WA BEARS

[SirPies&Beers]

instead of being in the papers 5 times a day for the last few days. why not contact nrl and be proactive and say whats the middle ground? where do we realistically need to be and then work towards that?

 

[Perth Red]

They should have spoken up to the NRL then, forced them back to the negotiation table. It's useless to whinge now

I was very disappointed they let the NRL get away with that BS. They should have said do the deal now and include WB or we are walking.

 

[Wb1234]

Its bizarre. That the NRL would walk away from this golden opportunity, quite possibly the only time it will ever present itself, for the sake of the redevelopment of one stand is just nonsensical. Like I said they keep putting up reasons to say no. This is just the latest.

It’s not a golden opportunity now

More like a lead one

If cook wasn’t being so unreasonable there would be room for a compromise

 

[Perth Red]

wonder how accurate the leak is... Nine might be getting shafted in the new broadcast negotiations...

Doesnt excuse Vlandys or Abdo not picking up the phone when it broke and explaining the situation to Cook. 5 days on and they still haven't had the manners to get in touch. No wonder WA Govt has gone onto the defensive front foot.

 

[Wb1234]

NSW and QLD make up 55-60% of the population and are incredibly lucrative markets for sponsors and indeed tourism WA. No other sport, including cricket provides the cut through in those markets as RL does.

People who say afl is national and rugby league isn’t are idiots

Nrl is beating that plastic “national” comp just in two states

 

[insert.pause]

Really? This latest flurry of WA media came directly in response to the Sydney article that has clearly come about after a leak from the NRL on 4th April

Just to remind you of the timeline of this as you seem to have forgotten:

April 3rd Cook refuses to discuss details of NRL offer - The West

April 4th SMH and WWOS report that the NRL is disappointed with the offer and that they will be turning it down

April 6th Sports minister expresses disappointment of hearing through the media that the NRL are turning the offer down

April 7th Roger Cook outlines offer that has been made to NRL.

So as you can see the response from the WA govt has come about after the NRL leaked to the SMH. But yeh its WA's fault. That the NRl werent on the phone on April 4th to Cook to explain the leaked story is disgraceful.

There’s not a single quote from the nrl, not even an anonymous source, or “person familiar with discussions”. The NRL haven’t said anything publicly, the WA gov could have just batted off every question about the bid with a dignified “we are awaiting feedback from the nrl”, instead they’ve gone on the offensive based on ostensibly nothing but an assumption. It’s clear elements within the government aren’t supportive of the bid & have been looking to exploit it to score political points & appear tough.

 

[Perth Red]

It’s not a golden opportunity now

More like a lead one

If cook wasn’t being so unreasonable there would be room for a compromise

$35mill for grass roots (the equivalent of 35 years of NRLWA funding!) and a CofE for the club and NRLWA may never come along again. It might not be all that had been hoped but its still a gift horse they'd be foolish to look in the mouth of.

 

[mongoose]

NSW and QLD make up 55-60% of the population and are incredibly lucrative markets for sponsors and indeed tourism WA. No other sport, including cricket provides the cut through in those markets as RL does.

WA govt already put ads for tourism on Fox in between games.... not sure an NRL team is going to make a big difference

 

[Perth Red]

There’s not a single quote from the nrl, not even an anonymous source, or “person familiar with discussions”. The NRL haven’t said anything publicly, the WA gov could have just batted off every question about the bid with a dignified “we are awaiting feedback from the nrl”, instead they’ve gone on the offensive based on ostensibly nothing but an assumption. It’s clear elements within the government aren’t supportive of the bid & have been looking to exploit it to score political points & appear tough.

When SMH runs a news stories saying they have direct info that the offer is being turned down what do you think the narrative would be for days to come? Why didnt the NRl pick up the phone if it wasnt true? Why didnt they pick up the phone to apologise if it was? They are such a shoddy leadership at times.

Roger cooks position day before NRL leaked the news to SMH

Roger Cook has refused to open up about negotiations with the NRL and what the State Government is offering the east-coast based competition to bring a team west.
While facing mounting pressure to come clean, the rugby-loving Premier refused to weigh in on the talks, despite vowing during the campaign the League would not get any money from WA taxpayers.
Asked to clarify what was being discussed, given his election promise not to give the NRL any money, Mr Cook said: “I’m not going to provide you with an ongoing commentary in relation to the discussions with the NRL.”

 

[titoelcolombiano]

WA govt already put ads for tourism on Fox in between games.... not sure an NRL team is going to make a big difference

Ok sure. A team in the NRL carrying the sponsors name every week isn't going to make a difference. What are sponsors thinking spending all that money to put their logo on jerseys if it doesn't work?

 

[ThornlieBear]

Pages and pages and pages and pages of discussions today and no news. No need for a thank you either Perth Red.

 

[Centy Coast]

I suppose a different country boasting 5 million people and its own TV wouldn't be of value... nah lol

Does PNG even have electricity ?, I can see five families sharing the one TV all gathered into the hut of the only guy who actually owns a TV.

 

[BuffaloRules]

Doesnt excuse Vlandys or Abdo not picking up the phone when it broke and explaining the situation to Cook. 5 days on and they still haven't had the manners to get in touch. No wonder WA Govt has gone onto the defensive front foot.

why are they talking to the Liberal rag about it? You were saying during the election campaign that this paper criticised them about everything… just tell them “no comment “ …Im sure that would be their response to most enquires from them

 

[insert.pause]

When SMH runs a news stories saying they have direct info that the offer is being turned down what do you think the narrative would be for days to come? Why didnt the NRl pick up the phone if it wasnt true? Why didnt they pick up the phone to apologise if it was? They are such a shoddy leadership at times.

Why didn’t the state gov pick up the phone instead of running a deliberate campaign in the local media positioning themselves as victims of rapacious eastern state greed? Imagine having less decorum than Peter V’landys… almost like the negotiations were hijacked by an element with the sole intention of spiking any deal.

 

[insert.pause]

Asked to clarify what was being discussed, given his election promise not to give the NRL any money, Mr Cook said: “I’m not going to provide you with an ongoing commentary in relation to the discussions with the NRL.”

And then he did…

 

[Perth Red]

There’s not a single quote from the nrl, not even an anonymous source, or “person familiar with discussions”. The NRL haven’t said anything publicly, the WA gov could have just batted off every question about the bid with a dignified “we are awaiting feedback from the nrl”, instead they’ve gone on the offensive based on ostensibly nothing but an assumption. It’s clear elements within the government aren’t supportive of the bid & have been looking to exploit it to score political points & appear tough.

 

[BuffaloRules]

Why didn’t the state gov pick up the phone instead of running a deliberate campaign in the local media positioning themselves as victims of rapacious eastern state greed? Imagine having less decorum than Peter V’landys… almost like the negotiations were hijacked by an element with the sole intention of spiking any deal.

Apparently its fine for the WA Govt to communicate via the Liberal newspaper that normally hates them to try to control the narrative ,, … but not for the NRL to do the same via the Sydney media

 

[Perth Red]

And then he did…

AFTER the NRL leaked to SMH saying they were turning down the offer, yes.
No leak, no running commentary from WA this week.
Why some of you are trying to defend Vlandys for this disgrace is beyond me. Either he has leaked the story, or someone close to him has leaked the story, or SMH has made it up. Either way a message to Cook on April 4th when it broke is what any normal person in negotiations like this would have done.

 

[insert.pause]

View attachment 100755

Still doesn’t stop them from seeking clarification with the nrl before running an orchestrated campaign to the local media to score points. Unless they aren’t being honest & know full well where the NRL stand because they spiked the deal on purpose…

 

[Bukowski]

NSW and QLD make up 55-60% of the population and are incredibly lucrative markets for sponsors and indeed tourism WA. No other sport, including cricket provides the cut through in those markets as RL does.

That may be the case in regards to NSW and QLD, but the NRL is the only sport that can't provide national coverage.