AK you're right but there has to be an amalgamation of the Sydney clubs for all those to be involved or a promotion relegation system.
Members drive to bolster NRL bid
THE Ipswich Jets NRL bid team will soon be calling on your support.
A membership drive will be the next step for the bid team to prove they have the support required to launch a successful NRL club.
And Jets bid mastermind Steve Johnson said garnering thousands of members should be relatively easy for the new venture.
Like the Gold Coast Titans and the Gold Coast Suns before them, the Jets will put a call out to the public for a formal show of support by becoming a member of the fledgling club.
It will be different to a normal club membership, which requires payment and entitles the owner to a selection of games to attend as well as merchandise.
Rather this will simply be a free sign-on to declare support.
We will begin a membership drive after January so we have yet another piece of evidence to support our claim, Johnson said.
To be honest, we probably dont have to do it like the Titans and the Suns did.
They were required to prove they have the numbers but we have the facts which show our area has a lot more juniors than the other regions and more potential supporters.
But a membership drive does connect you with the community and thats very important to us as a community-based club.
It will allow us to go to (David) Gallop (NRL chief executive officer) with more evidence as to why we should be given the nod for the next licence.
The membership drive will be predominantly internet-based.
The Central Queensland NRL bid team, headed by millionaire Geoff Murphy, already has a membership drive underway.
It has secured 25,000 signatures.
The Jets business plan and feasibility study, compiled by veteran league administrator Brian Canavan, will be completed within a month.
It will be interesting to see how many financial members they can get, and where those members are from.
It will be different to a normal club membership, which requires payment and entitles the owner to a selection of games to attend as well as merchandise.
Rather this will simply be a free sign-on to declare support.
We could theoretically have up to a 24 team comp at some stage in the future, considering all the hopefuls:
current 16 + CC, WA, SEQLD, CQLD, Wellington, PNG. I'm also gonna throw Adelaide and Christchurch in there as potentials, even though there are no current workings to get teams in those places, they are definitely markets we should consider for the 2020s. :edit: just read that NT are looking to enter the NSW Cup. Even Darwin is a possibility! All depends on the continued growth of Rugby League I guess. Realistically for this to ever happen the player pool needs to expand. PNG, WA, and Vic need to be regularly producing NRL quality players.
I can dream...
It will be interesting to see how many financial members they can get, and where those members are from.
"The corridor around Ipswich is the fastest growing region in Australia and we need to be a part of it". David Gallop 2010.
Yes $$$ will dictate the successful bids... Television $$$, nothing more, nothing less. Everything else is either secondary considerations or window dressing.The reality is $$$ will dictate the successfull bids.
Leigh
I somewhat agree,
If the franchise is not financially secure, it wont help their bid, if the franchise is financially secure it will go along way to helping their bid. Why would the NRL admit a franchise that is any chance to be a financial headcase.
TV $$ is not the ole indicator IMO.
If they don't have the balls to go for financial memberships, this bid is dead in the water. What are they afraid of, that only Ipswich Jets supporters will join if they have to pay like CC and Perth are doing?
And in NSW, most families are moving to the Central Coast. Lots of similarities between western brisbane and Central Coast (demographically) - I think both areas deserve a team, but Central Coast is so far ahead they should come in first and western brisbane when they get up to Central Coast's level.
Just wondering where you managed to attain the stats for N.S.W growth because i thought the Richmond-Tweed region was leading the way outside of (SD) Sydney Districts.