West Coast Pirates Bid News

[The Great Dane]

http://www.sportsfan.com.au/fittler-go-west-to-expand/tabid/91/newsid/108521/default.aspx?

Fittler: Go west to expand
Tuesday, July 09, 2013 - 2:43 PM
Source: SportsFan
By Brad Fittler

I've been watching the Rabbitohs playing in Perth for five years now, but I've only just noticed that the people of Perth really, really love footy.Last year I remember a great game there between the Warriors and Manly. It was a cracker, but the game last Sunday was something to behold.
And, the people in charge over there - I think it's the Western Pirates - obviously put an awful lot of work in to promote and stage the game. The stadium looked terrific. I've seen this love at other times as well (watching the rugby and the odd bit of soccer) but I've never seen the ground so vibrant. The big grandstand was absolutely full of people. It's great when things all come together and for that game things did come together.
The record crowd must have sent a message to the ARL. The spectacle is getting better and better out West.

I am starting to think a Perth team in the NRL could have an average crowd of 20,000. Why not?
The logistics are good and it's easy to get to games.
The money going through the state due to mining might be slowing down, but there's still plenty of money for another 30 years or so, according to the stats. That means people are going over there to work and that means more people over there from the Eastern Seaboard and better general knowledge of rugby league.

I've been to Perth and it's a wonderful place where the people show strong support for their state sides. Both Fremantle and West Coast have about 50 to 60 thousand members each.
If I was in charge of the Perth franchise I'd be feeling confident that Perth will have the next side into the league.
I reckon the people in the West might even know how long it's going to take to get there - unless an existing team falls over - as the contracts say it will be five years.

When Perth starts playing in the big time again, I reckon there will definitely be another Queensland team, probably from the south-east where all the people are moving. The Broncos aren't travelling well at the moment and will likely try to fend off another Brisbane (Ipswich) team.
From there Wellington (NZ) and the Central Coast would be wonderful. I just can't see Adelaide somehow.

And, I also had a random thought that the Melbourne Storm has just been bought by a private company and I wonder if they might think about Perth. Especially if Melbourne's support wanes once Bellamy, Smith and co retire, as I reckon it must without the support of such a great coach, great players and such a great culture. The pressure is always on in a mad sporting town and the Storm has had a fair bit of time now to crack it.
If Craig Bellamy does retire (and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens sooner rather than later) he would go immediately to the top of Perth's most-wanted list. Next would be someone that's coached under him; Maguire is the obvious one as he's made of the same DNA.
If the challenge can motivate one of the great coaches to go there, the Western Storm will come to life in a healthy environment.

Western Storm versus Souths. I like the sound of that.

Oh boy he has absolutely no idea, Western Storm WTF is he on.

 

[Perth Red]

Good old Freddie!

At least the east coast media are waking up to the potential of Perth.

Another great thing to see was that every corporate box was full, plenty of interest from businesses to get on board which will be needed if the Pirates are to be successful.

 

[juro]

From Phil Gould's article today

Perth Puts On A Show

I don't know if the NRL should again have a team in Perth, or whether they will again have a team in Perth, but the people of Perth couldn't have done any more to showcase their city as a prospective NRL franchise than they did last Sunday. A ground record crowd at a refurbished NIB Stadium provided a terrific atmosphere for the Souths v Warriors game and everyone associated with the promotion of the match is to be congratulated for the show they put on. There is talk of up to three NRL matches being played there next year and if that number can be reached, and even increased over the next few years, it will further gauge the appetite of the Perth public for regular NRL fixtures and, maybe further down the track, their own NRL team. It is certainly worthy of further examination. Personally I think a team in Perth is a must, along with a second team in Brisbane and a second team in New Zealand. I'm not saying tomorrow, but certainly sometime in the future.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-subterfuge-20130709-2pomf.html#ixzz2YbUnbrj4
​

 

[Chief_Chujo]

I worry we might miss our chance if we leave this until 2018. The community is screaming for a team and we need to capitalise before they lose interest.
Give the go ahead to the pirates for 2016 and in the meantime a minimum of 4 NRL matches to be played in Perth for 2014/15. Weekly bye will have to return in 2016 (at least until we can sustain an 18th team) but I can live with that.

 

[LJC]

So to remove themselves from the joint venture which one day may see the current team play all their games in Campbelltown, they would move the team over to Perth.

What benefit do the Wests clubs in Sydney get out of this?

Also, the NRL won't like leaving that big gap in Western Sydney, never mind Tens of thousands of fans that have averaged the second best crowds in Sydney over the past 10 years for the AFL to exploit.

Balmain /Cambelltown Tigers would work. And West Australian Magpies would work.
But I think the West Coast Pirates is a pretty good concept. However seeing the Wests Magpies reincarnated in some way in West Australia would be good for those Wests fans I'm sure! The Tigers can easily incorporate/add Campbelltown into their name.

Its an option that would rekindle some memories and bring back some lost fans. However the most fans that have been lost to the game are those that supported the North Sydney Bears. Many of them are private school educated and looked for an easy out to not support a team in the NRL. This happened from ousting the Bears! These lost fans would come back if the Central Coast Bears were given a chance to shine.

Overall, I genuinely believe that another four teams should progressively be added to the NRL: West Coast Pirates, Brisbane Dolphins, Central Coast Bears and Wellington Orcas(NZ).

Quite simply, increasing the number of elite clubs leads to more juniors playing our great game. The NRL deserves a greater footprint! It is the main pilot for developing RL on an international scale. It is the best 'vehicle' for RL to overcome the obstacles put in its way by a sport such as rugby union, which is hell bent on limiting/stopping RL progress world wide!

The private school system is still firmly against the introducing of RL to its sporting activities and this reflects a bias against RL in the upper echelons of establishment and the corporate world. RL has gone well in the market place despite such opposition, as it is a better product than RU but the RU people are very jealous and fearful of RL even though they(RU people) have most of the power in todays world!

 

[Perth Red]

I worry we might miss our chance if we leave this until 2018. The community is screaming for a team and we need to capitalise before they lose interest.
Give the go ahead to the pirates for 2016 and in the meantime a minimum of 4 NRL matches to be played in Perth for 2014/15. Weekly bye will have to return in 2016 (at least until we can sustain an 18th team) but I can live with that.

I don't think we will lose interest, we have been building for 5 years now, but we do need more games and we def need financial support for the WARL. We need to know we are in and when we will start. We get no funding for the sg ball or academy set up and if it wasn't for great corporate support backing the warl our jnr programmes wouldn't exist and western farce would have the pick of all the talented non afl kids in the state. Show us some commitment and money ARL!

 

[juro]

I'm sure the fans will be there, but I worry about the corporate dollars. With the mining boom, Perth has been awash with money. But what happens when the market turns?

 

[Perth Red]

It isn't going to bust for decades. It is slowing down but it had to, you can't be in massive boom forever. People forget the mining industry accounts for less than 8% of employment in wa. Every corporate box was full last Sunday at nib, compared to the less than25% full I saw at Allianz when I saw the Roosters the other week I think we will go ok.we have an alleged 7 figure sponsor lined up, not from the mining industry.

Will always be a challenge against the afl clubs and the connected RU old school but there is def support for RL and few sports can give the reach and exposure that NRL can.

 

[Xfactor1979]

You also have to understand with regards to expansion: in WA, its not the biggest place in the world, and if youre going to bring in other codes on during winter it could dilute the interest of the public for the AFL

And the WAFC's big ideas of building a 60000 seat stadium for AFL (completely unnecessary, it will only ever be filled for Eagles vs Dockers games) and the propaganda saying theres 'a waiting list' for Eagles memberships could be... SCUTTLED! *In pirate voice* ARGGGH!!!!!!!!!

West Australians will also argue (and they have nutjobs over there, they put in convincing arguments against daylight savings saying 'the curtains will fade' :lol: ) that it will serve to destroy the family, 'kids going to school' environment if "football is not the national game" and theres 'some other code', or the very fact that they were 'living a lie'

In order to combat these nutjobs it can be fixed with an increasing cosmopolitan setting (people migrating to the west coast of australia for work), and these nutjobs will be flushed out

 

[Perth Red]

In another great step forward for the game in WA last nights SOO drew the biggest audience for a RL game in wa with a peak of 154,000 on GEM. Get it on ch9 and see it top 200k!

 

[flippikat]

In another great step forward for the game in WA last nights SOO drew the biggest audience for a RL game in wa with a peak of 154,000 on GEM. Get it on ch9 and see it top 200k!

With the digital switch-over happening this year, does it really matter whether it's on the main channel or not?

I thought that all the digital services in Australia carry the sub-channels.

 

[Perth Red]

Comments from NRL CEO on his recent visit to WA. We got dis!

“I think Western Australia has done a great job, and you can see that the junior base is growing, and that’s always a good sign,” Smith told PerthNow.
“When you’re growing the market share effectively by 14 per cent from 2012, that’s very strong, and I think that shows that there’s a natural interest.

“The Origin II figures with people watch on TV (in WA) were just amazing too. So all of the indicators are really strong.

“I’m really supportive and committed to Western Australia – it’s strategically important to us.

“I think we’ll be ready around about that time, and quite clearly, Western Australia is a strong option.”

Smith described the upgraded facilities at nib Stadium as “phenomenal”


“The WARL guys have done a really good job and punched well above their weight.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ential-expansion/story-fni3fbgz-1226674867782

 

[Perth Red]

Views on the recent tour game in Perth from the NSW Country Bulls. Remarkable result when you consider the difference in depth of players between the WARL and the NSW Country leagues. Goes to show sometime it is quality more than quantity!

Perth is a great place to tour with first class facilities and training venues. The highlight was playing prior to the Warriors and South Sydney game. By half-time in the Western Australia v Country Bulls clash there were close to 5000 people in the grand stands supporting WA in particular.

The most pleasing outcome of the week was the realisation that Western Australia can field a strong competitive side at this level, justifying touring a Country Representative squad. A return tour by the Western Australian team would certainly benefit both sides, and draw a great crowd in a Regional Country area
Coaching staff and players were unsure what to expect from the untested Western Australia side, but any doubts were dispelled in the opening ten minutes, they were very enthusiastic displaying plenty of skill especially through the middle with a big mobile pack of forwards.
Half time Bulls 24 - WA 12
Final Score Western Australia 36 def. Country Bulls 30

http://www.crlnsw.com.au/index.php?id=13&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=598&cHash=c9aa38a57d

 

[flippikat]

The most pleasing outcome of the week was the realisation that Western Australia can field a strong competitive side at this level, justifying touring a Country Representative squad. A return tour by the Western Australian team would certainly benefit both sides, and draw a great crowd in a Regional Country area
Coaching staff and players were unsure what to expect from the untested Western Australia side, but any doubts were dispelled in the opening ten minutes, they were very enthusiastic displaying plenty of skill especially through the middle with a big mobile pack of forwards.
Half time Bulls 24 - WA 12
Final Score Western Australia 36 def. Country Bulls 30

http://www.crlnsw.com.au/index.php?id=13&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=598&cHash=c9aa38a57d

That's the thing.

In a "non-heartland" city, there's not just potential for producing handy players of their own - it's actually happening already.

Now all they need is a pathway for them to play in an NRL team of their own, and raise their game to NRL standard.

 

[Perth Red]

To give some idea of how the game is spreading across WA

 

[flippikat]

To give some idea of how the game is spreading across WA

<snip>

For a non-heartland state, that's pretty damn impressive.

 

[The Great Dane]

I realize that they are in three different competitions but seriously two teams called the Storm and one called the thunder and another three called the Eagles, what's wrong with peoples imaginations?

Sure sometimes your going to get repeats, as is demonstrated here not only with the Storm and Eagles but with the Roosters too, but is it so hard to come up with something different especially in a place like WA where there aren't many RL clubs around!?

A symbol is a very, very powerful thing in it's own way it comes to represent everything you stand for, it's what distinguishes you from everybody else and it's your flag to rally behind.

Now don't get me wrong this isn't only a problem (for lack of a better word) out in WA, in fact the Raiders are guilty of this lack of imagination themselves having bastardised the Oakland Raiders image in the early days, which is a little different then what I'm talking about here because of the circumstances, for example I don't expect every new junior RL club to come up with a name completely new to world sport, but you'd think that a professional club could at least give it a crack to come up with something at least a little different.

I know it sounds stupid but it does worry me that so many people seem so unimaginative as to not be able build their own identity and feel the need to copy someone else's. By my count there are 18 teams in WA, how hard can is it to come up with 18 different names and mascots!

 

[Perth Red]

There's benefits to clubs using an NRL teams name. Not sure exactly what but I know when the new mandurah club started up this year they said they chose it over the more obvious dolphins (mandurah has heaps) for beneficial reasons. Maybe NRL clubs help out in some way?

 

[The Great Dane]

There's benefits to clubs using an NRL teams name. Not sure exactly what but I know when the new mandurah club started up this year they said they chose it over the more obvious dolphins (mandurah has heaps) for beneficial reasons. Maybe NRL clubs help out in some way?

Nah the NRL clubs don't directly help out, the clubs save a little money on designers, it costs less to get jerseys made in the same design and colours as the Melbourne Storm then to pay a designer to design a completely new jersey design, logo and colours.

Basically they save a couple of dollars per uniform, trust me I understand moneys hard to come by for small clubs just getting on their feet, but I still think it's lazy and disappointing.

Another benefit that they get is that if given the choice kids are more likely to play for the club named after their favorite NRL team, which once again for a small club just starting out can mean the difference between fielding a under 6's team and not fielding one.

In the long run though the benefits of creating the clubs own identity far out weigh the disadvantages, I know this is going to sound strange but in my experience kids are more likely to form a bond and a unbreakable loyalty to your club if that club is unique. For example when a kid first starts playing footy they see the logo and mascot and over time they start to associate that mascot with footy, so when they see that character in a book or on TV for example the first thing that comes to their mind is their footy and if that mascot is a Knight for example that leads them to associate their footy team and club with the much more rich and famous Newcastle Knights club every time they see them on TV.

Now that isn't really a problem except that for many young kids it creates a level of expectation of the club that will almost certainly never be fulfilled by your junior footy club which can and in my experience very often does lead to the child becoming disenfranchised with the your club as they get older and realize that the club will be unable to fulfill their expectations, which leads to disappointment and often they leave the club and/or the sport because of that disappointment.

Clubs that have their own identity don't face this problem because every time a kid that plays for the Gorillas see's a Gorilla they don't get that extra association to another club that the Knights kids get which breaks the cycle before it even begins and in my experience makes the child much more likely to become an active member of the club for life, the sort of people that when they grow up they'll try to convince their kids to play for their club the Gorillas and are willing to help out and do whatever they can when your clubs in a rough spot and those sort people are invaluable to a junior club and help create your own little community.

 

[CC_Roosters]

How about this for a club name. Perth RLFC

All encompassing no silly token nickname at birth. Let the moniker develop as the club matures and gets a personality.