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West Coast Pirates Bid News

xe_kilroy

Juniors
Messages
306
Anyone got access to this that can cut and paste please?

Whenever you see articles hidden behind a subscription 'firewall', go to your browser settings, turn javascript off, reload the page, and it "should" show the full article.
 
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12,413

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
Go It Alone for NRL franchise says former Reds boss

Perth should go boots and all to be the next franchise says NSW Blues football manager Peter Parr. Hopes of resurrecting an NRL club have grown with the controversial plan to form a cross-country club with the NS Bears.

Parr, a casualty of the Western reds axing in 1997 during the SL war, joined the club on day one as a reserve grade coach and was coaching and development manager when the axe fell.

He was cautious on the WA Bears idea saying a stand alone Perth club could be successful.

After the Reds folded Parr went on to be the Broncos coaching development manager, NQ Cowboys GM of football and is now on the Cowboys board.
 

Nuke

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
4,996
It's been said plenty of times already, but 'WA Bears' idea is not a good idea. NS will want / demand control, will take a number of home games to Sydney every year (when realistically nearly every 2nd week the team will be playing in Sydney as the away team anyway), and in the back of their minds, they'd be looking at permanent re-relocation back to northern Sydney.

NS / CC Bears were indeed a victim of unfortunate circumstance in their final few years. They were all set to move to Gosford in 1998, thus ensuring long-term survival, however the very long wet winter of 1997 meant their stadium couldn't be ready. Then the 'merger' with Manly, where after a few seasons, the NS half got booted out and Manly returned fulltime.
I feel for the Bears, as they were hard done by at the time ... But that was 20+ years ago. They keep trying to find a way back in via a number of routes, but it's not going to happen. They're a NSW Cup club now, joining Newtown and the like. They still exist, but their time on the national stage is well and truly over.

A WA team, regardless of the name and colours, should go it alone. They don't need NS to get back in.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
It's been said plenty of times already, but 'WA Bears' idea is not a good idea. NS will want / demand control, will take a number of home games to Sydney every year (when realistically nearly every 2nd week the team will be playing in Sydney as the away team anyway), and in the back of their minds, they'd be looking at permanent re-relocation back to northern Sydney.

NS / CC Bears were indeed a victim of unfortunate circumstance in their final few years. They were all set to move to Gosford in 1998, thus ensuring long-term survival, however the very long wet winter of 1997 meant their stadium couldn't be ready. Then the 'merger' with Manly, where after a few seasons, the NS half got booted out and Manly returned fulltime.
I feel for the Bears, as they were hard done by at the time ... But that was 20+ years ago. They keep trying to find a way back in via a number of routes, but it's not going to happen. They're a NSW Cup club now, joining Newtown and the like. They still exist, but their time on the national stage is well and truly over.

A WA team, regardless of the name and colours, should go it alone. They don't need NS to get back in.
Never underestimate the stupidity of NRL leadership, especially when its as sydney centric as Vlandys!
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
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65,411
Western Australia's young rugby league players hope the sun hasn't set on the state's prospect of joining the national competition, as the state prepares to host the sport's biggest event on Sunday night.
Perth is hosting game two of the State of Origin, an event which has previously rivalled even the AFL grand final for attendance and broadcast viewership.

But Western Australia itself has not had a professional team represent the state in more than two decades.
For developing players such as Philip Saunderson, it means leaving his life and family behind if he wants to pursue a rugby league career interstate.

"South Perth have a pathway through the Canberra Raiders. My goal is to get to that point and go over to Canberra," he said.

Greg Mabbett has just taken on the helm of head coach at the South Perth Lions rugby league club, and handles junior player development.

"There's a few that are willing to pursue [rugby league] as a career, and they do have the potential to do that," he said.

"Our club has done a real good initiative and put together a pathway for the boys through the Canberra Raiders.

"But there could be more."
It's a sentiment shared by many in Western Australia's rugby league community.
The state's Western Reds were founded in 1992, and were one of rugby league's first steps towards a national competition.
In the mid-1990s, the Australian Rugby League and Super League were vying over broadcasting rights and the position as the sport's dominant league.

The commercial competition ultimately led to a merger to form the National Rugby League.

But as part of the merger, the Western Reds were cut from the league, and the state has been in limbo ever since with talks of expansion fizzling each time.

When the axe was announced, then Super League chief executive Colin Sanders said it was one of the "hardest decisions" he ever made.

"Sometimes there are bold and innovative plans which are perhaps ahead of their times."
Now, 25 years on, that plan has still not eventuated in any West Australian rugby league representation on the national stage.
Isaac Thomas is one of Western Australia's most decorated rugby league players, and has been with the South Perth Lions ever since the demise of the Western Reds in 1997.
"I was in the Western Reds junior academy, and the year that I was actually due to start playing games for the Reds, it folded," he said.

Thomas felt his life was "falling apart" when the only opportunity left for him was to travel interstate and leave his family behind.

"There's hundreds of other guys my age or older who felt the same way," he said.
"A lot of young guys are happy to [move]. The unfortunate reality of it is, once they get over there, and they don't have their families, they're all alone."
Thomas hopes the next generation of kids in Western Australia will have more opportunity at home.

Kaiaua Scott plays for the South Perth Lions under-15s, and is one of the club's prospects for the Canberra Raiders.

"That would be [the] ultimate dream," he said.
Scott grew up in Tom Price, a remote mining town in Western Australia's Pilbara region, where there's no local rugby league club.
His family moved after Scott was accepted to an academic program at a Perth school.
"I wasn't thinking about scores. I was thinking about coming down to play rugby league," he said.
And there's potential he'll have to move again if he hopes to take his passion for rugby league further.

NRL WA chief executive John Sackson hopes hosting the State of Origin will help grow momentum for Perth's return to the professional competition.
"There's been a number of false starts in terms of a prospect of a franchise coming back into Perth," he said.

In the 2023 season, Queensland will enter its fourth team as the league's 17th side, leaving a potential spot for another team to even out the numbers.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/nrlw-expansion-is-the-game-ready/101171628
"I believe that Western Australia is very much in the conversation in terms of potential to become that 18th franchise, if and when the Australian Rugby League Commission makes that decision," Mr Sackson said.
"Ultimately, the Commission is responsible for the direction of the game, the wellbeing of the game, the future of the game."
But for now, Western Australia's rugby league community will remain in limbo.

 

Perth Red

Post Whore
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65,411

Perth’s Origin sellout highlighting WA’s ‘irresistible’ case to host the NRL’s 18th franchise​

Western Australia is putting its best foot forward to be home to the NRL’s 18th franchise following an Origin Game II sellout at Optus Stadium.

The Dolphins will enter the NRL as the newest franchise in 2023 and rugby league powerbrokers have made no secrets of their desire to expand to an 18 team competition as soon as possible.

An 18th team will remove a bye from the competition schedule each week and add a ninth game per weekend, potentially increasing TV broadcast deals.

Speaking on Fox Sports News, NRL WA chief executive officer John Sackson said that hosting a crucial Origin clash will only further put the spotlight on rugby league in the Western state.

“Clearly there is a lot of focus now on the 18th franchise, we know that the Dolphins are coming in next year, there is going to be a spotlight on them to see how they debut in the 2023 season,” Sackson said.

“There is certainly now an interest from the NRL to start looking towards the 18th franchise, having 17 franchises is a little impractical hence the move now to start exploring options for the 18th franchise.”

In 2019 Perth hosting Origin for the very first time to a sold-out crowd and now in the 2022 series over 60,000 people will be in the stands cheering on their favourite state.

Three teams were in contention to become the 17th NRL team — Brisbane Firehawks, Brisbane Jets and the Dolphins — and now WA bosses are hoping their Origin showcase will send a “positive message” back to headquarters.


“What I can say is that we have a crowd of 60,000 people here for Origin, that will send a very positive message back to headquarters that there is a lot of interest in rugby league in Western Australia.

“There is a real appetite for rugby league in Western Australia and that is on the back of a sell out in 2019 and obviously very good crowds over the years.

“All we can do is continue to strengthen the foundations of the game here at community level and maximise these elite football opportunities in terms of attendance.

“I think if the commission deems that Perth will be in the conversation for the 18th franchise and is given an invitation to put its best foot forward, I am very confident that this state can deliver a very compelling if not irresistible proposition.”

Sackson also explained that as it stands there has been no official invitation, but as soon as Western Australia is deemed a potential location for a new team, the association already has the backing of the government and the corporate sector.

 

Dragonwest

Juniors
Messages
1,652
The main benefit of Perth Bears would the existing NSW Cup setup being in place. Perth need to have clear majority at board level. Keep the NSW Cup side as North Sydney Bears. Not sure how HM, SG Ball and JF programs would work, you'd think they would need two sets. Maybe down to 1 by Jersey Flegg
 
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Perth Red

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So, why bring what is said to be the jewel in the crown of rugby league to a place where the sport is often overlooked?
Former ARLC chairman Peter Beattie claimed it was all part of the master plan.
“Forget about all the chatter. Words are cheap and actions mean something,” he said in 2021.

“We are committed to rugby league in Western Australia. The fact we are bringing our premium product here next year demonstrates that.

“We want every little boy and every little girl in this state to think about rugby league.

“It’s the national rugby league. We are growing it by building our best product here,” he said.

And yet, it seems rather hollow and like an easy money-spinning venture at times.

After all, if the aim is to capture the hearts and minds of the public, doing it on one Sunday evening every few years borders on the impossible.

NSW have set up north of the city in Scarborough, while Queensland have chosen to base the majority of their camp back home, before jetting into Perth on Thursday.

The fact that the Queenslanders only arrive in the state on the eve of the match doesn’t allow much time for promotion or integration amongst the community that the NRL is said to be trying to foster. It does the opposite, it breeds indifference.

The WA public are sure to harbour more affection for a sport that actually offers them opportunities to engage from grass-roots to the top level, rather than being gifted the occasional showpiece event and a scattering of NRL fixtures.

If the sport does truly want to expand into becoming a national game with a national footprint, actual pathways for juniors in disregarded areas like Western Australia, Adelaide and the Northern Territory need to be created instead.

The competition is expanding, so it stands to reason that there will need to be more talent procured from across the country.

The participation numbers for rugby league in WA have been steadily rising. There is an appetite for it in the state, if enough of the correct attention is afforded.

This doesn’t mean that it will overtake the AFL in terms of popularity, because it won’t. WA will never be the heart land of rugby league. But it could be a stronger ally than it currently is.
Over two decades ago, just shy of 25,000 people crammed into the WACA to watch the Western Reds’ opening round victory over the Dragons.

In the intervening years, while there has been talk of a new expansion team always flickering on the horizon, Perth has regularly had decent attendances for matches brought to the state.

 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
783DA1C1-EDE9-4C01-8A7E-98A77383A282.jpeg
Here’s a pop quiz for Australia’s rugby league bosses.
Name two of the biggest sporting events ever staged at Optus Stadium?
Yes, that’s right, it’s State of Origin rugby league, your very own product: here, have a Wally Lewis doll.
Origin has sold out Optus stadium on two occasions, with just under 60,000 attending each time, so, stay with me here, surely that would indicate a National Rugby League team based in Perth would be a success?

I mean how much more evidence do you need?

What’s that, more facts you say? OK, how about the most powerful premier in living memory is a fan of rugby league. Mark McGowan, was born in NSW and went to Queensland Uni.
More you say? Well how about deputy premier and tourism minister Roger Cook wearing a Maroons scarf at Origin 2 on Sunday.
Hello, can you hear me, can you see where I’m going with this.

The financial picture? Good question. How about, half of the Australia’s ASX-listed companies are listed in the west. Are you writing this down?
The largest concentration of global resource companies in Australia are based in WA, not to mention some of the most philanthropic billionaires in the country.

HELLO, ARE YOU LISTENING.

We even have the man who basically saved the Rabbitohs two decades ago. Are you getting all this?
The Pilbara, Australia’s economic engine room is in WA and the area loves rugby league.
Mr V’landys, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, are you with me?
Why aren’t you coming to us, cap in hand and asking if we’d like to join your competition. Don’t you want a national footprint? Do you know who you’re dealing with?


We have three of the top 10 richest people in Australia living in Perth and they love seeing WA do well.

We’re also the leading State in terms of both income and wealth with a population of three million.

Are you getting the picture? Get your number crunchers to do some homework.

To Barra-phrase Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men: “you want us on your team – you need us on your team”.
Fair dinkum. When WA last had a rugby league team called the Western Reds, the average attendance was 15,500 per game, above your competition average.
And we would still be pulling those crowds if you hadn’t kicked us out of the comp in 1997 following the Super League war.
And did I mention the time zone advantage of having a Perth team? Or our two fantastic venues for watching sport, HBF Park and Optus Stadium.
HBF Park, which is Perth’s premier rectangular stadium, is even having $34 million worth of improvements.
I predict when the Queensland Dolphins come into the competition next year and you have 17 teams and a bye every weekend, you’ll be desperate to have an 18th franchise to deliver a ninth game each round, increasing your TV broadcast deal.
Mr V’landys, what are you waiting for?
Get on the dog and bone right now and call my friend John Sackson, the CEO of WA Rugby League, you won’t regret it.

 
Messages
12,413
View attachment 63251
Here’s a pop quiz for Australia’s rugby league bosses.
Name two of the biggest sporting events ever staged at Optus Stadium?
Yes, that’s right, it’s State of Origin rugby league, your very own product: here, have a Wally Lewis doll.
Origin has sold out Optus stadium on two occasions, with just under 60,000 attending each time, so, stay with me here, surely that would indicate a National Rugby League team based in Perth would be a success?

I mean how much more evidence do you need?

What’s that, more facts you say? OK, how about the most powerful premier in living memory is a fan of rugby league. Mark McGowan, was born in NSW and went to Queensland Uni.
More you say? Well how about deputy premier and tourism minister Roger Cook wearing a Maroons scarf at Origin 2 on Sunday.
Hello, can you hear me, can you see where I’m going with this.

The financial picture? Good question. How about, half of the Australia’s ASX-listed companies are listed in the west. Are you writing this down?
The largest concentration of global resource companies in Australia are based in WA, not to mention some of the most philanthropic billionaires in the country.

HELLO, ARE YOU LISTENING.

We even have the man who basically saved the Rabbitohs two decades ago. Are you getting all this?
The Pilbara, Australia’s economic engine room is in WA and the area loves rugby league.
Mr V’landys, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, are you with me?
Why aren’t you coming to us, cap in hand and asking if we’d like to join your competition. Don’t you want a national footprint? Do you know who you’re dealing with?


We have three of the top 10 richest people in Australia living in Perth and they love seeing WA do well.

We’re also the leading State in terms of both income and wealth with a population of three million.

Are you getting the picture? Get your number crunchers to do some homework.

To Barra-phrase Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men: “you want us on your team – you need us on your team”.
Fair dinkum. When WA last had a rugby league team called the Western Reds, the average attendance was 15,500 per game, above your competition average.
And we would still be pulling those crowds if you hadn’t kicked us out of the comp in 1997 following the Super League war.
And did I mention the time zone advantage of having a Perth team? Or our two fantastic venues for watching sport, HBF Park and Optus Stadium.
HBF Park, which is Perth’s premier rectangular stadium, is even having $34 million worth of improvements.
I predict when the Queensland Dolphins come into the competition next year and you have 17 teams and a bye every weekend, you’ll be desperate to have an 18th franchise to deliver a ninth game each round, increasing your TV broadcast deal.
Mr V’landys, what are you waiting for?
Get on the dog and bone right now and call my friend John Sackson, the CEO of WA Rugby League, you won’t regret it.

NSWRL fans will say Perth Oval isn't up to standard because it doesn't have a hill on its eastern sideline and a tree to shit under.
 

Pippen94

First Grade
Messages
5,858
View attachment 63251
Here’s a pop quiz for Australia’s rugby league bosses.
Name two of the biggest sporting events ever staged at Optus Stadium?
Yes, that’s right, it’s State of Origin rugby league, your very own product: here, have a Wally Lewis doll.
Origin has sold out Optus stadium on two occasions, with just under 60,000 attending each time, so, stay with me here, surely that would indicate a National Rugby League team based in Perth would be a success?

I mean how much more evidence do you need?

What’s that, more facts you say? OK, how about the most powerful premier in living memory is a fan of rugby league. Mark McGowan, was born in NSW and went to Queensland Uni.
More you say? Well how about deputy premier and tourism minister Roger Cook wearing a Maroons scarf at Origin 2 on Sunday.
Hello, can you hear me, can you see where I’m going with this.

The financial picture? Good question. How about, half of the Australia’s ASX-listed companies are listed in the west. Are you writing this down?
The largest concentration of global resource companies in Australia are based in WA, not to mention some of the most philanthropic billionaires in the country.

HELLO, ARE YOU LISTENING.

We even have the man who basically saved the Rabbitohs two decades ago. Are you getting all this?
The Pilbara, Australia’s economic engine room is in WA and the area loves rugby league.
Mr V’landys, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, are you with me?
Why aren’t you coming to us, cap in hand and asking if we’d like to join your competition. Don’t you want a national footprint? Do you know who you’re dealing with?


We have three of the top 10 richest people in Australia living in Perth and they love seeing WA do well.

We’re also the leading State in terms of both income and wealth with a population of three million.

Are you getting the picture? Get your number crunchers to do some homework.

To Barra-phrase Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men: “you want us on your team – you need us on your team”.
Fair dinkum. When WA last had a rugby league team called the Western Reds, the average attendance was 15,500 per game, above your competition average.
And we would still be pulling those crowds if you hadn’t kicked us out of the comp in 1997 following the Super League war.
And did I mention the time zone advantage of having a Perth team? Or our two fantastic venues for watching sport, HBF Park and Optus Stadium.
HBF Park, which is Perth’s premier rectangular stadium, is even having $34 million worth of improvements.
I predict when the Queensland Dolphins come into the competition next year and you have 17 teams and a bye every weekend, you’ll be desperate to have an 18th franchise to deliver a ninth game each round, increasing your TV broadcast deal.
Mr V’landys, what are you waiting for?
Get on the dog and bone right now and call my friend John Sackson, the CEO of WA Rugby League, you won’t regret it.


Wallabies get bigger crowd & their local got kicked out of super rugby
 

Colk

First Grade
Messages
6,331
Wallabies get bigger crowd & their local got kicked out of super rugby

Past tense. They currently have a Super Rugby team.

Also, you’re stretching. The article was simply stating that there is enough support for a RL side which I think is hard to argue with.
 

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