Reading between the lines here, I don't think the NRL has been fully transparent, as well as some weird Bears fetish running in the background
V'Landys words indicate the submission for licensing has been underwhelming. This can only happen if it runs like a Dutch auction. Reminds me of those charity/religious run buffets
Eat all you want, pay what you feel
They've put an ambiguous term out there and the WA consortium has run with it, with most likely a low ball amount
Run this parallel with the benchmark being set by PNG, underwritten by a federal government in money printing mode
The addition of the minority owners from Sydney, Paul Smith has a track record of promoting his brands. The king's now have the highest attendances in the NBL. The other Paul is an ex commercial manager in the NRL
The WA consortium mentioned their roles, one of the main terms was "ears on the ground, being a permanent presence in Sydney and close to NRL operations. These were good additions
I suspect the NRL got pissed the WA bid didn't employ someone through North Sydney channels. I like the independence myself
I truly hope this isn't ego or bias preventing what was otherwise a sane expansion program
Perth as #18, PNG as 19, NZ2 as 20, and QLD5 on stand by should PNG fail
No other combination of teams, nor their order of entry made as much sense, especially on the back of two consecutive breakout years for the NRL
If this is a bludgeon to have North Sydney RLFC run a transplanted team out of Perth, this will not end well