The Dolphins brand, jersey, merch etc

[The Axe of Druss]

Because like nrl they’ve grown out of suburban club based comps. Other comps that haven’t and are city V city comps use the city name even if there’s more than one club ie NYJets and NY Giants. Limiting your customer base by only representing a smaller than need be region is usually not a great idea though Fremantle Dockers have managed to appeal to a much broader region so who knows.

So in summary, keeping the suburb names effects nothing and changing to city names would also effect nothing and starting a new team with a suburb name appears to as well, effect nothing

*thumbs up*

 

[Perth Red]

So in summary, keeping the suburb names effects nothing and changing to city names would also effect nothing and starting a new team with a suburb name appears to as well, effect nothing

*thumbs up*

Its an interesting one and not one thats really been tested with a new club in NRL. I think a clubs geographical name is probably much less a factor than other key things like performance, star players, success etc. Storm have done a pretty good job building a national fanbase despite being called Melbourne as have the likes of Souths. meanwhile likes of Manly struggle for fanbase despite on field success and star players possibly due to their small geographical representation. Its complicated!

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Its an interesting one and not one thats really been tested with a new club in NRL. I think a clubs geographical name is probably much less a factor than other key things like performance, star players, success etc. Storm have done a pretty good job building a national fanbase despite being called Melbourne as have the likes of Souths. meanwhile likes of Manly struggle for fanbase despite on field success and star players possibly due to their small geographical representation. Its complicated!

What gives you the impression that Manly have a small fan base? Plenty of Manly fans outside the Nth Beaches

FWIW, I agree that success onfield is the biggest factor in gaining a following for a team, not the geographical name. Look at how the Titans struggle in that area

 

[Perth Red]

What gives you the impression that Manly have a small fan base? Plenty of Manly fans outside the Nth Beaches

FWIW, I agree that success onfield is the biggest factor in gaining a following for a team, not the geographical name. Look at how the Titans struggle in that area

Measurables: Crowds, Memberships, TV audiences, merch sales.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Measurables: Crowds, Memberships, TV audiences, merch sales.

Crowds and memberships mean little in the NRL

Not sure you can break down fan bases via TV viewership at all

Merch sales maybe, maybe but its still fairly inaccurate imo

 

[Perth Red]

Crowds and memberships mean little in the NRL

Not sure you can break down fan bases via TV viewership at all

Merch sales maybe, maybe but its still fairly inaccurate imo

Its the only reasonably reliable metrics we have. How else are you going to measure fan base if not by fans that actually watch or support the team in some way??

 

[MugaB]

Its an interesting one and not one thats really been tested with a new club in NRL. I think a clubs geographical name is probably much less a factor than other key things like performance, star players, success etc. Storm have done a pretty good job building a national fanbase despite being called Melbourne as have the likes of Souths. meanwhile likes of Manly struggle for fanbase despite on field success and star players possibly due to their small geographical representation. Its complicated!

Manlys issues are moreso, they are hated amongst the majority of the other sydney clubs/fans, plus having DCE as your captain just alienates more new fans also, he's a bit of a twat, add in all that history of stealing players from other clubs (not an issue today in the era of professional sport) but back then, clubs were furious when your best locals ended up at manly... the northern beaches itself isn't the issue, its the clubs history, plus having 8 other neighboring clubs in sydney who hate on you, and those fans carry on that legacy

 

[Perth Red]

Manlys issues are moreso, they are hated amongst the majority of the other sydney clubs/fans, plus having DCE as your captain just alienates more new fans also, he's a bit of a twat, add in all that history of stealing players from other clubs (not an issue today in the era of professional sport) but back then, clubs were furious when your best locals ended up at manly... the northern beaches itself isn't the issue, its the clubs history, plus having 8 other neighboring clubs in sydney who hate on you, and those fans carry on that legacy

Whatever the reason it doesnt negate they have one of the smallest fanbases and a large part of that, as you have alluded to above, is their very small geographic catchment that is surrounded by larger catchment clubs and that is reinforced by their name. Cronulla are the same.
Fremantle got away with it I suspect as you havent been able to by a ticketed Eagles membership for decades so if you want to follow a club it has to be Dockers, and they arent surrounded by other clubs so can spread right across the Southern metro region of over 1 million people as their catchment which they have done successfully and with much effort.

The Dolphins would be more akin to Fremantle than Manly IF they work hard to be relevant to the whole Northern Brisbane/MB region. If not they and they retreat to their Redcliffe enclave they could very well end up another Manly or Cronulla.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Manlys issues are moreso, they are hated amongst the majority of the other sydney clubs/fans, plus having DCE as your captain just alienates more new fans also, he's a bit of a twat, add in all that history of stealing players from other clubs (not an issue today in the era of professional sport) but back then, clubs were furious when your best locals ended up at manly... the northern beaches itself isn't the issue, its the clubs history, plus having 8 other neighboring clubs in sydney who hate on you, and those fans carry on that legacy

For all of the reasons you've listed I think the game wouldn't lose much from Manly getting the boot. If anything it would open the door for the Roosters to own everything from the harbour to Gosford.

It would take a generation or two for the Roosters to develop a strong supporter base on the Northern Beaches, but it can be done.

If we want Roosters to average 25k attendances then they will need to become the sole team representing North Shore, Northern Beaches and Sydney East and aggressively market themselves to kids.

I believe we need the Roosters to be strongly supported to keep the Swans in check. An RL team from the CBD pulling huge crowds opens up commercial opportunities for our game and makes a game against the Roosters at the SFS as big as playing the Broncos at Lang Park.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Whatever the reason it doesnt negate they have one of the smallest fanbases and a large part of that, as you have alluded to above, is their very small geographic catchment that is surrounded by larger catchment clubs and that is reinforced by their name. Cronulla are the same.
Fremantle got away with it I suspect as you havent been able to by a ticketed Eagles membership for decades so if you want to follow a club it has to be Dockers, and they arent surrounded by other clubs so can spread right across the Southern metro region of over 1 million people as their catchment which they have done successfully and with much effort.

The Dolphins would be more akin to Fremantle than Manly IF they work hard to be relevant to the whole Northern Brisbane/MB region. If not they and they retreat to their Redcliffe enclave they could very well end up another Manly or Cronulla.

For all of the reasons you've listed I think the game wouldn't lose much from Manly getting the boot. If anything it would open the door for the Roosters to own everything from the harbour to Gosford.

It would take a generation or two for the Roosters to develop a strong supporter base on the Northern Beaches, but it can be done.

If we want Roosters to average 25k attendances then they will need to become the sole team representing North Shore, Northern Beaches and Sydney East and aggressively market themselves to kids.

I believe we need the Roosters to be strongly supported to keep the Swans in check. An RL team from the CBD pulling huge crowds opens up commercial opportunities for our game and makes a game against the Roosters at the SFS as big as playing the Broncos at Lang Park.

Im curious, have either of you ever lived in or around Sydney?

 

[Perth Red]

Im curious, have either of you ever lived in or around Sydney?

Spent a lot of time there with work over the last 20 years but not lived there.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

Not your fault but you're assuming a lot about the place and getting it wrong mate

 

[Perth Red]

Not your fault but you're assuming a lot about the place and getting it wrong mate

I’m from Hull, no one gets the whole tribalism thing more than rugby league fans from Hull! However what should be our greatest strength isnt and that’s incredibly frustrating. Like Ive said some of that fault lays at the clubs feet who for a lot of them seem to struggle with the concept of building a customer base and operating like a professional business, and some at the nrls that made dumb decisions over the years that has damaged the game.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Im curious, have either of you ever lived in or around Sydney?

Nope. I have a phobia of cockroaches.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

It all makes sense now

Ironically Ive seen some of the biggest roaches ive ever encountered here in Qld. The big bastards with the yellow stripe on their heads. Ghastly things

 

[Perth Red]

Dolphins sign up the obligatory betting agency as top back jersey sponsor

https://www.bluebet.com.au/blog/betting/rugby-league-betting/nrl-rugby-league-betting/bluebet-team-with-dolphins

 

[Perth Red]

Budget Direct sign 4 year sleeve sponsorship
The club has signed a four-year deal with Australian Insurer of the Year Budget Direct, with the business’ logo to feature on both sleeves of the Dolphins’ foundation jersey when the team takes the field for the first time in March.

Budget Direct’s Group Managing Director and CEO Ram Kangatharan says he could not be prouder to be a Dolphins’ founding premier partner.

“We think that this partnership fits us so well because 22 years ago when Budget Direct launched, no one really thought we were going to take it to the big giants of the insurance industry – that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Mr Kangatharan says.

“What we love about the Dolphins is that same challenger mentality, taking on the giants and beating them and winning.”


The Dolphins have now sold all the assets on their playing kit and will announce more of those partners during the coming weeks.

Another big deal for Dolphins

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Dolphins, signing players for the 2023 season and today they announce a partnership deal they say is a perfect fit for their “challenger mentality”. Here’s what we know and what Head Coach Wayne Bennett has to say about the squad he’s building

www.moretondaily.com.au

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Dolphins have been very successful signing strong corporate partners. That's a good sign they have the potential to be one of the stronger sides in the competition and thrive.

 

[Perth Red]

First jersey. Pretty underwhelming. There's been some much better fan designs than this.

 

[Colk]

First jersey. Pretty underwhelming. There's been some much better fan designs than this.
View attachment 66944

It’s not the worst. They really should get somebody like Toomuchsoup to do jerseys though. He does a very good job