Why expand?

[KillKillerKill]

There seems to be a keen interest in expansion among certain sectors of the rugby league community and as someone who has no real passion for expansion I simply don't see it as a must.

I for one enjoy watching the current NRL competition and don't really see how expansion would enhance my enjoyment of the game at all. This competiton, in one form or another, has been running for around 100 years, so I would say that it has been pretty successful, even though it may have had certain ups and downs.

Also, I believe that this view represents a fair slice of the rugby league community, so why are some people so fanatical about expansion? Convince me.

I will post a poll after some discussion has occured to see what other users think.

 

[nqboy]

We expand to grow the game, to open new markets and to bring the word to the downtrodden of other lands who have yet to witness the glory that is Rugby League.

 

[KillKillerKill]

We expand to grow the game, to open new markets and to bring the word to the downtrodden of other lands who have yet to witness the glory that is Rugby League.

What benefits are there in growing the game?

What will these new markets bring and why do we need this?

TBQH, it doesn't really worry me if these downtrodden lands that you speak of aren't exposed to Rugby League to a greater level, I am sure many know it already exists.

 

[Angry_eel]

exapnsion = more juniors, more sponsors, more support, more sponsorships


You could use the same argument 20 years ago. Why was canberra raiders created? it was right in the middle of NSW it had to be a rugby league area. Putting a team there just grew the support.

 

[nqboy]

Growing the game increases the games revenues allowing more participants and greater exposure.

A new market like Perth increases the value of sponsorships and attracts new sponsors because their ads go out to a greater number of potential buyers.

 

[dimitri]

of course

Expansion---> More Teams> More Junior and Senior Participants>More Fans> More Members> Higher Attendances> More Members> More Sponsorship> Better National and International Coverage> Better World Cups!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lockyer4President!]

What benefits are there in growing the game?.

How on earth do you think rugby league got to Australia in the first place?

 

[Dave Q]

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.

 

[sydraider]

Im all for an international or club game to be held in the USA every year.

One game every ten years dont cut it, even if we have an Australian A team or up and coming kangaroos team sent over to take on the tomahawks on a yearly basis, even have a cup named after it. I still think that is good promotion/exposure.

Thank f**k for Rusty/PHAC for thinking outside the square.

 

[OVP]

There seems to be a keen interest in expansion among certain sectors of the rugby league community and as someone who has no real passion for expansion I simply don't see it as a must.

I for one enjoy watching the current NRL competition and don't really see how expansion would enhance my enjoyment of the game at all. This competiton, in one form or another, has been running for around 100 years, so I would say that it has been pretty successful, even though it may have had certain ups and downs.

Also, I believe that this view represents a fair slice of the rugby league community, so why are some people so fanatical about expansion? Convince me.

I will post a poll after some discussion has occured to see what other users think.

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.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Expansion these days doesn't necessarily mean losing more teams, the cleanup after the SL War took care of the need for that.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

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.

No someone doesn't have to lsoe their team. Why equate losing a club with gaining one? We didn't lose a club this year when the Titans came in and we didn't lose clubs in 1995 when the four news ones entered. That wouldn't really be expansion anyway. Expansion is about growth. Growth is good so therefore expansion is good. Those who oppose expansion are narrow minded and selfish and base their ideas on a romantic view of the past that is probably not even justified, never mind realistic. The opposite of expansion is contraction and that's what we get if we don't make the effort to expand.

 

[OVP]

No someone doesn't have to lsoe their team. Why equate losing a club with gaining one? We didn't lose a club this year when the Titans came in and we didn't lose clubs in 1995 when the four news ones entered. That wouldn't really be expansion anyway. Expansion is about growth. Growth is good so therefore expansion is good. Those who oppose expansion are narrow minded and selfish and base their ideas on a romantic view of the past that is probably not even justified, never mind realistic. The opposite of expansion is contraction and that's what we get if we don't make the effort to expand.

Thats fair enough, but News still controls our game. They DONT WANT the expansion you are talking about. With them in charge, someone has to go. That is the policy, whether you like it or not.

 

[McCrud]

I love Rugby League so much I want it to die.

 

[Charlie124]

we should have less teams, 15 less.

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

 

[bazza]

Also, I believe that this view represents a fair slice of the rugby league community, so why are some people so fanatical about expansion? Convince me.

I guess expansion is beficial to people who support rugby league but don't have a team in their area to support.
I am sure that the people in North Queensland and the Gold Coast were pretty keen on expansion

In 100 years the places where people have lived has changed. The population of Sydney in 1908 was probably less than 1 million and confined to a 30km radius of the CBD.

In the year 2007 the population of Sydney is over 4 million with people 100km from the CBD. Why would people born and bred in Penrith or Campbelltown support a team based in Glebe.

This population growth has also happened in areas like Caberra (didn't exist in 1908), Newcastle, Brisbane and North Queensland. There has also been changes in transport infrastructure e.g. motorways, common usage of motor cars that means travel time between large cities has fallen - so there is no longer this restriction to teams from Newcastle, Canberra and Queensland playing against Sydney based teams.

Are you saying that top level rugby league should be limited to inner suburbs of Sydney and that people outside Sydney should settle for watching their best players on football grounds in Sydney while their local competition is full of secon graders?

 

[shaggy]

Thats fair enough, but News still controls our game. They DONT WANT the expansion you are talking about. With them in charge, someone has to go. That is the policy, whether you like it or not.

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

 

[ShadesOfTheSun]

I guess expansion is beficial to people who support rugby league but don't have a team in their area to support.
I am sure that the people in North Queensland and the Gold Coast were pretty keen on expansion

In 100 years the places where people have lived has changed. The population of Sydney in 1908 was probably less than 1 million and confined to a 30km radius of the CBD.

In the year 2007 the population of Sydney is over 4 million with people 100km from the CBD. Why would people born and bred in Penrith or Campbelltown support a team based in Glebe.

This population growth has also happened in areas like Caberra (didn't exist in 1908), Newcastle, Brisbane and North Queensland. There has also been changes in transport infrastructure e.g. motorways, common usage of motor cars that means travel time between large cities has fallen - so there is no longer this restriction to teams from Newcastle, Canberra and Queensland playing against Sydney based teams.

Are you saying that top level rugby league should be limited to inner suburbs of Sydney and that people outside Sydney should settle for watching their best players on football grounds in Sydney while their local competition is full of secon graders?

What he's saying, as I understand it, is that he's satisfied with the way things are now, not how they were in 1908. Detailing why RL needed to expand in the past doesn't reflect why it should expand now; we are no longer talking so much about adding teams so as to give disconnected areas a team to support in the top flight competition, but adding teams to try and persuade areas that have no interest in League to support our game.

Expanding into Brisbane, Newcastle, etc made sense because these were areas which already had running League competitions, and an avid interest in the game. It was less expansion and more unification - bringing the various disassociated branches of 'League in Australia' together. The same cannot be said about the expansion being pushed for now.

 

[bazza]

Expanding into Brisbane, Newcastle, etc made sense because these were areas which already had running League competitions, and an avid interest in the game. It was less expansion and more unification - bringing the various disassociated branches of 'League in Australia' together. The same cannot be said about the expansion being pushed for now.

What expansion is being pushed now?

Central Coast - They have plenty of people that live there that play and watch rugby league, the have a good stadium and it is a growing area
Wellington - Plenty of people that live in the area that play and watch rugby league with the game being played there for as long as Sydney probably.
Perth - They have a history of playing rugby league since the 1960s at least. There are people in Perth who play and watch rugby league and Perth is a growing area - and likely to grow with expats from the east coast and NZ who watch and play rugby league. They are taking small steps at the moment by entering a team in the JBC to see what level of interest there is
More Brisbane teams - plenty of people in Brisbane play and watch rugby league that do not particular like the Broncos. People in Sydney (4 million) have a choice of 9 teams while people in Brisbane (1.8 million) only have 1.

So there are plenty of people out there who play and watch rugby league that have limited access to top class matches.

Though I agree that just making up teams to get a more national spread when there is no demand from the area is both prone to failure and disenfrachises current fans.
I am happy for new teams to be added like the Gold Coast who spent at least 5 years staging RL events and getting the people of the area to attend and show that they would support a team

 

[JoeD]

If you're not growing you're dying