WA BEARS

[MugaB]

Fair enough MugaB. I wouldn’t worry about what people say on these threads as the idea of rationalisation is not going happen unless something drastic happens.

Its not just rationalisation, its every club... we've been watching the cowboys, warriors and titans, for the past 16-28 years and hoped to see more out of these areas since their inception, trouble is they get on a roll, make finals, then plumment the following season
Titans came 8th last year, they shouldn't be last now... Cowboys complete 180° ... i know everything is cyclical and rosters turn over, but it shits me that we have expanded since NRL began and only have Melbourne to show for it,
I hope Redcliffe go well, coz if thet don't you can forget about PNG, Perth or wherever, it'll be North Sydney Bears for 12 games a year at NSO

 

[Perth Red]

Anyway back to the Bears, interesting there hasnt been any stories out of NZ about their interest in partnering with a NZ bid? Is that because there is no NZ identified bidders at moment?

 

[MugaB]

Anyway back to the Bears, interesting there hasnt been any stories out of NZ about their interest in partnering with a NZ bid? Is that because there is no NZ identified bidders at moment?

Nope, Anyway back to how shithouse our last few expansions have been

 

[Perth Red]

Its not just rationalisation, its every club... we've been watching the cowboys, warriors and titans, for the past 16-28 years and hoped to see more out of these areas since their inception, trouble is they get on a roll, make finals, then plumment the following season
Titans came 8th last year, they shouldn't be last now... Cowboys complete 180° ... i know everything is cyclical and rosters turn over, but it shits me that we have expanded since NRL began and only have Melbourne to show for it,
I hope Redcliffe go well, coz if thet don't you can forget about PNG, Perth or wherever, it'll be North Sydney Bears for 12 games a year at NSO

If Redcliffe fail what makes you think the NRL will repeat the same exercise with THE Bears in NSW? Do you think they are that stupid? (That's rhetorical!)

 

[MugaB]

If Redcliffe fail what makes you think the NRL will repeat the same exercise with THE Bears in NSW? Do you think they are that stupid? (That's rhetorical!)

They sure as shit won't be going to Perth or Adelaide... that's exactly where we want them to invest effort into

 

[Perth Red]

Nope, Anyway back to how shithouse our last few expansions have been

Since SL we are 1 for 2 with expansion success. 50% success isn't too bad lol Ironic that's it the heartland expansion club that's been shthouse and the so called dot on the map expansion club that's been a huge success!

 

[Perth Red]

They sure as shit won't be going to Perth or Adelaide... that's exactly where we want them to invest effort into

Or maybe they'll realise that expanding into heartlands with an established second tier club doesn't work and they need a different approach? Anyways I doubt Dolphins will fall over, their pokies will keep them going.

They shouldn't be going to Adelaide, that's 10 years of prep work needed before that happens.

 

[MugaB]

Since SL we are 1 for 2 with expansion success. 50% success isn't too bad lol Ironic that's it the heartland expansion club that's been shthouse and the so called dot on the map expansion club that's been a huge success!

I meant before ARL, sorry i didn't word it right, but, yeah its got to be done better or different and has to be done without concessions, i seriously don't condone those who say the new team deserves a leg up in salary cap... that's shit for fans of other clubs who might be on the rise towards that year to have the newbie club get instant advantages in the player market

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

The numbers that marched when Souths were axed (including a hefty amount of non-Souths fans) should've been enough of a demonstration that cutting/ merging long established clubs is a terrible move for the game.

Yet here we are over 20 years later and some are still adamant we should piss away decades/ centuries of history so we can put dots on a map in the Quixotic hope that a few decades from now (after pumping AFL-esque loads of cash into it) it'll pay off.

(Before the inter-state brigade accuse me of narrow-minded Sydney-centric thinking, I have been saying for a long time- over 20 years in fact- that the likes of Redcliffe, Wynnum and Easts should become part of the NRL one day. Traditional clubs in NSW and Qld are the foundations upon which we can build the NRL and turn it into a thriving national contest. Culling/ merging teams just alienates one group of supporters to try and woo another. It's not worth alienating lifelong, generational fanbases to try and woo bandwagon jumpers who'll only support with their attention and wallets as long as the good times last).

When South Sydney were readmitted they were a basketcase and sat on death's door until a Western Australian and Russell Crowe bailed them out.

The 80k who marched didn't attending games and they didn't buy club memberships.

Melbourne has risen to become the most important club alongside Brisbane. They rate their socks off and have given our game a profile in the heart of fumbleball territory.

There's only a limited amount of licences available. After the 18th team is admitted it is unlikely we will go to 20 before 2050, if it all.

Removing the Cronulla Sharks isn't going to hurt the game. It'll actually help the Dragons reach their potential on and off the field. A successful Dragons will do more to boost our game and hurt the other codes than two mediocre clubs struggling in Southern Sydney.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Since SL we are 1 for 2 with expansion success. 50% success isn't too bad lol Ironic that's it the heartland expansion club that's been shthouse and the so called dot on the map expansion club that's been a huge success!

The Titans still draw better attendances than some of the Sydney clubs. Despite being a basket case on the field.

 

[Perth Red]

I meant before ARL, sorry i didn't word it right, but, yeah its got to be done better or different and has to be done without concessions, i seriously don't condone those who say the new team deserves a leg up in salary cap... that's shit for fans of other clubs who might be on the rise towards that year to have the newbie club get instant advantages in the player market

I would like to see concessions on cap for signing players outside the NRL rosters. One of the key concerns for clubs was that a new club would dilute the talent and Dolphins have done exactly that signing 25 players so far from existing NRL rosters. Allowing a new club some cap concessions for first 5 years to sign outside NRL would bring new talent to the comp and keep the clubs happier. Also if its Perth or NZ (and Warriors should get this) giving them a player relocation allowance so they can compete with current clubs were players can move clubs and stay in the same house. Doesn't have to be huge, maybe $25k a player to pay for moving costs and finding new digs. In fact I'd go as far as to say to the new club they can purchase property and have players live rent free in it. That would be a good way for a new club to build a diversified asset base and make it easier for players to relocate.

 

[Perth Red]

The Titans still draw better attendances than some of the Sydney clubs. Despite being a basket case on the field.

Yeh but thats a low bar! I think overall you would have to say they have been pretty disappointing as an expansion club in RL heartland, both on and off the field. I just hope THE Dolphins are more of a Broncos and less of a Titans!

 

[Wb1234]

Its only a few misguided folk here who think cutting any current established clubs in the NRL, especially the sydney based ones, are going to somehow improve the competition, its dumb statements like that, that should ban anyone who visits these expansion threads...
I'm totally for adding more teams all around australia and the pacific, but if you take any away all you do is decrease the quality of the competition, take away manly and you lose those fans and sponsors, leave a large northern area that is already sparse due to the bears being gone from 1st grade, take away souths, they already walked the streets, lose one of the largest fan bases in Australia, take away Penrith, Cronulla or Bulldogs and there dries up the current talent pool most teams raid, etc. then there's itll be alright in 20 years the left over teams will eat up that area and its fanbase, nope doesn't work that way and what are we watching in the meantime?, in this 20 year span of new expansion teams taking their spot playing like a busted adding more of likes of the titans and warriors, but in just in Adelaide and Perth.
Dots on a map is great if they are competitive...
Add to the competition, Melbourne Storm are winners, they have bugger all juniors... but people forget they cover an area of 5 million people, if AFL didnt exist, they'd be another 8 nrl clubs there too... for those who shit on Melbourne storm for their lack of juniors or effort in their community etc, fk all that, NRL wins in VIC, purely coz they exist.
I want Perth, I want Nz2, I want PNG, maybe even Adelaide, but not at the cost of the current (soon to be) 17 clubs

I’m finding the people

By putting club grants up to $15mill there should be no reason clubs need to be cut, decide to relocate or go bust. You'd have to be pretty bad at your jobs to not be ok with a grant that size! NRL just needs to stop using it as an excuse not to invest and grow the game and stop listening to the self interest of the clubs and state bodies.

watch some clubs still stuff it up

they literally can’t help themselves

 

[Perth Red]

I’m finding the people

watch some clubs still stuff it up

they literally can’t help themselves

I know some clubs previously have been one major sponsor away from financial stress. Hopefully the big buffer now between salary cap and grant should see them be able to build some asset base for rainy days. Or they could pss it all away paying off coaches and players I suppose lol

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Yeh but thats a low bar! I think overall you would have to say they have been pretty disappointing as an expansion club in RL heartland, both on and off the field. I just hope THE Dolphins are more of a Broncos and less of a Titans!

The Titans were always going to struggle. They don't have Brisbane's population and they're not isolated like the Cowboys in a RL mad region that's far away from Brisbane and Sydney. There's a greater distance between Townsville and Brisbane (1,400km) than Brisbane and Sydney (960km). Cowboys are the biggest team with an active fanbase in a region spanning almost 1,000 km. Cowboys have more fans in Brisbane than the Titans do.

I hate to say it, but Titans will never be anything more than a mid-tier club at best struggling for media attention and relevance in a city that priortises other activities. They should do what Canberra Raiders did and look at buying land in Logan to increase their profile and supporter base. Add Logan's 330k people to Gold Coast's 600k and you've got almost 1M people. That's the only way I can see Gold Coast becoming bigger and more successful.

 

[Perth Red]

The Titans were always going to struggle. They don't have Brisbane's population and they're not isolated like the Cowboys in a RL mad region that's far away from Brisbane and Sydney. There's a greater distance between Townsville and Brisbane (1,400km) than Brisbane and Sydney (960km). Cowboys are the biggest team with an active fanbase in a region spanning almost 1,000 km.

I hate to say it, but Titans will never be anything more than a mid-tier club struggling for media attention and relevance in a city that priortises other activities. They should do what Canberra Raiders did and look at buying land in Logan to increase their profile and supporter base. Add Logan's 330k people to Gold Coast's 600k and you've got almost 1M people. That's the only way I can see Gold Coast becoming bigger and more successful.

They've shown they can get a crowd though, the population size and vicinity to Brisbane isnt the issue, the poor way the club has been run and the lack of success on the field is. They are more akin to Newcastle I'd say, but with a better stadium.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

They've shown they can get a crowd though, the population size and vicinity to Brisbane isnt the issue, the poor way the club has been run and the lack of success on the field is. They are more akin to Newcastle I'd say, but with a better stadium.

That's an insult to Newcastle!

Regardless of where Newcastle sit on the ladder they've got a parochial crowd attending their games. Gold Coast don't have that support.

After the initial excitement of having a new team that was competitive wore off crowd support has declined dreadfully for the Titans.

I hope they can win over the Gold Coast, but they don't show any sign of doing so. They're like a Sydney team in many regards and even use the sky blue of NSW in their colour strip. I cannot see myself supporting a team that wears sky blue.

 

[Wb1234]

I know some clubs previously have been one major sponsor away from financial stress. Hopefully the big buffer now between salary cap and grant should see them be able to build some asset base for rainy days. Or they could pss it all away paying off coaches and players I suppose lol

Four sacked coaches this year that’ll be millions more down the drain

then the tigers go and offer a five year deal to ciraldo

tigers would be one of the biggest basket cases in the nrl followed by the titans

 

[Reflector]

The Titans were always going to struggle. They don't have Brisbane's population and they're not isolated like the Cowboys in a RL mad region that's far away from Brisbane and Sydney. There's a greater distance between Townsville and Brisbane (1,400km) than Brisbane and Sydney (960km). Cowboys are the biggest team with an active fanbase in a region spanning almost 1,000 km. Cowboys have more fans in Brisbane than the Titans do.

I hate to say it, but Titans will never be anything more than a mid-tier club at best struggling for media attention and relevance in a city that priortises other activities. They should do what Canberra Raiders did and look at buying land in Logan to increase their profile and supporter base. Add Logan's 330k people to Gold Coast's 600k and you've got almost 1M people. That's the only way I can see Gold Coast becoming bigger and more successful.

This was why (back in 2005) I preferred the Central Coast Bears bid over the Gold Coast bid. There's good reason no sporting organisation has lasted on the GC without the governing body in question pumping large sums of money into them. But people were so distracted by "OMG another Qld team!" rather than the merit of the actual bid in terms of its' location or viability.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

This was why (back in 2005) I preferred the Central Coast Bears bid over the Gold Coast bid. There's good reason no sporting organisation has lasted on the GC without the governing body in question pumping large sums of money into them. But people were so distracted by "OMG another Qld team!" rather than the merit of the actual bid in terms of its' location or viability.

Manly should have been made to represent the Northern Beaches and Central Coast, similar to how Dragons have a foot in Southern Sydney and Wollongong. In the long-term it would have made Manly far stronger. They still could do it as The Sea Eagles since the precedent has been set with The Dolphins representing Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast.

Gold Coast will never appeal to people from the Brisbane metropolitan area, but their proximity to Brisbane is used as an excuse to not put an NRL team in southern Brisbane. I honestly think the Gold Coast Titans have harmed Brisbane 2 more than the Broncos ever did and forced the ARLC into choosing Redcliffe over a 2nd Brisbane team that could have rivalled the Broncos. We'll now have two weak teams north and south of Brisbane instead of two powerhouses in Brisbane.