WA BEARS

[siv]

The weirdest thing was news ltd killing off the reds then starting up a team in Melbourne instead based on players from the reds and the Newcastle super league side

Missed a opportunity to setup the CC Mariners before soccer

 

[Wb1234]

Missed a opportunity to setup the CC Mariners before soccer

Yeh or if the bears had joined super league they probably would still be around now and maybe Cronulla would’ve been kicked out instead

 

[siv]

Yeh or if the bears had joined super league they probably would still be around now and maybe Cronulla would’ve been kicked out instead

Penrith were next in line

 

[Wb1234]

Penrith were next in line

Penrith are valuable that would’ve been a major mistake

dragons should’ve taken over Cronulla and Illawarra standing alone

 

[Perth Red]

Australia’s second biggest winter sport doesn’t have teams in Auckland Newcastle Townsville or Canberra

and as a league fan I would never swap those places for Perth or Adelaide

without pokies 3 of those 4 clubs wouldn't survive

 

[Perth Red]

WA had 10,000 registered players in the early 90's. Killing the Reds saw that drop to below 1,000 by 2002. We've had a slow regrowth back to around 4,000 but considering the city has twice the population compared to then you can see the damage it caused here. It would go down as one of the most short sighted decisions the game has ever made.

 

[Colk]

Yes wonder why News Ltd shut them down

Aren’t you against News Ltd? Who cares made the decision - it was the wring one

 

[Colk]

Australia’s second biggest winter sport doesn’t have teams in Auckland Newcastle Townsville or Canberra

and as a league fan I would never swap those places for Perth or Adelaide

Who says we are swapping them? Why can’t you have both? Cue meme of the girl in the El Paso ad

 

[Wb1234]

Who says we are swapping them? Why can’t you have both? Cue meme of the girl in the El Paso ad

Well if you go on an afl forum you don’t see their fans complaining they don’t have teams in those places

many rugby league fans have this massive chip on their shoulder comparing league to afl

me I’m more than happy enough with our footprint vs theirs and how ours will look once we see more teams in nz and Brisbane

we could never see teams in Perth or Adelaide and still be light years ahead of afl

 

[Colk]

Well if you go on an afl forum you don’t see their fans complaining they don’t have teams in those places

many rugby league fans have this massive chip on their shoulder comparing league to afl

me I’m more than happy enough with our footprint vs theirs and how ours will look once we see more teams in nz and Brisbane

we could never see teams in Perth or Adelaide and still be light years ahead of afl

Why would they? They earn more revenue and they have bigger attendances at their games. They also have teams in every sizeable location (that might change with natural growth in places like Newcastle or Canberra over the next 20-30 years). That’s a very sad fact considering how awful that game is but it is a fact nonetheless.

You have to have sides where the population is and where it is going. Use the advantage of NZ for sure (and it would be good to grow from that end), although another side in Brisbane is more defending your territory rather than actually being proactive and expanding your footprint (maybe for team 20). To not have a side west of Penrith, particularly excluding probably the fastest growing area in Australia, is just plain dumb.

 

[Wb1234]

Why would they? They earn more revenue and they have bigger attendances at their games. They also have teams in every sizeable location (that might change with natural growth in places like Newcastle or Canberra over the next 20-30 years). That’s a very sad fact considering how awful that game is but it is a fact nonetheless.

You have to have sides where the population is and where it is going. Use the advantage of NZ for sure (and it would be good to grow from that end), although another side in Brisbane is more defending your territory rather than actually being proactive and expanding your footprint (maybe for team 20). To not have a side west of Penrith, particularly excluding probably the fastest growing area in Australia, is just plain dumb.

By the time the nrl has an 18 team comp it will be the same tv deal as afl

their high attendances aren’t due to expansion

and if rugby league expands to Perth or Adelaide those clubs aren’t going to magically transform attendances

maybe be more comfortable in where rugby league is than believing all the afl bs

 

[MugaB]

I'm not denying there's groundwork needed, nor am I saying that Adelaide is there yet - because it isn't there yet.

However, closing the door forever (or even being indefinite & vague) is IMO folly

We need to be there, The preparation has to start NOW, and the NRL has to have a roadmap for how an Adelaide team happens.

Whether that's in 10 years time or more, the first steps need to be made - and in a way that leads smoothly to a team there.

SA bears

 

[MugaB]

To not have a side west of Penrith, particularly excluding probably the fastest growing area in Australia, is just plain dumb.

You mean west of Melbourne? Coz the way you had worded it, makes it sound like you're talking about including a dubbo or bathurst team, when really you mean the most western situated city represented by the NRL (Storm) and the really just lack of a team in Adelaide and Perth

 

[Colk]

You mean west of Melbourne? Coz the way you had worded it, makes it sound like you're talking about including a dubbo or bathurst team, when really you mean the most western situated city represented by the NRL (Storm) and the really just lack of a team in Adelaide and Perth

Ok then west of NSW then.

 

[Colk]

By the time the nrl has an 18 team comp it will be the same tv deal as afl

their high attendances aren’t due to expansion

and if rugby league expands to Perth or Adelaide those clubs aren’t going to magically transform attendances

maybe be more comfortable in where rugby league is than believing all the afl bs

I don’t believe in the AFL bs. They have weaknesses. For example, I think on the surface the Suns in particular and maybe the Giants have been a mistake.

Notwithstanding, Swans and Lions attendances are higher than a lot of NRL teams so I would not say that their expansion has dramatically weakened their advantage.

You can look at things without having some sort of blinkered viewpoint. Rugby league’s strength, compared to the AFL, is that it is played in the Pacific. The weakness is that it doesn’t have a national presence and the attendances are weak against AFL. What’s wrong with trying to improve your weaknesses as well as working on your strengths?

 

[The Great Dane]

Well if you go on an afl forum you don’t see their fans complaining they don’t have teams in those places

You do actually…

You regularly see people bringing up the potential of expansion into those places on AFL forums/groups along with Tas, the NT, and an extra club in Perth.

Admittedly some get talked about more than others, and Cairns is generally preferred over Townsville, but there’re plenty of AFL fans whom express opinions like “the AFL won’t truely be national until there’s a team in every state and territory” for example.

 

[Wb1234]

I don’t believe in the AFL bs. They have weaknesses. For example, I think on the surface the Suns in particular and maybe the Giants have been a mistake.

Notwithstanding, Swans and Lions attendances are higher than a lot of NRL teams so I would not say that their expansion has dramatically weakened their advantage.

You can look at things without having some sort of blinkered viewpoint. Rugby league’s strength, compared to the AFL, is that it is played in the Pacific. The weakness is that it doesn’t have a national presence and the attendances are weak against AFL. What’s wrong with trying to improve your weaknesses as well as working on your strengths?

Ngl that’s a good response

 

[flippikat]

I don’t believe in the AFL bs. They have weaknesses. For example, I think on the surface the Suns in particular and maybe the Giants have been a mistake.

Notwithstanding, Swans and Lions attendances are higher than a lot of NRL teams so I would not say that their expansion has dramatically weakened their advantage.

You can look at things without having some sort of blinkered viewpoint. Rugby league’s strength, compared to the AFL, is that it is played in the Pacific. The weakness is that it doesn’t have a national presence and the attendances are weak against AFL. What’s wrong with trying to improve your weaknesses as well as working on your strengths?

The Suns were a huge mistake, there were other options (Canberra, Tasmania, 3rd WA team off the top of my head) that would have made more sense.

As for the Giants - a 2nd Sydney team made sense, but the execution (everything from branding to the bizarre "Canberra as a 2nd market" idea) was not great.

 

[Perth Red]

Can we keep the thread remotely about the wa bears bid idea please and not drift off into another discussion about afl?

 

[Wb1234]

The Suns were a huge mistake, there were other options (Canberra, Tasmania, 3rd WA team off the top of my head) that would have made more sense.

As for the Giants - a 2nd Sydney team made sense, but the execution (everything from branding to the bizarre "Canberra as a 2nd market" idea) was not great.

Strongly agree

gws at Blacktown was a genuine threat. They had the council strongly behind them and it was i between parra and Penrith so a rugby league blind spot

but the players actually hated the area since they all live at breakfast point on the harbour

moving to homebush killed any chance for the club

they literally turned their back on western Sydney and set up in swans territory