Why expand?

[Abz]

Bring in Perth and Adelaide teams? Didn't they already get their chance and fail?

 

[nqboy]

Bring in Perth and Adelaide teams? Didn't they already get their chance and fail?

You're either a troll or an idiot.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

we should have less teams, 15 less.

Cowboys premiers every year sounds good to me!! *rubs hands together, makes shifty eyes*

You'd still struggle.

 

[dimitri]

Bring in Perth and Adelaide teams? Didn't they already get their chance and fail?

Put it this way

Adelaide had 7000 members at one stage!

Roosters are aiming high at 5000 - hahahah (Freddie's 5000)

Adelaide and Perth didn't fail. They were killed by the arl/super league reunification. The same way GC was.

Look how strong GC have come back!!!!!!

 

[greenhat]

For a while we had quite a number of sides and then with the retractions, expulsions and mergers the game lost a lot of support.

I think the game would be better served by nourishing and enriching the existing sponsers
experience instead of searching for new blood.

If we have to have a new side, country NSW deserves one more than anyone else.

Country NSW has a team, the Raiders. Our main leagues club is in country NSW, our original homeground was in country NSW, several teams in the Raiders' local competition are in country NSW.
If it helps, imagine we are called the Canberra/Monaro Raiders, because thats what we really are.

 

[Bezant]

The answer to your question can be seen but what recently happened in the UK. The RFL have indicated that they will expand to 14 teams (from 12) and that those teams may come from Wales & France or the UK heartllands. The response they got from Sky TV/BCC was a 40% increase in revenues. This means all of the existing teams get more funds and the new teams are fully funded.

Wouldn't it be worth the NRL looking at how they could grow also grow their funds by 40% in the future? I cant see how a true fan could not agree with something that would lead to more funds for existing teams while expanding the popularity of league generally? I cant see to many other ways of increasing the NRL's revenue base, to the benefit of all teams, in the future without some sort of expansion.

Expansion is not mutually exclusive with the strengthening of existing teams. If done correctly (not incorrectly as per Superleague in Oz) expansion should only lead to an overall increase in the strength of the game.

 

[macavity]

Country NSW has a team, the Raiders. Our main leagues club is in country NSW, our original homeground was in country NSW, several teams in the Raiders' local competition are in country NSW.
If it helps, imagine we are called the Canberra/Monaro Raiders, because thats what we really are.

Southern Country NSW has the Raiders, Northern Country NSW has the Knights and to a lesser degree the Titans.

Country NSW is well catered for.

 

[dimitri]

Southern Country NSW has the Raiders, Northern Country NSW has the Knights and to a lesser degree the Titans.

Country NSW is well catered for.

agree

 

[brooksy19]

Look, I was devastated when the Tigers couldn't stand alone any more, but after a while you realise the games growth is more important and as long as we're alive as a part of a joint venture, I'll continue to watch and support the game.

I think there is still room for

1. Central Coast Bears 2012

2. Perth 2012

3. Sunshine Coast/2nd Brissy Team 2016

4. Adelaide 2016

5. Wellington. 2020

Whether or not that involves mergers or relocations, im not sure, but the way i see it, the more exposure, the more juniors we get playing league, turns into more 1st grade quality players and thats how you create sustainable 'franchises'.

 

[Perth Red]

more players, more fans, more sponsers, more money, better TV contracts. Do you really need any more reasons?

ps and I get to watch my team again!

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Country NSW is hardly "well catered for". The nearest NRL club for many is still too far away to get to more than a couple of times a year for most people. Plus the clubs only promote themselves in some places and don't really do anything for most parts of the bush. The same goes for Qld.

Having said that, no NSW Country NRL side will ever be possible so I'm not advocating that. Expansion does't just mean new NRL clubs in new places. Expansion could be growing the game at various levels by promotion, junior development etc and the NRL is the strongest tool we have. The NRL just needs to find more ways to use it to grow the game everywhere.

 

[Green Machine]

I think NSW Country is well looked after in the NRL. Newcastle is easily accessible to the Upper Hunter Valley, Mid North Coast and North West.
Penrith is accessible to the Central West. Illawarra is accessible to the Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands. Canberra is accessible to Batemans Bay, the Southern Highlands and Riverina. Campbelltown is accessible to the Southern Highlands. Now days, its an easy drive from Lismore and Ballina to the Gold Coast. On top of that, Gosford gets a fair share of games each season. If you go back in time and look at the Country Rugby League in 1981, Central Coast Division, Illawarra Division, Newcastle Division, Group 18, Group 8 and Group 6 had no NSWRL premiership matches,

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Group 18 and Group 6 still don't and the CC only gets a few on the road games.

Plus being accessible, whatever that means - surely everywhere is accessible, doesn't really mean people on the bush are inclined (or encouraged) to support their "local" side. Here in the north west/New England there are some people who support the Knights because they are probably our closest club (although the Titans are now an option) but they are far from considered our local club. Places like the Monaro, south coast, hunter, mid north coast and northern rivers/far north coast might be different but there are many parts of the bush where the NRL is seen as the realm of the metropolis and something people generally just watch on TV. They support teams for many reasons, georgraphy has little to do with it in many cases. If catered for means we can watch the game on TV and make a pretty long trip once in a while to see a game then I guess the bush is catetred for but that can hardly be compared to places that actually have a local team in the vacinity.

 

[TITAN1]

Quite a deep question, and i think im with you 100% of the way.

Im an old-schooler, and so are most of my mates. They all whinge that the game just doesnt have a certain something, compared to say 20 years ago. I disagree with them on that, as i love today's style of game

The ONE thing that Superscum taught us, was the simple fact that players come and go, but you'll ALWAYS support your club of choice no matter the circumstances. Thats why the ARL comp was a gnats wing away from nailing these frauds forever. Personally, i know that there are many supporters who still havent come back to our game. The reason is simple ... their team doesnt exist anymore.

Just think for a second and i dont care how young or old you are. What in gods name would YOU do if your team didnt exist anymore ? I think id join the old,whinging crew ... im sorry but i could never even dream of following anyone other than my team, the Roosters. I bet most of you are the same with the club you follow.

So just think for a second ... when you talk expansion, someone has to lose their team. Go on and put your hand up to see your team go first. None of you would do that in a million years.

Fine,lets piss off easts and bring in perth!
Next!

 

[Dave Q]

Im glad the country issue stirred some interest.

Canberra and Newcastle can put their hands up except for the fact that they are seen as cities by country people.

I was thining of an expansion further west. Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo as catchments.

These areas have experienced high population growth and the people there love their league. Think Jamie Lyon, Peachey, Andrew Ryan as locals and many of the country rep side.

The Panthers, as good as they are, represent a suburb ( albeit a fugging large one!) on the outskirts of the basin but these days, you could drive down the street in Penrith and a satellite suburb of Parramatta and hardly be able to distnguish the two.

Lets bring it away from the coast and cement the game in a genuine heartland.

I dont think its impossible if the will is there.

And lets face it, without the country interest, the game wouldnt be a half of what it is.

They deserve some full-time recognition. Its long overdue and I see this as an issue in the future.

I might add that they are a valued population by sponsers and advertisers, they have heaps of media.

 

[TITAN1]

The Panthers, as good as they are, represent a suburb ( albeit a fugging large one!) on the outskirts of the basin but these days, you could drive down the street in Penrith and a satellite suburb of Parramatta and hardly be able to distnguish the two.

Apart from the fact that those in Penriff have more teeth in their head than those in parramatta.

 

[bazza]

I was thining of an expansion further west. Orange, Bathurst and Dubbo as catchments.

These areas have experienced high population growth and the people there love their league.

That is an important point.
Population continually changes. Places like Bathurst and Dubbo experience growth as people from smaller towns move in and things like universities get created
We have seen over the past 20 years the population of SE Queensland grow mainly due to people from Melbourne and Sydney moving up for affordable housing.
In the past few years we have seen Perth growing due to the mining boom and the northern NSW coast grow due to sea-changes.
In 10 years somewhere like Coffs Harbour or Port Macquarie might be large enough to support an NRL team - then what happens?
Do we tell people here that if they want to watch top level RL they can drive 3 hours to support their "local" team in Newcastle or the Gold Coast - or do we keep adding teams till we have 30 teams in the NRL.
Or do we put a new team in and kick out an existing team (losing a few thousand RL fans in the process)

My solution to this would be to for new teams to make their way up through lower divisions to get to the NRL. That way every area that supports rugby league could have a team - and if the population is big enough and supports the team well - then they can get into the NRL.

 

[Butters]

Why not have a NRL team based in one of the country NSW "cities" like Dubbo, but have it tour the NSW country hosting its home games in another country "city" every other home game.

 

[no name]

Why not have a NRL team based in one of the country NSW "cities" like Dubbo, but have it tour the NSW country hosting its home games in another country "city" every other home game.

That'll attract heaps of players:roll:

 

[cookie40]

news will never kick out a team unless the team can no longer support itself, it learnt from what happened with souths

rugby league has been expanding for 99 years

What a crook of crap, take the Gold Coast it was a viable entity with over a mill in the bank but News kicked them out so that the Broncos could have a monopoly for as long as they did. News are only interested in what's good for News not the game we all love.