The Case for Adelaide.....

[westerntiger]

The proposal in 1994 was to have 4 super clubs in Sydney owned by the existing 12 NSWRL clubs with those 12 clubs keeping their own identity and playing the NSWL division whilst the co-owned super clubs played in SL.

This sounds good in theory but would’ve ended up like Super Rugby; a short period of hype followed by a loss of interest. In that case, AFL would really reign supreme.

In my opinion, they should’ve kept all 24 clubs that played Super League and ARL in 1997. Could’ve been split into conferences or have every team play each other once in the season. Would’ve retained both the national presence (Adelaide, Perth etc.) and the Sydney tribalism without the stupid mergers. Only problem was the lack of talent to fill 24 teams but this always seems to be a problem no matter how many teams you have

 

[Perth Red]

Anyway were having the same argument on numerous threads. Lets get back to Adelaide!

Of all the expansion options it is the least developed and arguably highest risk. In its favour it opens up a new metro market for the game, has a stadium that's not too bad and the one off crowds and the support for the Rams shows there'd be interest from fans there. On the downside there's no visible investors and zero Jnr pathways. This would suggest it is the ideal spot for a Bears link up who could provide the financial security and the Jnr pathways that an Adelaide clubs lack. Bears have said they don't care where they play. If Adelaide is to be a realistic choice within the next 2 decades then I can only see a Bears link up being an option.

 

[Pippen94]

Anyway were having the same argument on numerous threads. Lets get back to Adelaide!

Of all the expansion options it is the least developed and arguably highest risk. In its favour it opens up a new metro market for the game, has a stadium that's not too bad and the one off crowds and the support for the Rams shows there'd be interest from fans there. On the downside there's no visible investors and zero Jnr pathways. This would suggest it is the ideal spot for a Bears link up who could provide the financial security and the Jnr pathways that an Adelaide clubs lack. Bears have said they don't care where they play. If Adelaide is to be a realistic choice within the next 2 decades then I can only see a Bears link up being an option.

Bears already probably going to be Perth team with 4 games at no. Maybe newtown lining up for Adelaide?!

 

[mongoose]

Anyway were having the same argument on numerous threads. Lets get back to Adelaide!

Of all the expansion options it is the least developed and arguably highest risk. In its favour it opens up a new metro market for the game, has a stadium that's not too bad and the one off crowds and the support for the Rams shows there'd be interest from fans there. On the downside there's no visible investors and zero Jnr pathways. This would suggest it is the ideal spot for a Bears link up who could provide the financial security and the Jnr pathways that an Adelaide clubs lack. Bears have said they don't care where they play. If Adelaide is to be a realistic choice within the next 2 decades then I can only see a Bears link up being an option.

yeah I don't think Adelaide is critical expansion area yet and while the city has a nice tidy and historic CBD its a bit of an economic backwater... If you were a national comp starting from scratch you would base a team in Parramatta before Adelaide.

At least if we get Perth we can say we have the west coast covered and we are not just an East coast sport.

 

[Perth Red]

Bears already probably going to be Perth team with 4 games at no. Maybe newtown lining up for Adelaide?!

Do Newtown have any money?
Perth can stand alone, its got investors, its got Govt support, its got a decent fanbase. There are strengths to linking with Bears depending on the relationship but it doesn't need them to come in.
Adelaide doesn't have those things so will need a partnership you'd think to make it viable anytime in the next 20 years.
I can see Bris Tigers holding out for the Bris3 spot if it ever came up so Id think the options are pretty limited and so far only Bears have made any public noise about being interested in a license somewhere else.

 

[magpie_man]

I doubt Adelaide will get a sniff unfortunately; Perth (who are a far safer option out of the non-RL cities) are only, seemingly, getting a look-in if they align themselves with the Bears and surrender some of their home fixtures to Sydney. If that's the case, Adelaide are no chance.
If the league expands to 20 teams I'd imagine the next three will be:

Perth/NZ2
NZ2/Perth
Brisbane3

 

[Perth Red]

I doubt Adelaide will get a sniff unfortunately; Perth (who are a far safer option out of the non-RL cities) are only, seemingly, getting a look-in if they align themselves with the Bears and surrender some of their home fixtures to Sydney. If that's the case, Adelaide are no chance.
If the league expands to 20 teams I'd imagine the next three will be:

Perth/NZ2
NZ2/Perth
Brisbane3

You're probably right sadly and in ten years we'll still be scratching our heads why we are so far behind AFL.

 

[magpie_man]

You're probably right sadly and in ten years we'll still be scratching our heads why we are so far behind AFL.

The AFL is cultural phenomenon in its heartlands; the NRL ain't getting anywhere near it anytime soon.
However, the apparent gaping chasm between the TV rights deals should be a wake-up call for the NRL to pull their finger out when it comes to expansion to new markets (i.e. Perth & Adelaide), you would like to think so anyway.

 

[Perth Red]

The AFL is cultural phenomenon in its heartlands; the NRL ain't getting anywhere near it anytime soon.
However, the apparent gaping chasm between the TV rights deals should be a wake-up call for the NRL to pull their finger out when it comes to expansion to new markets (i.e. Perth & Adelaide), you would like to think so anyway.

well apparently vlandys, the man responsible, believes their high value was down to him and that his rabbit up the sleeve act will address it lol. The game is so screwed!

 

[The Great Dane]

Do Newtown have any money?
Perth can stand alone, its got investors, its got Govt support, its got a decent fanbase. There are strengths to linking with Bears depending on the relationship but it doesn't need them to come in.
Adelaide doesn't have those things so will need a partnership you'd think to make it viable anytime in the next 20 years.
I can see Bris Tigers holding out for the Bris3 spot if it ever came up so Id think the options are pretty limited and so far only Bears have made any public noise about being interested in a license somewhere else.

Potential investors and Government support would come out of the woodwork if people thought that an NRL club in Adelaide was a realistic possibility of happening anytime soon.

Honestly, any businessman/consortium willing to waste their time and resources on bidding for a license for Adelaide would be fools considering the current climate within the sport. They'd just be pissing their money up against the wall.

 

[Colk]

Potential investors and Government support would come out of the woodwork if people thought that an NRL club in Adelaide was a realistic possibility of happening anytime soon.

Honestly, any businessman/consortium willing to waste their time and resources on bidding for a license for Adelaide would be fools considering the current climate within the sport. They'd just be pissing their money up against the wall.

Maybe tell them that Adelaide is in NSW or QLD. They would set it up next year.

 

[Foreign Legion]

Rams v Broncos, Super League, Round 7

The Adelaide Rams and Brisbane Broncos do battle in the 1997 Super League competition

www.nrl.com

 

[Pippen94]

There's probably less than an extra 100k viewers & that's if Adelaide team makes grand final, in market which is not desired by advertisers. I.e. there's no case for Adelaide

 

[Foreign Legion]

There's probably less than an extra 100k viewers & that's if Adelaide team makes grand final, in market which is not desired by advertisers. I.e. there's no case for Adelaide

nah bring'em back... don't be a douche

 

[Foreign Legion]

 

[westerntiger]

Adelaide may as well be another country

 

[docbrown]

Adelaide will get one of the spots in a 20 team comp. The Bears should just go there and set up shop now.

 

[Colk]

Adelaide will get one of the spots in a 20 team comp. The Bears should just go there and set up shop now.

Interesting. Are you predicting that it will be Pasifika/PNG, Perth and Adelaide?

 

[Pippen94]

Interesting. Are you predicting that it will be Pasifika/PNG, Perth and Adelaide?

That would be dumb

 

[docbrown]

Interesting. Are you predicting that it will be Pasifika/PNG, Perth and Adelaide?

Well in terms of media markets and potential corporate sponsorship I’d rank them Perth, Adelaide and New Zealand 2.

SE QLD would also be up there but the Dolphins should have at least a decade to build their brand. A second Melbourne side would also be important but only after Adelaide and Perth, and only if the Storm increase their TV audience and attendances. PNG only happens if the government essentially underwrites the whole club with a long term guarantee.

In another thread I’ve explained how to make a second New Zealand side service both Wellington and Christchurch equally. The Adelaide featuring the Bears would just be adding existing brand value to a new franchise without a history in a non heartland state.