WA BEARS

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

but football is played all over the world, the real population the EPL draws on is in the hundreds of millions, probably over a billion. It's basically a world league, not an English only League.

NRL doesn't even appeal to all 26 million Australians or 5 million New Zealanders. We're basically a big fish in regions that have about 13.5 million people and a couple of cities that have a niche following of another 6.5 million.

When I hear Americans talk about Australian sport they mention AwFuL, not NRL, because only one has a national footprint. I was surprised to hear Derek Rucker mention AwFuL during a Bullets game as he played the bulk of his NBL career in Queensland and NSW and currently lives in Brisbane.

 

[Wb1234]

but football is played all over the world, the real population the EPL draws on is in the hundreds of millions, probably over a billion. It's basically a world league, not an English only League.

Football ? Dunno what you are talking about

football to me is rugby league buddy.

 

[Perth Red]

I can see it happening within the next decade, Perth, PNG, NZ2... any others another 20 years away... just depends on either perth or nz being bear affiliated

As far as playing talent, whichever city links with the bears or easts first would certainly get the ARLC vote, PNG has the player talent, and NZ can produce more player talent, Perth have the potential to grow and produce player talent, and we all know QLD cup have got player pool, but most of it tied up already elsewhere currently in the NRL, with Storm, bronx, tits, cows and now fins

There’s 14 clubs in qrl cup, and only 5 clubs you’ve mentioned there needing partnerships. Still plenty of pathway partnership opportunities in queensland

 

[Perth Red]

S

So England supports 95 professional football clubs for 55 million

pretty similar ratio to Australia then thanks for proving my point

interesting the dominant football code can support so many teams

as the dominant football code for most of Australia it looks like the nrl needs way more teams

Still figuring out how the lower league football teams can afford to be ft. There tv deal isnt massive outside the epl and neither is their crowds. Salaries must be very low.

 

[Perth Red]

We cannot expand into these areas until Sydney is rationalised down to a sustainable number that meets customer demand. The NRL isn't going to print an unlimited number of licences and there isn't the talent, media coverage or capital to support 2-plus teams. If we're being honest then a fourteen team competition would probably be best for the game. The Bradley Report did list fourteen as the ideal number and said Sydney should have no more than four or five teams. If we got rid of five Sydney teams then we could bring in the Dolphins, Pirates and New Zealand 2 for a fourteen team competition.

If you had a 14 team main comp the $60mill the 4 extra nrl clubs would have cost could go to supporting a ft second division

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

If you had a 14 team main comp the $60mill the 4 extra nrl clubs would have cost could go to supporting a ft second division

$60m a season would make the NRL 2nd division stronger and richer Super Rugby and A-League.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Football ? Dunno what you are talking about

football to me is rugby league buddy.

The bloke who conducted The Bradley Report for the NSWRL did one for Soccer Australia in the early 00s. One of his findings was to rebrand soccer as "football". I still call it soccer, but the media have called it soccer since he released that report.

 

[Wb1234]

The bloke who conducted The Bradley Report for the NSWRL did one for Soccer Australia in the early 00s. One of his findings was to rebrand soccer as "football". I still call it soccer, but the media have called it soccer since he released that report.

The funniest is they named the mens team Socceroos as acknowledgment that league and afl had monopolised the term

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

The funniest is they named the mens team Socceroos as acknowledgment that league and afl had monopolised the term

We all know Aussie soccer fans are hypocritical. They genuinely believe there's a conspiracy by the media to suppress their game. I've seen soccer fans say the media lie about how many people watch AwFuL and rugby league.

 

[The Lounge Lizard]

How does this topic warrant almost 2600 posts in two months?

It's beyond me. I'd be more interested in the merits of Valvoline over Penrite.

 

[MugaB]

There’s 14 clubs in qrl cup, and only 5 clubs you’ve mentioned there needing partnerships. Still plenty of pathway partnership opportunities in queensland

Correct but most of these qcup sides feed into those 5 clubs, 6 if you include Newcastle and ipswich, storm have falcons and easts, brisbane, titans and cows have multiple clubs, so there isn't that many that aren't already aligned with a current Nrl club

 

[mongoose]

NRL doesn't even appeal to all 26 million Australians or 5 million New Zealanders. We're basically a big fish in regions that have about 13.5 million people and a couple of cities that have a niche following of another 6.5 million.

When I hear Americans talk about Australian sport they mention AwFuL, not NRL, because only one has a national footprint. I was surprised to hear Derek Rucker mention AwFuL during a Bullets game as he played the bulk of his NBL career in Queensland and NSW and currently lives in Brisbane.

i think that's because AFL is seen as a quirky colonial game, nothing to do with its popularity spreading outside of Australia. Most Americans know we also play "Rugby", they just don't know there are 2 versions of it.

 

[Jamberoo]

Nobody in their right mind would consider a PNG team. It is a corrupt third world country. No players are bringing their partners and having their kids grow up there. Cairns is a small city that is not nearly as RL mad as Townsville. The surrounding resort towns are full of interstater and there are as many AFL clubs as RL clubs in the area (although I imagine that overall it is still a RL town). Surely there are bigger fish to fry (Perth, Bris 3 & NZ2).

 

[Perth Red]

Correct but most of these qcup sides feed into those 5 clubs, 6 if you include Newcastle and ipswich, storm have falcons and easts, brisbane, titans and cows have multiple clubs, so there isn't that many that aren't already aligned with a current Nrl club

Thats true but that's only because there isn't other opportunities. Take Tigers, they feed into Storm, but Storms main feeder is Falcons. If Tigers had opportunity to be a stanbd alone partner with Perth they may see that as more valuable/desirable. NRL clubs will have as many feeders as they can get, doesnt mean they need them all. Redcliffe is supposed to be as big a jnr nursery as Penrith, they dont need PNG as well and so it goes on.

 

[flippikat]

Many of the above leagues have professional or semi professional second divisions as well. Looking at that its hard to see NRL going past 20 clubs max.

Exactly.. which ideally is Perth, NZ 2 & Adelaide. There's your 20.

Now, that doesn't allow for a 5th Queensland team (whether that's South East Qld/Brisbane 3, or Cairns, or Central Qld).. nor does it allow for any 2nd team in Melbourne or Perth.. or even a 3rd NZ team.

So the choice then becomes expansion over 20 teams (pretty rare for any sports league except major league sport in America) or rationalisation of what we have to allow more markets of value.

Simple as that.

 

[MugaB]

Exactly.. which ideally is Perth, NZ 2 & Adelaide. There's your 20.

Now, that doesn't allow for a 5th Queensland team (whether that's South East Qld/Brisbane 3, or Cairns, or Central Qld).. nor does it allow for any 2nd team in Melbourne or Perth.. or even a 3rd NZ team.

So the choice then becomes expansion over 20 teams (pretty rare for any sports league except major league sport in America) or rationalisation of what we have to allow more markets of value.

Simple as that.

Garbage, the way the league is run now, and compared to how it used to be run during the 90s, cost vs quality is meaningless, you can easily have 24 teams, viability is a Bullshit word for "what is the NRL getting in return" they basically pay for the players, the grant keeps the 1st graders, you can promote Mackay Cutters and hand them a license, wait for 5 years and have a roster worthy enough to finish 9th... its always been about scratching the leagues back, most of you expansion experts here think its all about bums on seats... hence perth, adelaide... none of that matters, staus quo runs the game, and if you offer something useful like player stocks or valued area then theyll push it though quicker than you can say "THE"

 

[Perth Red]

Garbage, the way the league is run now, and compared to how it used to be run during the 90s, cost vs quality is meaningless, you can easily have 24 teams, viability is a Bullshit word for "what is the NRL getting in return" they basically pay for the players, the grant keeps the 1st graders, you can promote Mackay Cutters and hand them a license, wait for 5 years and have a roster worthy enough to finish 9th... its always been about scratching the leagues back, most of you expansion experts here think its all about bums on seats... hence perth, adelaide... none of that matters, staus quo runs the game, and if you offer something useful like player stocks or valued area then theyll push it though quicker than you can say "THE"

Must be why THE Bears are playing in Gosford, or Brisbane waited 25 years for another club!
Titans and Knights going bust was a wake up call to NRL which is why since then have pumped more and more money to the clubs. That means less and less in the pot for other things. The games revenue hasnt gone up at the same rate as the club grants, by a long shot. There'll be no major expansion past 18 imo unless the NRLs revenue jumps significantly again in the next decade.

 

[flippikat]

Garbage, the way the league is run now, and compared to how it used to be run during the 90s, cost vs quality is meaningless, you can easily have 24 teams, viability is a Bullshit word for "what is the NRL getting in return" they basically pay for the players, the grant keeps the 1st graders, you can promote Mackay Cutters and hand them a license, wait for 5 years and have a roster worthy enough to finish 9th... its always been about scratching the leagues back, most of you expansion experts here think its all about bums on seats... hence perth, adelaide... none of that matters, staus quo runs the game, and if you offer something useful like player stocks or valued area then theyll push it though quicker than you can say "THE"

24 teams?!? I can't see it.

There's very few sports leagues outside America where you have more than 20 teams (and fewer top tier leagues), and when you compare the money and population base to draw talent in American major leagues to the NRL.. well.. suffice to say 24 teams is a stretch no matter what way you slice it.

I'd really love to be wrong, but honestly I don't see how 24 can work.

I know you're probably talking about a 20 year program of expansion to get to 24 (give or take), but do we HAVE that time when the NRL's competitors are fully participating in many of those markets where we're just dipping our toes at the moment?

 

[Wb1234]

Nobody in their right mind would consider a PNG team. It is a corrupt third world country. No players are bringing their partners and having their kids grow up there. Cairns is a small city that is not nearly as RL mad as Townsville. The surrounding resort towns are full of interstater and there are as many AFL clubs as RL clubs in the area (although I imagine that overall it is still a RL town). Surely there are bigger fish to fry (Perth, Bris 3 & NZ2).

Yeh cairns is barely a rugby league town

Hahahhaa

nowhere in qld is there a place where afl comes close to league. They are lucky if they are as big as union

afl has spent hundreds of millions to try and be relevant in qld. Hopefully one day it pays off

 

[Perth Red]

Yeh cairns is barely a rugby league town

Hahahhaa

nowhere in qld is there a place where afl comes close to league. They are lucky if they are as big as union

afl has spent hundreds of millions to try and be relevant in qld. Hopefully one day it pays off

11 RL clubs to 7 AFL clubs. They aren't far behind.