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US Professional Rugby League Coming Soon!!

Messages
14,139
The norm for new competitions like this are always expected to lose money within the first couple of seasons right? I'm thinking of the IPL here.

I can't see any teams averaging over 3,000 attendance unless they want to sell tickets for $5 or something. We're talking about getting large crowd numbers to a sport that most Americans don't know exists. It's going to be hard to build support behind a competition with stadiums which are almost vacant.

Back to the AMNRL I'd like to know what's going to happen to the Aston side which has won most of the premierships and has been the most succesful side. I don't expect them to be promoted to the NRLUS because Aston only has about 25,000 people, maybe that's why they are thinking about putting in a Pittsburgh team in instead.
Aston is near Philly. The Bulls, Fight and Sharks are all from the same area and they, and those involved with those clubs, will probably play a part in a Philly franchise.
 

CarlU

Juniors
Messages
29
Oh...
Alright it looks like I have mistaken PA to mean the state of Pennsylvania not Philadephia.
 
Messages
14,139
PA does mean Pennsylvania. Philly and Pittsburg are both in that state, but Philly is at one end and Pittsburg is at the other. The current league is based around Philly while Pittsburg has never had a club.
 

Poul

Juniors
Messages
729
That narrows it down a bit.

  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Philadelphia, PA[/FONT] A definite
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]New York, NY[/FONT] Ditto
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Hartford, CT[/FONT] Makes sense considering the Connecticut teams
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Boston, MA[/FONT] Seems to be a certainty
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Jacksonville, FL[/FONT] Same
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Los Angeles, CA[/FONT] Has been mentioned before so it seems to be a done deal
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Denver, CO[/FONT] Was also mentioned as a starter
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Chicago, IL[/FONT] One of the biggest cities and would open up the mid-west
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Pittsburgh, PA[/FONT] Also more a mid-west city and one with a great football culture
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]San Francisco, CA[/FONT] Ian Roberts could be coach
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]San Diego, CA[/FONT] Another California alternative
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Washington DC[/FONT] National capital, big city and has a team
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Dallas, TX[/FONT] The big Texan hope
  • [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Las Vegas, NV[/FONT] Surely not a good idea
From the information we already have, there are apparently 6 starters which have already been chosen (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Denver and Los Angeles). Therefore there would be 2 teams to be chosen from the remaining 8 possible/probable locations. Of those I would prefer to see Hartford and Washington chosen because of their proximity/coincidence with (an) existing AMNRL team/s. I know this may not be the sole criterion, but an "existing rugby culture" is mentioned. The Wildcats and Warriors, and also the Slayers and the Eagles are too far (even the Ct teams from New York) from any of the chosen 6 to act as feeder teams. These teams could potentially be lost from the AMNRL (and cross over to the dark side :twisted: ), if there is no "local" professional team to support and aspire to. Of the other 6 teams I would think that Chicago due to its' population and Mid-West location, and Dallas due to its' location in Texas ( a big "football" state), may be the favoured locations.These two locations would cetainly give the competition "national" credentials.
If the USNRL has any ambitions for expansion we may at least have some idea as to where that expansion may occur. If the inaugural season is a success, I would like to see 2 teams added in subsequent seasons, so that by the World Cup year of 2013 there would be a 14 team, truly nationwide League. By then the competition might be split into conferences along geographical (East-West) lines; i.e., East (Boston, Hartford, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Jacksonville) and West (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, Chicago). I would though like to see other locations have the potential to be granted franchises if they meet the requisite criteria.
It's great that there seems to be some news coming from the USNRL steadily, so I can hardly wait for the next instalment. :crazy:
 

roopy

Referee
Messages
27,980
I suppose we all have to choose a side when they have the final list.

I wonder what they can go for in the way of mascots to be 'different'.

Rugby League has Red Devils, Spiders, Frogs, Locomitives, Pumpkin pickers, butcher boys, donkeys and any other unusual thing you can think of, but i think they need to come up with some really unique ones for America.
 
Messages
14,139
[/list]From the information we already have, there are apparently 6 starters which have already been chosen (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Denver and Los Angeles). Therefore there would be 2 teams to be chosen from the remaining 8 possible/probable locations. Of those I would prefer to see Hartford and Washington chosen because of their proximity/coincidence with (an) existing AMNRL team/s. I know this may not be the sole criterion, but an "existing rugby culture" is mentioned. The Wildcats and Warriors, and also the Slayers and the Eagles are too far (even the Ct teams from New York) from any of the chosen 6 to act as feeder teams. These teams could potentially be lost from the AMNRL (and cross over to the dark side :twisted: ), if there is no "local" professional team to support and aspire to. Of the other 6 teams I would think that Chicago due to its' population and Mid-West location, and Dallas due to its' location in Texas ( a big "football" state), may be the favoured locations.These two locations would cetainly give the competition "national" credentials.
If the USNRL has any ambitions for expansion we may at least have some idea as to where that expansion may occur. If the inaugural season is a success, I would like to see 2 teams added in subsequent seasons, so that by the World Cup year of 2013 there would be a 14 team, truly nationwide League. By then the competition might be split into conferences along geographical (East-West) lines; i.e., East (Boston, Hartford, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Jacksonville) and West (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, Chicago). I would though like to see other locations have the potential to be granted franchises if they meet the requisite criteria.
It's great that there seems to be some news coming from the USNRL steadily, so I can hardly wait for the next instalment. :crazy:
I tend to think the final two should be two of Washinton, Dallas or Chicago. All big cities. Washongton is the national capital and has a couple of AMNRL teams close by. Chicago would give the comp a presence in the mid-west, as well as of the biggest cities in the country. Dallas gives us a presence in a huge markey like Texas. I think the Connecticut clubs are close enough to NY and Philly to be part of their structures and it doesn't stack up like the bigger cities do. Pittsburg is a bit of a random choice, why not Cleveland or Michigan? There must be a reason for it being an option but apart from being a strong football city I'm not sure what that reason is. San Fran and San Diego would give us more of a west coast presence but LA and Denver do a pretty good job of that already. Vegas I just can't see. It's just not the place for a team.
 
Messages
14,139
I suppose we all have to choose a side when they have the final list.

I wonder what they can go for in the way of mascots to be 'different'.

Rugby League has Red Devils, Spiders, Frogs, Locomitives, Pumpkin pickers, butcher boys, donkeys and any other unusual thing you can think of, but i think they need to come up with some really unique ones for America.
I like Knights and Fight and I wouldn't mind if they took them for the NY and Philly pro teams. But I guess they won't. Slayers is also pretty good if Washington got a side. Jax said they'll keep Axeman. Otherwise they'll have to come up with a few original names for the others. It's pretty hard to come up with somehing that no other pro club or college side in America has but there's got to be a few out there. I remember when the pro league was first mooted they actually had eight names picked out and franchises were going to take one and just add city names. I can't remember what they were, except that one was Crusaders.
 

DINGb@T

Juniors
Messages
834
[/list]From the information we already have, there are apparently 6 starters which have already been chosen (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Denver and Los Angeles). Therefore there would be 2 teams to be chosen from the remaining 8 possible/probable locations. Of those I would prefer to see Hartford and Washington chosen because of their proximity/coincidence with (an) existing AMNRL team/s. I know this may not be the sole criterion, but an "existing rugby culture" is mentioned. The Wildcats and Warriors, and also the Slayers and the Eagles are too far (even the Ct teams from New York) from any of the chosen 6 to act as feeder teams. These teams could potentially be lost from the AMNRL (and cross over to the dark side :twisted: ), if there is no "local" professional team to support and aspire to. Of the other 6 teams I would think that Chicago due to its' population and Mid-West location, and Dallas due to its' location in Texas ( a big "football" state), may be the favoured locations.These two locations would cetainly give the competition "national" credentials.
If the USNRL has any ambitions for expansion we may at least have some idea as to where that expansion may occur. If the inaugural season is a success, I would like to see 2 teams added in subsequent seasons, so that by the World Cup year of 2013 there would be a 14 team, truly nationwide League. By then the competition might be split into conferences along geographical (East-West) lines; i.e., East (Boston, Hartford, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Jacksonville) and West (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, Chicago). I would though like to see other locations have the potential to be granted franchises if they meet the requisite criteria.
It's great that there seems to be some news coming from the USNRL steadily, so I can hardly wait for the next instalment. :crazy:


For starters I don't know if it will be up to logic to decide where the final 2 teams go. More than likely it will be decided by who is bankrolling the venture because that will be the most important factor. If you're paying for the toy you usually get to choose what it is so I reckon that if any of the business-types involved want to see their home represented then it will happen regardless of city size, geography etc (within reasonable constraints set by the USNRL). Denver is the classic example. Haven't heard anything about it re: League but from the looks of it someone knows enough about it to want a piece of the action, someone who probably has had exposure to Union (which someone has said is strong in Denver) and reckoned their town would go well at League as well. (LA is the other team outta nowhere but it just makes sense economically).

As for the AMNRL losing teams I can't see that happening. Why would they go to Union? They were playing the game before there was a professional comp so I can't see why they'd up sticks because a professional comp has started but there's no 'local' team. In fact, with all the new teams and money in League you'll probably see a massive expansion to the amateur level of the game with new teams popping up all over the place, and many stretching out the 'heartland' even further. Throw in the fact that feeder teams can be based anywhere on a practical level and I don't really see this being a problem at all.

And I dont think 14 teams by 2013 is necessary. How 'bout we see how things go with the original 8 before we start doubling the comp. THe new teams are going to need some time to settle in, build a supporter base, up the quality of play and go through all the teething problems that will come with League being played on this level for the first time. I reckon they'll just be concentrating on that for the time being.

Also, cast-off gridiron players might not be as exciting as everyone thinks. I don't care how athletic you are you'll still have to know something about the game, especially if there is a few world quality players in the comp. Just the concept of passing the ball backwards will be a stretch of the imagination for new players, having to think backwards to go forwards, as well as base skills like how to run onto the ball at speed, how to secure your body/what you can't do regularly without the familiar padding and helmets, how to think on your feet 70 minutes into a game after 35 tackles, etc. It'll take a few seasons to learn this sort of stuff if the comp is going to be competitive enough to see the likes of Petro, Hindmarsh etc playing in it and I think the Union boys will be well ahead on the skills curve. In a few seasons time we might start seeing the ex-grid-iron players making their mark but it'll take that long to settle them in.

What I want to know is how a draft will work with feeder teams? I would have thought that having 'feeder' teams would be to encourage the development of local talent but if they're just sucked into the draft it will sever the connection. Will reserve players be able to be called up from the feeder team regardless of wether they're drafted or not, or will they have to be 'officially' drafted before they play any professional games or this just to start the comp etc etc. I don't know too much about draft systems- does anyone else here?
 

Dave The Maori

Juniors
Messages
865
here comes the critics from the league media .


Rugby league touchdown in US highly unlikely
By Steve Ricketts | April 01, 2009 11:00pm

IN 2004, the Wayne Bennett-coached Kangaroos were almost on the receiving end of one of the greatest upsets in rugby league history.
At halftime in a match at Philadelphia's Franklin Field, the United States Tomahawks, made up almost entirely of amateur players, led Australia 24-6.

The fact the Kangaroos were still hung over after celebrating their Tri-Nations final win over Britain in Leeds three days earlier had a lot to do with it and when they got serious in the second half they piled on 30 unanswered points.

But it still looked encouraging for rugby league in the US.

Since then there have been annual exhibition matches in the US, usually featuring English clubs, although South Sydney ventured to Jacksonville last year to play Leeds, and with plenty of promotion from part-owner Russell Crowe, drew 12,000 appreciative fans.

Last week The Courier-Mail revealed former St George player David Nui was in the process of setting up a national league in the US with franchises to be announced in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Denver and a few other places still standing after America's financial meltdown.

I would love to see the competition succeed but we have been down this path many times and if anything comes of it I'll volunteer to cover an AFL game on the Gold Coast.

In 1953, the spiral-passing American All Stars toured Australia at the invitation of the ARL, largely in response to a successful ground-breaking tour by Fiji's rugby union side the previous year.

At first the All Stars, made up of former gridiron players and top athletes, drew crowds up to 70,000, but later to make ends meet they were selling souvenirs outside grounds as far afield as Gundagai and Longreach.

In the 1960s, American entrepreneur Mike Mayer was enthralled by league when he saw the award-winning movie, This Sporting Life, set at Wakefield in England's north.

Mayer chased the dream of an American league for many years and attended RL International Board meetings without getting the financial backing he craved.

I still have a letter from Mayer saying "thanks but no thanks" after I offered my services as a player to his planned league in 1976.

Queensland and NSW played a State of Origin match at Long Beach, California in 1987 but once again there was no follow-up by league authorities.

When Super League held an international board meeting in Townsville to coincide with the World Nines in 1997, it was announced "self-funding" competitions would kick off in Japan and the US.

While a rival paper led the back page with the yarn, I gave it one sentence, highlighting instead the fact SL had introduced an admirable rule change preventing defenders from taking out a rival in mid-air when he was attempting to catch the football.

There was no substance to the Japan and US story, just as there is no substance to this latest American folly.

There is plenty of substance to the St George Illawarra team that Bennett will bring to Brisbane for tomorrow night's showdown with the Broncos - now there's a good name for an American franchise.

Defence is the keynote for the Dragons as they reinvent themselves under Bennett.

But attack will come, particularly as Bennett concentrates on the basics.

Bennett is not a believer in the spiral pass at all costs and he is sure to finetune that area of the Dragons game.

A long, spiral pass from Dean Young to Brett Morris drifted forward - although I still think it was a tough call from the touch judge - last Sunday against Cronulla.

All Young needed to do was "pop" the ball to a close runner but he wasted valuable time winding up for the spiral.

Keep it simple fellas.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,25276328-5016365,00.html
 

joshreading

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
1,720
Wow... that's convincing. We know it is going to be hard and there has been failure in the past (sort of like RL on the Gold Coast and South Sydney) but somebody better tell him it is 2009 now and not 1975.

Maybe it will fail, maybe not but I will be the first to hold this guy to commentating at the AFL on the Gold Coast if it is not.

BTW - Who is Steve Ricketts?
 

roopy

Referee
Messages
27,980
Someone who doesn't look on the net for stories, or he would know something he didn't find in a book from the 70s and a few dim memories.
 
Messages
3,625
joshreading said:
Maybe it will fail, maybe not

Exactly. How could be possibly know it's going to fail? Past half-baked attempts? This history is only relevant if you choose to ignore the mistakes... Cf. Gold Coast Titans.

BTW - Who is Steve Ricketts?

In his defence he was one of the only (possibly the only) News Ltd journalists who didn't deathride the World Cup.
 
Messages
14,139
The best thing about the Ricketts dribble is the comments. Rarely does an IRL bashing session on a News Ltd site draw only positive talk of IRL. Not one negative, ignorant comment about "RL is not an international game" or "it'll never take off in America". Nice.
 

RedVee

First Grade
Messages
6,410
But they need to have an interest in RL... there is no point just getting any body willy nilly if they cant show true passion for the Game.

Rusty lives and breathes the sport.

Agree, but a large % of Australians are from Qld & NSW and would have a knowledge of League at least.

Greg Norman played rugby league as a kid in Qld.
Hugh Jackman is a Manly choke choke:oops: rugby league fan.There are 2 for starters.
Rose Byrne's ( who appeared in Troy) opposite Mr Brad Jolie, boyfriend is Brendan Cowell a film writer and mad Shark's rl fan,both of whom reside in the Big Apple.

Greg Norman, I am lead to believe, is/was a St George supporter from his days being coached as an apprentice pro at Beverley Park (100 metres from St George Leagues Club). He attended the Souths - Leeds game but allowed Rusty to drape him in a Souths jacket :oops: - so I don't know whether Russell has corrupted him.

I wonder if they could get the footage of Steve Irwin at Broncos training from the Footy Show? Remember him tackling big Gordy? Irwin was a talented junior Union player, but had an interest in League (I think).
 
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