WA BEARS

[MugaB]

It is not really an apt comparison. The Dolphins expansion is more akin to the Dockers or Port Adelaide in the AFL i.e putting a second side in a large area where the game is already popular. Essentially it is a no brainer.

I think there is really no comparison in league to what AFL are trying to do with the Suns or Giants (putting a second side in an area which is not a sttonghold).

The argument you could level at the AFL is that perhaps they have gone too far, although they are playing a very long game. The argument you could level against the NRL is that we haven’t done enough. Now part of that is the Super League war but a large part has also come from a conservative mindset, largely stoked in terms of the arguments they put forth, by what was the result of that war whilst ignoring the circumstances or contexts of that war.

Nevertheless, we are so timed that a lot of people are arguing relatively low risks/higher benefits like Perth and even a second NZ team for conservative low risk low reward options like CC or a third Brisbane side.

The comparison for us is putting a Wellington or Geelong team, both are probably not going to happen

 

[Colk]

The comparison for us is putting a Wellington or Geelong team, both are probably not going to happen

Yeah Geelong or a second Melbourne side would be a good comparison. You need a lot of work for one to get up and prosper but the fact that they did two of these ventures, one after the other, was a tad ambitious

 

[Perth Red]

It is not really an apt comparison. The Dolphins expansion is more akin to the Dockers or Port Adelaide in the AFL i.e putting a second side in a large area where the game is already popular. Essentially it is a no brainer.

I think there is really no comparison in league to what AFL are trying to do with the Suns or Giants (putting a second side in an area which is not a sttonghold).

The argument you could level at the AFL is that perhaps they have gone too far, although they are playing a very long game. The argument you could level against the NRL is that we haven’t done enough. Now part of that is the Super League war but a large part has also come from a conservative mindset, largely stoked in terms of the arguments they put forth, by what was the result of that war whilst ignoring the circumstances or contexts of that war.

Nevertheless, we are so timed that a lot of people are arguing relatively low risks/higher benefits like Perth and even a second NZ team for conservative low risk low reward options like CC or a third Brisbane side.

You’ve also got to factor in that they have earnt over $250mill a year more than the nrl for a decade. When youve got that much money you can afford follies like suns and giants, especially when it’s an investment in a long term strategy plan. I’m pretty sure if the nrl had an extra $250mill a year they might be making different decisions around expansion and investment in growth of the game.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Has anyone from the ARLC said a third Brisbane team will only be based in Ipswich?

I don't see the benefit of an Ipswich-based team. To the north and northwest of Ipswich is the sparsely populated Somerset. To the west is the sparsely populated Lockyer Valley. To the southwest is the sparsely populated Southern Downs. To the south is the sparsely populated Scenic Rim. Ipswich only had 213k people in 2018. Broncos already have a massive supporter base in Ipswich.

If there's a third team it has to be Easts Tigers as they're located centrally to Ipswich, Logan, Redlands and have the entire southeastern suburbs of Brisbane to tap into. It should have been the second team for all of these reasons.

Logan will never get behind the Titans, Dolphins or Jets.

You’ve also got to factor in that they have earnt over $250mill a year more than the nrl for a decade. When youve got that much money you can afford follies like suns and giants, especially when it’s an investment in a long term strategy plan. I’m pretty sure if the nrl had an extra $250mill a year they might be making different decisions around expansion and investment in growth of the game.

If the NRL had that money they would give most of it to the Sydney clubs.

 

[Canard]

Lots of people in this thread proving they have NFI about the BRL or its history.

To say that Brisbane Easts is a bigger club than Redcliffe is cooked AF.

Brisbane 3 won't happen in our lifetime, if at all

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Lots of people in this thread proving they have NFI about the BRL or its history.

To say that Brisbane Easts is a bigger club than Redcliffe is cooked AF.

Brisbane 3 won't happen in our lifetime, if at all

Easts are not as big as Redcliffe but they're not far behind. They're currently rebuilding Langlands Park into a 5k boutique ground with state of the art training facilities to support an NRL club. Geographically, they cover a larger base than Redcliffe and have been a strong club in the BRL for a century.

Abdo told the Tigers and Jets they're still a chance of getting the 18th licence.

 

[MugaB]

Easts are not as big as Redcliffe but they're not far behind. They're currently rebuilding Langlands Park into a 5k boutique ground with state of the art training facilities to support an NRL club. Geographically, they cover a larger base than Redcliffe and have been a strong club in the BRL for a century.

Abdo told the Tigers and Jets they're still a chance of getting the 18th licence.

5k is huge... i get that they'd use suncorp anyways, but 5k is realistically for what?

Ive been saying this for a while now, easts bid was shithouse, and the location is carbon copy broncos... the NRL want a point of difference, not the same...
The only chance easts tigers get a licence is if they play out of Perth or Adelaide, like what the bears/WA talks were about, the other ipswich bid i doubt will happen, its already broncos loving area..

 

[Perth Red]

5k is huge... i get that they'd use suncorp anyways, but 5k is realistically for what?

Ive been saying this for a while now, easts bid was shithouse, and the location is carbon copy broncos... the NRL want a point of difference, not the same...
The only chance easts tigers get a licence is if they play out of Perth or Adelaide, like what the bears/WA talks were about, the other ipswich bid i doubt will happen, its already broncos loving area..

I suspect NRLW and reserve grade? The pitch will then be for NRL club training.
Why do you consider their bid shthouse, other than as a genuine Brisbane2 club rather than some "The" club it would have clearly challenged the Broncos more therefore News Ltd would never allow it. They had the resources, the catchment, the 12 games out of Suncorp everyone was screaming for (its hilarious that for years people have been saying there needed to be two clubs at suncorp then all we got was 1/2 a one)

Anyway back to them WA Bears lol. There hasnt been much perth expansion chatter this week in media which is unusual given Origin is in perth and its usually the only time the Sydney media takes an interest.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I suspect NRLW and reserve grade? The pitch will then be for NRL club training.
Why do you consider their bid shthouse, other than as a genuine Brisbane2 club rather than some "The" club it would have clearly challenged the Broncos more therefore News Ltd would never allow it. They had the resources, the catchment, the 12 games out of Suncorp everyone was screaming for (its hilarious that for years people have been saying there needed to be two clubs at suncorp then all we got was 1/2 a one)

Anyway back to them WA Bears lol. There hasnt been much perth expansion chatter this week in media which is unusual given Origin is in perth and its usually the only time the Sydney media takes an interest.

West Coast Pirates or West Coast Quokkas for Team 18. Bugger the bloody Bears.

 

[mongoose]

Maybe there will be an announcement on Sunday evening....

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I never said they was, I said their active fanbases are on par. I’d say there is a lot more nrl fans obviously in brisbane but in terms of active fan base for clubs they are not miles apart At this point In brisbane or on the gold coast. Probably as much a reflection of our games failures as much as their success’s.

The fan bases of the two individual clubs are not even close to being the same.

The lions are on top of the table and averaging 24k this year. They've averaged around 20k for the better part of the last decade.

The Broncos are coming off their two worst seasons ever and while they've turned it around they still aren't really a premiership contender yet and they are averaging 27k this year and have averaged between 30 - 35k for the better part of the last decade.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

we wanted another broncos, we’ve got another manly.

The Dolphins are nothing like Manly and you should actually give them a chance to kick-off and show us how well they run a football club before you start death-riding them.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

You dont think they've already invested enough? Redcliffe just making the 8 will make both the suns and giants look like a wasted effort... especially since dolphins have been given no leg ups

That's the genius of our expansion strategy. Perth will be no different. Prove you can pay your own way and be a sustainable business and you are in. Compare that to the AFL strategy of putting dots on a map and throwing limitless funds at it hoping it will stick one day.

I feel if the two codes' strategies were reversed, the posters on here that constantly praise the AFL admin would be applauding the AFL's 'prove your financial worth' approach to expansion and bagging the NRL's 'pour endless funds into teams that aren't wanted' approach.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I suspect NRLW and reserve grade? The pitch will then be for NRL club training.
Why do you consider their bid shthouse, other than as a genuine Brisbane2 club rather than some "The" club it would have clearly challenged the Broncos more therefore News Ltd would never allow it. They had the resources, the catchment, the 12 games out of Suncorp everyone was screaming for (its hilarious that for years people have been saying there needed to be two clubs at suncorp then all we got was 1/2 a one)

Anyway back to them WA Bears lol. There hasnt been much perth expansion chatter this week in media which is unusual given Origin is in perth and its usually the only time the Sydney media takes an interest.

They've never said only half their games will be at Suncorp, financial reality will ensure that it is at least 10 or 11. Again, let's let them actually kick off before we start sinking the boot in.

 

[Perth Red]

Bears are in town!

 

[Perth Red]

North Sydney Bears in talks with VenuesWest over NRL side

Talks on a radical plan to create a National Rugby League alliance between a Perth franchise and the North Sydney Bears will be held over the State of Origin weekend.

thewest.com.au

 

[Vee]

How exactly did they f**k it up? You have been dodging the question since the Dolphins entry announcement... which of the bids was better than the Dolphins'?

SEQ Crushers.

 

[The Great Dane]

Who gives a f**k about the opinion of the Chairperson of the club in question? Well, I'd take his over yours any day of the week because he's actually involved.

Firstly, that's an appeal to authority.

Secondly, he's produced precisely zero evidence to support his hypothesis other than it was happening at the same time. Which is the same evidence everybody uses in this case, because for some f**king reason most people don't understand that correlation doesn't equal causation.

Let's try a different tact; Penrith averaged 12922 in 2017, 14264 in 2018, 12482 in 2019, then covid happened and now in 2022 (the first year unaffected by covid) they're averaging 18034.

Somebody using exactly the same logic you are using to say the Swans are only successful because of SL, could say that ipso facto the covid pandemic was responsible for their growth in attendance. Of course we both know that isn't true, and that there were other factors that lead to their growth in attendance, namely the usual reasons why a team's support suddenly rises.

Which begs the question; why in the specific case of the Swans do you choose to ignore those factors and embrace what is a glorified conspiracy theory at this point?

My guess is that, for whatever reasons, it's easier for you to accept that a terrible catastrophe, that will almost certainly never be repeated, is the only way that the Swans/AFL was capable of growing in the RL states, than it is for you to accept the idea that they're capable of being successful off their own backs.

Re: Swans lack of growth don't quote AFL's rubbery membership numbers at me and don't lie about all their metrics showing consistent growth. Their average crowds and TV ratings have shown stagnation after a sudden jump in the 90's around the time of the SL war. Attendances particularly show this quite starkly:

In the early 90's prior to 1995 they'd quite often hover around the 10k mark then...

1995: 17k average
1996: 27k average
1997: 39k average
During the 2000's: 33k average
Duing the 2010's: 33k average

Sure the mid 90's success probably boosted them a little bit but no club goes from 10k to 39k average in 3 years. They didn't even win a premiership in that time. It was a rebellion by Sydney sports fans against RL.

That's the way it's gonna be is it...

If you're just going to say that any data or piece of evidence you don't like is fudged then what's the point of discussing it with you? You're just going to ignore anything you don't like then declare victory. TBF, every discussion with you is a game of pigeon chess and I don't know why I expected anything different this time.

BTW, I addressed the Swans attendance in my last post, and despite your protests, pretty much all of their other metrics saw pretty consistent growth until 2019.

They Swans have won premierships since... why not a boost up over 40k since success has such a huge effect? Reason: because it wasn't just the success of the mid 90's it was the SL war. They got a boost to their popularity and their average crowd for a single season is still their 1997 season to this day despite being a finals contender most years.

There's probably a whole host of reasons why that is.

If I had to speculate, then I'd guess that a big one would be that there was always support for the AFL in Sydney, however that support was fractured because most people chose to support their favourite team over jumping on the Swans once they relocated.

Their sudden success unified that support behind the Swans as much as possible, however that can only happen once, after that you're reliant on more organic growth which takes time.

That definitely happened to the Raiders for example, on a smaller scale of course, but I'd know I was part of it. I'd imagine that it happens to a lot of expansion teams.

Don't get caught up in being right and let it blind you to what's actually happening.

If anybody is caught up in being right it's you.

You have an idea you want to be true so much that you're bending and breaking it in an effort to force it to fit.

 

[The Great Dane]

How exactly did they f**k it up? You have been dodging the question since the Dolphins entry announcement...

I've answered that question for you multiple times, and each time you have ignored the answer and proceeded to claim that I dodged the question.

So considering that, why would I bother answering the question again when you'll undoubtably just ignore it again. I'd just be wasting more of my time.

which of the bids was better than the Dolphins'?

If we allow for good administration by the NRL and a bit of malleability in the bids, then pretty much all of the serious ones were better with the possible exception of the solo Ipswich bid.

If we include bids from outside of Brisbane then the Dolphins wouldn't even be in the top three.

The Dolphins only got up because News stuck their noses in and the NRL seems to be run for the sole purpose of selling nostalgia to old men at the expense of the future. It's why I wouldn't rule out the Bears winning the 18th license at this point, they'd be right up the V'landys administration's ally.

 

[Perth Red]

Anyway back to those wa bears…..