Would a 2nd Melbourne team add value to the NRL?

[The Daddy3]

Last year there were rumours of a bid from a 2nd Melbourne team. Was there any substance to it?

Would there be any value in another Melbourne team covering Ballarat and Geeling areas?

 

[T to the T]

No. Would cannibalise the Storm, would be a money pit and make GWS look a competent expansion.

No need to double up in non-RL native markets like the fumblers do to expand the league. Plenty other markets which offer value which haven't been looked at yet (Adelaide, Chch, Wellington, Ipswich, etc).

 

[Jonty]

Last year there were rumours of a bid from a 2nd Melbourne team. Was there any substance to it?

Would there be any value in another Melbourne team covering Ballarat and Geeling areas?

They’d add more value than the sharks and currently the titans and dragons but there’s plenty of other expansion markets to explore before Melbourne 2.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I'd agree, in fumbler states I don't think we should ever mistake of doubling up on the teams.

Let the Storm, Bears and Rams just grow into big clubs in those cities and attract everyone interested in the game there.

No reason over time (decades) we can't be averaging 30k plus in all three markets.

 

[Gobsmacked]

Last year there were rumours of a bid from a 2nd Melbourne team. Was there any substance to it?

Would there be any value in another Melbourne team covering Ballarat and Geeling areas?

When I was in Melbourne I met the odd Storm supporter and to my surprise that was the only complaint of one of them, that they didn't have a rival.
The city is massive , extremely diverse and growing rapidly consistently with incredible infrastructure. There would be a large cohort of people that missed the boat with the Storm or never really got on board that a new franchise would attract.
It would be a massive bonus for the Storm and add a rivalry game that would be distinctively Melbourne!
I think it would be viable but against other prospects...well down stream of others.

Hopefully we can seed some resentment between them and Perth for a rivalry outside of the heartland.

 

[Canard]

When I was in Melbourne I met the odd Storm supporter and to my surprise that was the only complaint of one of them, that they didn't have a rival.

Certainly not enough reason to launch a new team.

And Storm fans consider the rest of the NRL to be their rivals. Despite what LU hive mind believes Storm fans don't believe they are given a free ride by our games administrators

 

[Foreign Legion]

rather bring back the Adelaide Rams... Melbourne V Adelaide Derby

 

[BuffaloRules]

They have had a lot of on field success …but it’s been a hard slog after 25 years to get the Storm to around a 20k average in a city over 5m … there has also been a shortage of NRL level local talent produced … although I noticed they are leading the Jersey Flegg this season so looks like that might be changing …

not saying the effort hasn’t been worth it now though … there is no doubt they are here to stay, when a lot of people 20 years ago were saying otherwise… both inside our sport and most of the others

Maybe around 2060 Melb 2 ..when the population is around 10 million …

 

[Vlad59]

There is no argument for a second Melbourne team right now. Won’t be for years.

 

[newc18]

Eventually Melbourne will be ready for a 2nd team but not right now. Let's get the Storm to the point where they are selling out every single game first.

 

[Vlad59]

Eventually Melbourne will be ready for a 2nd team but not right now. Let's get the Storm to the point where they are selling out every single game first.

Everything is going well there right now. I can’t imagine a good argument for upsetting the apple cart for a few years. All metrics are improving

 

[flippikat]

I'd agree, in fumbler states I don't think we should ever mistake of doubling up on the teams.

Let the Storm, Bears and Rams just grow into big clubs in those cities and attract everyone interested in the game there.

No reason over time (decades) we can't be averaging 30k plus in all three markets.

Once we have Perth in the NRL, we're just an Adelaide team away from matching AFL's reach across the Australian mainland - and actually bettering it, by having a full time Canberra team, plus Newcastle & Townsville and a team partly playing in Wollongong, basically a presence right along the eastern seaboard.

IF (big if) a 2nd Victorian NRL club happens some time in the future, it might be worth making Geelong part of the catchment & hosting games there, as a geographical difference from the Storm.

 

[Vlad59]

Once we have Perth in the NRL, we're just an Adelaide team away from matching AFL's reach across the Australian mainland - and actually bettering it, by having a full time Canberra team, plus Newcastle & Townsville and a team partly playing in Wollongong, basically a presence right along the eastern seaboard.

IF (big if) a 2nd Victorian NRL club happens some time in the future, it might be worth making Geelong part of the catchment & hosting games there, as a geographical difference from the Storm.

2nd side is ten years away at least. The game is building nicely with participation crowds and membership on the rise. You’d be mad to put another team there until that all settles. It’s been a long road to get to this stage.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Once we have Perth in the NRL, we're just an Adelaide team away from matching AFL's reach across the Australian mainland - and actually bettering it, by having a full time Canberra team, plus Newcastle & Townsville and a team partly playing in Wollongong, basically a presence right along the eastern seaboard.

IF (big if) a 2nd Victorian NRL club happens some time in the future, it might be worth making Geelong part of the catchment & hosting games there, as a geographical difference from the Storm.

AFL types love to spruik their footprint as superior and even with Perth and Adelaide they'll shift the goalposts to Tasmania so I don't buy into the propaganda.

The fact is that 7 of the top 10 population centres in Australia are Rugby League dominant, plus we have New Zealand's biggest city as a fairly decent foothold and we are inviting PNG into the comp, a place where RL is a religion.

Our footprint shits all over theirs.

Having said that, Geelong could be a good shout for down the track to not split the Melbourne market.

 

[flippikat]

AFL types love to spruik their footprint as superior and even with Perth and Adelaide they'll shift the goalposts to Tasmania so I don't buy into the propaganda.

The fact is that 7 of the top 10 population centres in Australia are Rugby League dominant, plus we have New Zealand's biggest city as a fairly decent foothold and we are inviting PNG into the comp, a place where RL is a religion.

Our footprint shits all over theirs.

Having said that, Geelong could be a good shout for down the track to not split the Melbourne market.

AFL states just don't have that many mid-tier (200,000 to 1 million population ) cities that NRL states have. There's Geelong, there's Hobart, then that's it.

We've been doing well to have some of those places in NSW/Qld represented in the NRL by inheriting the expansions that the NSWRL & ARL made - Canberra, Illawarra, North Queensland... and in terms of those regional markets we still have potential to go to the NSW Central Coast, Queensland's Sunshine Coast & Central Queensland IF/WHEN population growth there warrants it.. and we'd be welcomed with open arms.

By comparison AFL is darn near tapped-out... after Tasmania their team 20 would likely be Canberra (makes the most sense) - then it's just markets that are either way too small, way too disinterested, or way too likely to cannibalise existing clubs support.

 

[Billythekid]

There is value there. They give the storm a rival, they can cover areas that the storm might not cover and they add a second team to a city that’s going to end up with a 10 million population. They also make it more likely that one of the 3 teams will be going well.

I have a few major problems with this prospect. Firstly there are so many areas ahead of them. Adelaide, NZ2, Ipswich, CC (debatable one). The absolute earliest I could see this team coming in is sometime after 2040. It’s so far away that it’s barely worth discussing the prospect.

Adding onto that there is the question of just how big the NRL wants to get. Can the NRL go past 22 teams? 24 teams? Where is the cutoff?

The last thing is that is that single town teams can be very strong. Look at the broncos, look at the storm, look at the swans. I don’t think there is any harm in just allowing the storm become a super team in Melbourne. I think we need to be cautious forcing a team there ala the giants or GWS.

 

[flippikat]

I have a few major problems with this prospect. Firstly there are so many areas ahead of them. Adelaide, NZ2, Ipswich, CC (debatable one). The absolute earliest I could see this team coming in is sometime after 2040. It’s so far away that it’s barely worth discussing the prospect.

Adding onto that there is the question of just how big the NRL wants to get. Can the NRL go past 22 teams? 24 teams? Where is the cutoff?

Good points, and after 2040 the answer to further expansion in Victoria *could* be a team based in Geelong, if population growth there warrants a look at that.

It'd make a geographical point of difference to the Storm, and the 2nd city vs biggest city rivalry could be something to market on.