WA BEARS

[bad boy bubby]

I think if that's the history your looking for then aligning with the Bears might not be the best idea lol.

100 years since a Premiership. Parra fans will be stoked!!

 

[Wb1234]

That would cost the Perth club $300-400k (going on rates for clubs to move home games to other venues). I don't see them paying that out just so some NS Bears fans can feel nostalgic for an afternoon lol .

Especially with the new grounds in Sydney clubs will be making loads from them

 

[Perth Red]

Especially with the new grounds in Sydney clubs will be making loads from them

Actually that's not a bad way of looking at it, Norths LC are paying the WC Bears $1mill to take one game to Sydney lol

 

[Wb1234]

Couple of interesting points from this interview with Bears Chair.

1. Sounds like WA Govt has spoken with Vlandys and he is the one who said speak to the Bears. That would suggest he thinks its a good idea.

2. The Chair seemed realistic about games in Sydney and seemed ti intimate that a game against Manly would be enough.

3. Very early days and Bears still feel they can go it alone (lol)

Could the North Sydney Bears make a return to the NRL?

The Western Australian government has shown great interest in possibly merging with the North Sydney Bears in a bid to be the NRL’s 18th team. The Bears have been out of the NRL since 1998. North Sydney Bears Chairman Daniel Dickson told Mark Levy and Billy Slater they have been in the position...

www.2gb.com

That’s good the bears are being realistic

if they are happy with one game at nso that’s great

I didn’t think something in Perth would be an avid listener of 2gb either

 

[Pippen94]

As far as I'm aware this is the only Perth bid thus far.

 

[Perth Red]

Branding would be an interesting challenge. Toomuchsoup kind of nailed it but I'd flip them around so that this is the WC Bears home jersey, must have WA yellow/gold on it and is a strong nod to the Reds reinforcing this is a WA club first and foremost. Then a Red and Black with a bit of gold more traditional Bears jersey as an alternate. Also as hot as Perth is having a white jersey will be more comfortable!

 

[Perth Red]

As far as I'm aware this is the only Perth bid thus far.

There are no perth bids, only those interested in making a bid if the opportunity arises. This makes the fourth interested party; Sage, Cummins, Puddy and now Bears.

 

[Perth Red]

Anyone got access they can paste Be interested to see what John Sackson has to say about it.

Could WA-Bears be the next NRL expansion club?

Sponsors would be ‘champing at the bit’ to throw their weight behind a Perth-based NRL expansion club, says NRL WA chief executive John Sackson.

thewest.com.au

 

[TheEroticGamer]

A bit nitpicky but I’d assume they wouldn’t go with West Coast to make sure it doesn’t turn off Freo fans with a similar name to their rivals. A bit excessive or am I right?

 

[Perth Red]

A bit nitpicky but I’d assume they wouldn’t go with West Coast to make sure it doesn’t turn off Freo fans with a similar name to their rivals. A bit excessive or am I right?

Nah I doubt it is an issue tbh. Netball called themselves West Coast
In our different iterations we've had Western Reds, Perth Reds, WA Reds and West coast Pirates so we've tried them all lol

 

[flippikat]

What about Chalmers Southern Orcas bid? In May he said he could put a consortium together, two months after the Abdo comment.

Grand plans: Inside the $30m bid for a second New Zealand team

$30m bid launched for a second New Zealand team based in Wellington, representing lower North Island and South Island

www.nrl.com

NRL needs to decide soon if it will be an open competition, in which case we could see some totally new bid teams come out of the woodwork, or if it is going to be closed in that the team will be in a pre determined city of their choosing like they did for club 17. There's a lot of harm and wasted time and money in possible bid teams building hopes and expectation before we know this

Precisely.

The NRL needs to announce it's angle for expansion, and put up a time-frame to have bids in.

If it's got to be Perth then we may see a Bears bid and another bid or two.. if it's got to be NZ 2 then we may see a Wellington bid & a Christchurch bid emerge, and maybe an Auckland 2 or Hamilton bid..and yeah maybe the Bears in conjunction with one of those places too (hehehe).

If it's "open to all" then we'd probably see Perth & NZ 2, and PNG, and the unsuccessful Brisbane bids (if allowed to bid so soon after the Brisbane bid battle)... BUT also others, maybe places we didn't expect? And *those* could prove to be options for 19 and 20.

 

[flippikat]

Do the people so opposed to a 11/1 or 10/2 Perth/Sydney split also oppose the idea of NZ2 playing in Wellington AND Christchurch?

Well this Wellingtonian would be fine with a Christchurch team playing a 10/2 or even 11/1 split (1 or 2 games in Wellington)

 

[jim_57]

Do the people so opposed to a 11/1 or 10/2 Perth/Sydney split also oppose the idea of NZ2 playing in Wellington AND Christchurch?

A Wellington/Christchurch split 6/6 or 8/4 definitely wouldn’t be the bid I’d go for for NZ 2. I’d say at the very least 9 or 10 home games at a main venue should be the goal for all teams including current merger clubs or clubs representing multiple population centres.

With the Magic round making it essentially 11.5 home games average per club Perth could lose another home game there as well. On that the NRL could rework it to make it either 11 each and perhaps introduce another “themed” round or play an extra round making it 12 home games each + Magic.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Puddy has back in 2018. Cant say about Cummins or Sage or anyone else who is out there eyeing up the possibilities

'Fairfax Media reports North Sydney Bears chairman Perry Lopez and Western Reds chairman Laurie Puddy have entered secret discussions over a possible combined bid for an NRL license.'

https://www.nospam47.com/au/league/...ld-coast-titans-nrl/r4isjmk5ldxp1h1wy5n29yi38

The North Sydney Bears and a Western Australian consortium are exploring the prospect of joining forces to create a "Western Bears" franchise seeking inclusion in an expanded NRL competition.

Just a day after new ARLC chairman Peter Beattie declared rugby league must "expand or die", Fairfax Media can reveal former Western Reds chairman Laurie Puddy and North Sydney Bears chairman Perry Lopez have held a series of secret talks about a potential combined bid. While the negotiations are still in their infancy, both parties remain open to the prospect of working together to provide a compelling case for an NRL license

'Western Bears': North Sydney Bears back in hunt for NRL return after secret talks with WA group

The North Sydney Bears and a Western Australian consortium are exploring the prospect of joining forces to create a "Western Bears" franchise seeking inclusion in an expanded NRL competition.

www.smh.com.au

I thought the Reds rebranded as West Coast Pirates and were run by John Sackson?

The Pirates website is "parked", which could be a sign they're serious about this proposal with the Bears or decided not to pay the fees of hosting a site until they're back in SG Ball.

Couple of interesting points from this interview with Bears Chair.

1. Sounds like WA Govt has spoken with Vlandys and he is the one who said speak to the Bears. That would suggest he thinks its a good idea.

2. The Chair seemed realistic about games in Sydney and seemed ti intimate that a game against Manly would be enough.

3. Very early days and Bears still feel they can go it alone (lol)

Could the North Sydney Bears make a return to the NRL?

The Western Australian government has shown great interest in possibly merging with the North Sydney Bears in a bid to be the NRL’s 18th team. The Bears have been out of the NRL since 1998. North Sydney Bears Chairman Daniel Dickson told Mark Levy and Billy Slater they have been in the position...

www.2gb.com

I didn't listen to the interview, but it doesn't surprise me they brought up points 2 and 3. Every time the Bears are asked about returning to the NRL they display delusions of grandeur and reveal they're socially backwards to the tune of 60 years. The fact they're pushing for a game against Manly at a dilapidated cricket ground shows they're unfit to run a professional rugby league club in 2022.

That’s why I jumped ship from nz2 to Perth

they are now what’s best for the game

they won’t always have a supportive government who want to make a team happen

Why were you unsupportive of the West Coast Pirates bid but keen to back this plan to resurrect a failed Sydney club from the NSW Cup?

Peter Cumins has invested millions of dollars in junior rugby league across Perth for 15 or more years.

North Sydney Bears haven't spent a cent on RL in Perth.

Twenty-three years ago North Sydney said they were relocating to Gosford and rebranding as the Central Coast Bears. They're still based out of North Sydney and playing out of a cricket ground. A few years back they wanted to buy the Titans. This club only cares about itself and has never done anything from anyone. I do not trust them to live up to their word because they have a history of breaking promises.

Do the people so opposed to a 11/1 or 10/2 Perth/Sydney split also oppose the idea of NZ2 playing in Wellington AND Christchurch?

Sydney gets over 100 games a year. It doesn't need any more.

 

[flippikat]

A Wellington/Christchurch split 6/6 or 8/4 definitely wouldn’t be the bid I’d go for for NZ 2. I’d say at the very least 9 or 10 home games at a main venue should be the goal for all teams including current merger clubs or clubs representing multiple population centres.

With the Magic round making it essentially 11.5 home games average per club Perth could lose another home game there as well. On that the NRL could rework it to make it either 11 each and perhaps introduce another “themed” round or play an extra round making it 12 home games each + Magic.

Equal-split sides are horrid. They try to serve 2 bases, but end up serving neither well. 10-2 or 11-1 is much better.

 

[The Great Dane]

what a weird thing to say lol. I've stated my position on this bid idea. 80% WA ownership. no more than 1 game in Sydney or walk away. It has merits as well as draw backs but ultimately if it ensures WA a team as club 18 then I can live with the drawbacks, to a level.

The fact that you seem to think that the Bears would ever even consider 20% ownership and 1 game in Sydney is you thinking with your dick.

The fact that you are so quick to throw WA/Perth RL and local bids under the bus simply because you think it might get you personally a team quicker, that's you thinking with your dick.

You aren't being realistic about what a merger or WA based Bears bid would actually have to entail for the Bears to agree to it, nor what the long term ramifications of such a deal would be for RL in WA. You are simply approaching this from the angle of what gets you NRL games to attend on the weekend the quickest.

You're no different to the delusional types of Bears fans whom sincerely believe that the WANRL/local WA RL establishment would accept a similar minority share in the club, 6+ games at NSO, no representation in the brand other than maybe the name (the idea that the team could be called just 'The Bears' is already going around and gaining popularity), and no say in the day to day running of the club.

 

[The Great Dane]

The fact those bears fans are still around shows they haven’t been lost to the game

Depends how you define 'lost to the game'.

The vast majority of old Bears fans will never be active supporters no matter the circumstances. Just is what it is.

it won’t be 6 games. reality will set in for them that’s it’s one or two games tops plus they can travel to any away game in Sydney which adds another 8 or 9 games if they want

Reality won't set in for the majority of them though, which is the whole problem. Most would just disown the NRL side once it was too removed from the NS Bears they know and love for their liking.

As it is there's (very) roughly a 50/50 split in the fanbase of those that support the WA Bears idea and those that don't. However roughly 50% of those that support the idea will only support it under very strict circumstances, and in most cases those strict circumstances would have to be broken for any WA Bears idea to be a realistic possibility of actually happening.

So that leaves you with a very rough 25% of Bears fans that would actually support a WA Bears idea, and truth be told, that's not a lot of people. You'd probably lose more potential supporters in Perth and WA from the merger than you'd gain in NS fans.

 

[The Great Dane]

Equal-split sides are horrid. They try to serve 2 bases, but end up serving neither well. 10-2 or 11-1 is much better.

Same is true of any split home sides.

Look at GWS for example.

Their forays in Canberra have definitely hurt them at home, but they aren't here enough to exploit Canberra as a market to it's fullest extent either. As a result they don't really represent either Western Sydney or Canberra.

 

[Wb1234]

Branding would be an interesting challenge. Toomuchsoup kind of nailed it but I'd flip them around so that this is the WC Bears home jersey, must have WA yellow/gold on it and is a strong nod to the Reds reinforcing this is a WA club first and

Depends how you define 'lost to the game'.

The vast majority of old Bears fans will never be active supporters no matter the circumstances. Just is what it is.

Reality won't set in for the majority of them though, which is the whole problem. Most would just disown the NRL side once it was too removed from the NS Bears they know and love for their liking.

As it is there's (very) roughly a 50/50 split in the fanbase of those that support the WA Bears idea and those that don't. However roughly 50% of those that support the idea will only support it under very strict circumstances, and in most cases those strict circumstances would have to be broken for any WA Bears idea to be a realistic possibility of actually happening.

So that leaves you with a very rough 25% of Bears fans that would actually support a WA Bears idea, and truth be told, that's not a lot of people. You'd probably lose more potential supporters in Perth and WA from the merger than you'd gain in NS fans.

I’m expecting the return of the bears to be a mini return of south Sydney. The north shore of Sydney is a rugby league ghostland so even if it taps into it a little bit again it’s a win

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Precisely.

The NRL needs to announce it's angle for expansion, and put up a time-frame to have bids in.

If it's got to be Perth then we may see a Bears bid and another bid or two.. if it's got to be NZ 2 then we may see a Wellington bid & a Christchurch bid emerge, and maybe an Auckland 2 or Hamilton bid..and yeah maybe the Bears in conjunction with one of those places too (hehehe).

If it's "open to all" then we'd probably see Perth & NZ 2, and PNG, and the unsuccessful Brisbane bids (if allowed to bid so soon after the Brisbane bid battle)... BUT also others, maybe places we didn't expect? And *those* could prove to be options for 19 and 20.

Abdo said the Firehawks and Jets are still a chance of getting the 18th licence and told them they should bid again. Easts Tigers will probably have their performance centre and new grandstand at Langlands Park completed by the time the 18th team enters the NRL. Once it is finished it'll be NRL ready.