then Shellharbour then returned as St George-Illawarra

Parramatta tried as Wentworthville and then recently reverted back to being Parramatta

I see a trend

 

[siv]

Just imagine where the sport would be right now if the thousands and thousands of fans in the bush were attending games locally every fortnight, that can't happen so long as the lower tiers are so strongly linked to the NRL.

This requires NSW Country teams to join the revamped second tier NSW Cup just like they did in Queensland

The success of the Maitland Pickers shows you dont need NRL 18 to 30+6 players to make it a success

 

[The Great Dane]

Its interesting to see how clubs have decided its not how they want to run their professional operation

Penrith tried with St Marys/Windsir and then came back as Penrith

Newcastle tried the CC then cameback as Newcastle

Warriors tried as Auckland then reverted back to the Warriors

Souths tried as the Bears then reverted back to Souths

Canterbury tried as the Sydney Bulls then returned as Canterbury

Wests-Tigers tried as Wests and Balmain-Ryde-Eastwood then returned as Wests-Tigers or just Wests once they took full control of the licence

St George-Illawarra tried as St George and Illawarra and then Shellharbour then returned as St George-Illawarra

Parramatta tried as Wentworthville and then recently reverted back to being Parramatta

I see a trend

Firstly, you are cherry picking...

None of the Queensland clubs run their own reserves, and The Raiders, Melbourne, Roosters, Cronulla, and Manly (that's 4 of the top 8 by the way) are all partnered with other clubs instead of running their own second tier teams, and I don't think anyone in their right mind would say they struggle to produce and maintain NRL standard players.

Oh and Canterbury signed a deal with Mounties earlier this year, and the Raiders are only considering running their own NSW cup team next year because of covid. They are even considering running their reserves in the Canberra Raiders Cup as a stop gap until they can sign a new partner over running their own NSW cup team.

Secondly, what (some of) the clubs want, what is in the clubs best interests, and what is in the best interests of the sport as a whole are all vastly different things.
So I don't really care about how some of the clubs want to run their professional operations when another way of doing things has been shown to work, and that other way of doing things would have segnificant benefits to the sport as a whole.

This requires NSW Country teams to join the revamped second tier NSW Cup just like they did in Queensland

The success of the Maitland Pickers shows you dont need NRL 18 to 30+6 players to make it a success

What success of the Maitland Pickers?
Sure they won the Presidents Cup, but on field success doesn't mean dick if the business isn't sustainable.

So the real question is if they are so successful why aren't they in the NSW cup?
I'll tell you why; because it's too expensive for any club that wants to run independent of an NRL team to run a sustainable team in it when there is no why of monetising said team in the current system.

How do you make it possible to monetise said teams; well you need to get the competition way more exposure and make it appealing to a fan-base large enough to support it and attract more interest from broadcasters and sponsors.

How do you build it it's own fan-base; you appeal to a portion of the market that aren't represented by NRL teams (because if they are they will just follow the NRL team and ignore the lower tier team, as currently happens), and present them with a strong product that they can support and call their own.

If you take away a bunch of the best talent that the NRL teams aren't really using then you'll make it a shit ton more difficult to create an appealing product, and it would be a travesty to do that to have them playing in a pointless competition that nobody will care about and will never be successful as a product in it's own right, when they could be out being useful playing for other teams.

 

[MugaB]

Its interesting to see how clubs have decided its not how they want to run their professional operation

Penrith tried with St Marys/Windsir and then came back as Penrith

Newcastle tried the CC then cameback as Newcastle

Warriors tried as Auckland then reverted back to the Warriors

Souths tried as the Bears then reverted back to Souths

Canterbury tried as the Sydney Bulls then returned as Canterbury

Wests-Tigers tried as Wests and Balmain-Ryde-Eastwood then returned as Wests-Tigers or just Wests once they took full control of the licence

St George-Illawarra tried as St George and Illawarra and then Shellharbour then returned as St George-Illawarra

Parramatta tried as Wentworthville and then recently reverted back to being Parramatta

I see a trend

Cronulla and Newtown next?

 

[TheRam]

For basically the same reason as they got rid of reserves back when the sport went professional in the 90s; because it was a net cost that couldn't be monetised because there was basically zero interest in it from either the fan base or broadcasters.

In other words it was an expensive luxury that held no monetary value.

Other then producing quality players for the NRL.

I think you will find that Gould will be looking to advise V'Landys that we need some form of Reserve Grade and some form of under 20-23 brought back the way it used to be. That is what he has publically stated and what I think is the right thing to do. for the game.

Monetarily it might not be easy to judge or a loss leader, but production value of quality coming through into the NRL ranks, priceless. Therefore ultimately it is of great value to all the clubs and NRL.

 

[Perth Red]

Other then producing quality players for the NRL.

I think you will find that Gould will be looking to advise V'Landys that we need some form of Reserve Grade and some form of under 20-23 brought back the way it used to be. That is what he has publically stated and what I think is the right thing to do. for the game.

Monetarily it might not be easy to judge or a loss leader, but production value of quality coming through into the NRL ranks, priceless. Therefore ultimately it is of great value to all the clubs and NRL.

It has now become so much more expensive to run national reserve grade and U23 sides now though and clubs keep claiming poverty. I cant see it ever happening.

 

[siv]

It has now become so much more expensive to run national reserve grade and U23 sides now though and clubs keep claiming poverty. I cant see it ever happening.

I think you will find it is mainly the Qld clubs crying poor

 

[siv]

Firstly, you are cherry picking...

None of the Queensland clubs run their own reserves, and The Raiders, Melbourne, Roosters, Cronulla, and Manly (that's 4 of the top 8 by the way) are all partnered with other clubs instead of running their own second tier teams, and I don't think anyone in their right mind would say they struggle to produce and maintain NRL standard players.

Oh and Canterbury signed a deal with Mounties earlier this year, and the Raiders are only considering running their own NSW cup team next year because of covid. They are even considering running their reserves in the Canberra Raiders Cup as a stop gap until they can sign a new partner over running their own NSW cup team.

Secondly, what (some of) the clubs want, what is in the clubs best interests, and what is in the best interests of the sport as a whole are all vastly different things.
So I don't really care about how some of the clubs want to run their professional operations when another way of doing things has been shown to work, and that other way of doing things would have segnificant benefits to the sport as a whole.

What success of the Maitland Pickers?
Sure they won the Presidents Cup, but on field success doesn't mean dick if the business isn't sustainable.

So the real question is if they are so successful why aren't they in the NSW cup?
I'll tell you why; because it's too expensive for any club that wants to run independent of an NRL team to run a sustainable team in it when there is no why of monetising said team in the current system.

How do you make it possible to monetise said teams; well you need to get the competition way more exposure and make it appealing to a fan-base large enough to support it and attract more interest from broadcasters and sponsors.

How do you build it it's own fan-base; you appeal to a portion of the market that aren't represented by NRL teams (because if they are they will just follow the NRL team and ignore the lower tier team, as currently happens), and present them with a strong product that they can support and call their own.

If you take away a bunch of the best talent that the NRL teams aren't really using then you'll make it a shit ton more difficult to create an appealing product, and it would be a travesty to do that to have them playing in a pointless competition that nobody will care about and will never be successful as a product in it's own right, when they could be out being useful playing for other teams.

Parramatta should tell, Canberra, Canterbury and Manly to stay out of their junior district

 

[Perth Red]

I think you will find it is mainly the Qld clubs crying poor

Probably all,the clubs without pokies and the ones who do but make no money. End of day it costs nrl and clubs and they’ve decided that’s not where they want to spend the games money. If it doesn’t benefit the p tier it’s not happening. And that’s before you consider the dummy spit nswrl and qrl Wou,d have at the thought of their premier comps being relegated to 4th tier.

 

[TheRam]

Probably all,the clubs without pokies and the ones who do but make no money. End of day it costs nrl and clubs and they’ve decided that’s not where they want to spend the games money. If it doesn’t benefit the p tier it’s not happening. And that’s before you consider the dummy spit nswrl and qrl Wou,d have at the thought of their premier comps being relegated to 4th tier.

We shall see won't we. If V'Landys wants V'Landys generally gets.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

For those of you (like me) who's teams' season has long since ended, non-plussed about who wins the GF, but craving to have a smile on your face watching the greatest game of all...

I give you the Rams vs Knights in 1998 - at a packed house in Newcastle. Rams in the Golden Fleece, and their final game in club history.

Or if you prefer, save it for the long off-season...

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Maybe one day we'll get the Rams back. I have fond memories of the club.

Rocket Rod Reddy was their coach, wasn't he?


I remember the Rams firstever game against my mob, Cowboys. The game was broadcast on replay after a Donkeys game. Wally Lewis told one of the players from the Donkeys game that the Rams just knocked over the Cowboys. I watched the game and saw that my mob knocked over the Rams. I don't know how that bloke got a gig on TV.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Maybe one day we'll get the Rams back. I have fond memories of the club.

Rocket Rod Reddy was their coach, wasn't he?


I remember the Rams firstever game against my mob, Cowboys. The game was broadcast on replay after a Donkeys game. Wally Lewis told one of the players from the Donkeys game that the Rams just knocked over the Cowboys. I watched the game and saw that my mob knocked over the Rams. I don't know how that bloke got a gig on TV.

Yes Reddy was - and he renegged on a coaching gig at the Dragons to go there - pretty much our whole fanbase turned on the club legend. But starting 1996 with no coach, no major sponsor, and only have a team that turned up to the first training session - we ended up making the GF that year.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Riverbank West Stadium - concept....

All points to ..... you guessed it..... bringing back THE RAMS!!

https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/plans-revealed-for-new-multi-use-stadium-in-adelaide-cbd/


HOOOOOOYEAH!!!!!!

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Riverbank West Stadium - concept....

All points to ..... you guessed it..... bringing back THE RAMS!!

https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/plans-revealed-for-new-multi-use-stadium-in-adelaide-cbd/


HOOOOOOYEAH!!!!!!

Another reason to choose Adelaide over Perth.

 

[Travitoh]

Riverbank West Stadium - concept....

All points to ..... you guessed it..... bringing back THE RAMS!!

https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/plans-revealed-for-new-multi-use-stadium-in-adelaide-cbd/


HOOOOOOYEAH!!!!!!

I missed this news. I've always considered Adelaide Oval #2 to be the best spot for a new rectangular stadium but having it in the same precinct makes great sense. Didn't think it'd happen without an NRL team.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

I missed this news. I've always considered Adelaide Oval #2 to be the best spot for a new rectangular stadium but having it in the same precinct makes great sense. Didn't think it'd happen without an NRL team.

Riverbank West Arena is a proposed new multi-purpose stadium on the edge of Adelaide's CBD.

The stadium features a capacity of 22,000 for rectangular sports such as football, rugby league and union. The football pitch can then rise up to cover the arena and reveal a lower bowl, able to host sports such as basketball and netball with a capacity of 15,000. Arena-style concerts will be able to attract up to 30,000 fans.

https://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/proposed-stadium.php?id=19

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

For those not familiar with Adelaide, this is proposed to be located basically next to the CBD, by the Torrens River. Absolute prime real estate..

While it’s not a done deal yet, if this does get off the ground it’d be a huge hook for the NRL to consider bringing back an Adelaide team..

 

[greenBV4]

I missed this news. I've always considered Adelaide Oval #2 to be the best spot for a new rectangular stadium but having it in the same precinct makes great sense. Didn't think it'd happen without an NRL team.

this is where if the NRL had any vision it would be atleast having talks with the SA gov
potentially look at investing in the project in return for gov funding towards a new NRL team and a good deal/hire fee for a said team to play there