We must kill Sydney clubs to survive

[Rastus_in_Melbourne]

Thing is, Brisbane only have to carry the operating costs of 1 game. In Sydney you have the operating costs of 2 games for the same crowd. Different venues not withstanding.

 

[BPS]

All this talk about getting rid of Sydney teams and starting new ones here there and everywhere is not the answer.

The answer is a free market!

Remove the salary cap!

The stronger teams will survive where ever they are and the weak can play in the 2nd division comp. This the only way to go forward!

BUT the REAL problem is the game itself!!

The rules of the game are so confusing and changing from week to week and ref to ref that the punters are pi55ed off and have marched with their feet!

I honestly believe this "interpretation of rules" has seriously underminded the game in a huge way!

Scrums have to be removed from the game or made contestable!

Try's have to be scored with certainty none of this no separation bullsh*t that changes from week to week and game to game!

Wrestling has to be outlawed! and the 10 meters removed back to 5 meters because the game has slowed more since the 10 meters has been introduced than it used to be. Small men were more effective back then too. It is a fallacy to think that the 10 meters has "opened the game up" it has done the opposite!

There has been one major innovator that has destroyed this game .......Bill Harrigan!!!
He is a man without a personality and he has served to implant this non personality on the game itself.
This is one of the major reasons people have lost interest in the game! The game has lost it's persona, it's characters and it's true competiveness in so many ways!

No one seems to know what the rules are anymore!!! NO ONE!!!

there was an interesting article I read this morning where in the history of the game up to 90% of the $$$$ raised always went to the players!

Now, they are getting only about 30%.

Too many men in suits making decisions that make them feel that they are important which are directly wrecking the game!

 

[bobmar28]

Absolute bulldust. 9 sydney clubs in a metro area of about 4.5 million draw about 15,000 a game. One Brissy club in a city of about 1.5 million draws about 30,000 or a bit more.

Per head Sydneysiders turn out more than Brissyites. Even if we allow the titans eat inot brissy we still have the bronce with at least a million catchment area. Queenslanders are no more likely to attend the game than NSWelshmen. This is FACT.

15,000? I'm not so sure about that. Anyway do you reckon 15,000 is enough?

Just look at the Knights, Titans, Broncos, Cowboys, all drawing big crowds. Sydney can't go on with 9 teams, it's holding back expansion which the game needs urgently now.

 

[bobmar28]

Thing is, Brisbane only have to carry the operating costs of 1 game. In Sydney you have the operating costs of 2 games for the same crowd. Different venues not withstanding.

I don't get it?

 

[LordLeague]

There are enough sensible ideas starting to pop up on these forums and in the media (that don't involve rationalisation of Sydney teams) that we shouldn't have to listen to any more calls for Sydney teams to be culled.

The culling option would play into the hands of other codes by creating an opportunity for them to increase their footprint in Sydney. RL should protect it's strongholds, not run off to Perth and leave the back door open! Run to Perth sure, but lock the door before you go.

No more "solutions" that involve culling Sydney teams..PLEASE!!!

LordLeague

 

[Rockin Ronny]

What a load of rubbish.

Manly's owner who I would listen to more than Fittler when it comes to the economics of football seems to think otherwise.

http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/new...call-up-delmege/2008/07/30/1217097331255.html

This sums up why league is in strife. Fittler is regarded as one of league's "most respected voices". He's done well since being left drunk and unconscious outside a police station a few years ago.

the funny thing is - the league told (lied to) the Bears in the 90's that they had to go to Gosford or die. Now, Fittler seems to be bringing up the Central Coast as if no-one has considered it before.

You can't have a strong community sport if its run by mercenaries and does anything for a fast buck.

 

[Kid]

If Fittler were to be right, then lets cull or move the Roosters first. That way they might end up with an area that has some juniors for a change.

 

[_Johnsy]

I take it Freddy was volunteering the roosters to go?

 

[Rastus_in_Melbourne]

I don't get it?

It's cheaper to run 1 venue and get 30000, than it is to run 2 venues or 3 venues to get 30000. Put generally.

 

[Ram Man]

If Fittler were to be right, then lets cull or move the Roosters first. That way they might end up with an area that has some juniors for a change.

Its pretty well known that South Sydney have a virtual monopoly on all Juniors in the Eastern Suburbs area. Well most of them anyway....

 

[The Survivor]

The first thing the NRL should do is get rid of Souths, they are a blight on the game, they offer nothing. Give Norths the Central Coast gig (Singleton has said that he would bankroll it), merge Cronulla with the Illawarra socks and merge Parramatta and Penrith. The Roosters are viable because they are the richest club and therefore self sufficient, have never had trouble with finances and represent the most affluent area of Sydney (the eastern suburbs). So if the NRL are looking at reducing teams in Sydney this what they should do.

 

[danno]

Remove the Salary Cap and you will be left with 4 to 6 teams, most of them in debt. Reviewing the current Salary Cap is more the issue.

A major problem with the game is that it does not have a governing body that is there only for the best interests of the game. Forget whether Super League was good or bad, the fact is that the controlling body of the game is heavily influenced by a company. Any company is going to place their shareholders before the best interests of the game.

Your comments about the current interpretation of the rules are a common complaint from rugby league fans these days. The game has never been able to handle how the ref/video ref relationship should be. The mentality these days is to constantly review possible tries until we can find a reason not to give it. Unfortunately there is no consistency game to game, and quite often the decision is wrong. Personally I would like to see a Ref actually referee the game with very little input from the video ref as possible. This is probably not possible with the current crop of refs as they have been raised on the teat of the video ref.

 

[Timbo]

Coffs Harbour? Yeah, good call Freddie.

He's theory is right, but I loved his answer when pressed as to who should relocate.

Be a sport Freddie, take the hit and volunteer the Roosters.

 

[drake]

This is all such bullsh*t. The NRL needs to aggressively promote the game, not the interests of News Ltd. Less Sydney clubs merely means less supporters. I wouldn't follow another team.

People talk about expansion, to get new markets. What's the bloody point of selling a product people are too stupid or brainwashed to buy. Look at Melbourne, 10 years, 2 premierships, and still the revolution has not begun. Same with Adelaide... no one gives a sh*t.

Expansion needs to be in areas that are crying out for a Rugby League team.

We can't compete with overseas codes, because we have a small population. As simple as that, it's demographics.

If players want to go overseas, let them. Game survived for a bloody long time without TV, commercial sponsorship, professional superstars etc. The NRL is not Rugby League, it's an organisation that has been given defacto ownership.
Rugby League Football was around a long time before the NRL, and if we are strong, will be around long after the NRL and News are a bad memory.

 

[MattJ]

The first thing the NRL should do is get rid of Souths, they are a blight on the game, they offer nothing. Give Norths the Central Coast gig (Singleton has said that he would bankroll it), merge Cronulla with the Illawarra socks and merge Parramatta and Penrith. The Roosters are viable because they are the richest club and therefore self sufficient, have never had trouble with finances and represent the most affluent area of Sydney (the eastern suburbs). So if the NRL are looking at reducing teams in Sydney this what they should do.

Please dont turn this into a souths vs roosters argument, its neither the time or the place.


Culling Sydney clubs will have the same effect it had last time clubs were forced to merge or were removed from the competition, ie; many many fans lost to the game forever.
Its very sad in the centenary year when we should be embracing our history celebrating what we have, there is so much talk of removing clubs and more merging of sides.

 

[Newcastlerabbit]

Now we have Adolfs views,when do we get Mason's views?:sarcasm:

 

[krudmonk]

1. Merge/steal/destroy Sydney clubs
2. Pray that fans of said clubs don't want to bomb the NRL into oblivion
3. Wait for them to forget they hated the remaining teams with which their team used to contend
4. Fly away on a pig

 

[Tap Twist Snap]

Killing off clubs is just going to kill the game. 90% of fans won't just pick another team they will be lost to the game for good. Mergers or relocations at least give the fans the chance to stick with their club. The people who turn up during the rough times are the diehards with an emotional/historical attachment to the club. If they leave it will be like the NBL where clubs can be cut over night and no one really cares.

Rugby league is more than just some form of entertainment made for TV but that is the way it is being run at the moment. I'd much rather see the history of the game preserved and 1 or 2 games on ABC than some fake made for tv teams being created to try and win raitings built on hype. If that happens the game will have no substance no hardcore fans and will fall over like some reality tv show that is past it's used by date within years.

 

[Chapsta]

^ It's not about creating fake teams, but moving exsisting teams to areas where there is a grass roots demand for Rugby League.

Who would miss their Sydney team if it moved?

 

[Pass the Ball]

^
Who would miss their Sydney team if it moved?

Anyone who supports that team today would miss them...

What a strange question...