no, no , no
eels panthers merge , in your dreams. never happen,
and roosters won't merge with anyone ok,
and where are the sharks, they just vanish into thin air ?
and Christchurch is a fantasy gone too far I think while Auckland is still a headache
I agree on the penrith non merger, and parramatta could easily sustain itself, as parramatta is seen as the 2nd city in sydney (western sydney) penrith is 30 mins west of there.
Cronulla is a must, their catchment is huge, and if the dragons are in wollongong, then its even bigger.
Auckland is very important, not only are they competetive, its a team that ALF won't be able to compete with, they can be a powerhouse, they were almost there a decade ago, with leaders like Steve Price and Ruben Wiki.
My ideal comp is 20 teams
1. North Queensland Cowboys
2. Brisbane Broncos.
3. East Coast Dolphins
4. Brisbane City Tigers
5. Gold Coast Titans
6. Adelaide Rams/Saints/Angels
7. Perth Reds/Pirates/Force
8. Melbourne Storm.
9. Auckland Warriors.
10. South Pacific Cyclones (Auckland 2)
11. Western Suburbs Bulldogs (merged Canterbury & Wests based in Liverpool)
12. Cronulla Sutherland Sharks
13. Newcastle Knights
14. Penrith Panthers
15. Parramatta Eels
16. South Sydney Rabbitohs.
17. North Sydney Roosters (merged Roosters and Norths)
18. North Coast Eagles (Gosford)
19. Canberra Raiders.
20. St. George Illawarra Dragons (Wollongong based)
A Decade later....
21. P.N.G Hunters
22. Christchurch Kings (South Island NZ)
The only real merger being bulldogs and wests and a relocation of manly to gosford