The problem is nrl plays no part in this so clubs will only come if WA Govt pays them to come. WA Govt only has so much it is willing to spend on nrl games. We need the nrl to have a strategy around this and be subsidising it. What’s the point in earning hundreds of millions from tv if they aren’t investing a tiny part of it in growing the game in new key markets?
Great point.
There's a thread in the general NRL board about "Should the NRL offer money to Sydney clubs to relocate?".. you could probably extend that to add "..or take 1-2 games per season to strategically identified markets."
There's a good case to make for the NRL offering relocation incentives AND Perth/Adelaide/New Zealand/Where-ever "move a home game to expand the game's profile" incentives. Especially if the home game is being moved to a likely expansion team destination.
Maybe the NRL just needs to write 2 lists.
List 1: Expansion markets we want, and how much we'll pay for relocation to each one.
(Perth, Adelaide, NZ 2, maybe Melbourne 2, possibly a Queensland market..)
List 2: Places we want a game or two each year, and how much we'll pay you if you move 1 home game per season there.
(This would be a bigger list. All the places in list 1, plus Tasmania, Pacific Islands, Hawaii, etc that are nowhere near getting a team of their own, but would raise the game's profile)
