The streets of the Gold Coast are paved with gold
Roar Pro
By jimbo, 25 May 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
Following on from the Gold Coast Titans Rugby League franchise, the Gold Coast United football A-League team starting in a couple of months and the AFL’s plans to start up another AFL team on the Gold Coast in 2011, comes the news that the next Super 15 Rugby team should come from the Gold Coast.
Pardon me, but are we missing something?
Are the Gold Coast streets paved with gold and is the Gold Coast the disposable income capital of the world?
Terry Jackman, a good friend of ARU supremo John O’Neill argues that the Gold Coast is the only legitimate challenger to Melbourne’s hopes of entering an expanded Super 15 Rugby competition and has demanded the Australian Rugby Union prevent a bidding war by making an immediate choice of the Gold Coast based on “rugby reasons”.
AFL-mad Melbourne, a far bigger sporting market, is the overwhelming favourite for the 15th licence, but Jackman says the Gold Coast, which has one powerful Queensland Premier Rugby side plus its own club competition, deserved to get the nod because it was a rugby heartland.
Rugby “heartland”?
Heartland is becoming a very quickly over-abused term for all codes lately. Heartland for the schoolies maybe, but a rugby heartland?
With time running out for the Coast to put forward a bid to rival Melbourne, which narrowly lost out to the Western Force in 2005, Jackman said the national body needed to make an immediate decision for “the good of the code”.
“I sympathise with the ARU, it’s not an easy decision,” said the former ARU director.
“But I don’t think you can get into a bidding race, I think the ARU has to decide which way to go for the good of the game.
“We’re the third biggest city in rugby heartland and you’ve got to be careful we don’t lose it to the other three codes with AFL, NRL and A-League teams all set up here by 2011.
“If we don’t get a Super 15 side it will be hard to stop the kids going elsewhere.”
It’s already prompted concerns from Queensland coach Phil Mooney who doesn’t believe Australia has the depth of playing talent to host five sides. Mooney’s Reds were the hardest hit by the establishment of the Western Force, which kicked off in 2006, and have spent six straight seasons in the bottom three of the competition.
O’Neill is wary of the same damage to the existing teams and is supporting the idea of a “hybrid” team including a healthy amount of Pacific Islanders and foreign-based Australians to combine with local players.
Both the Gold Coast and Melbourne are planning on signing more than half their squad from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa and the Gold Coast is the nearest destination for the pacific islanders.
Victorian Rugby Union president Gary Gray wants none of the “hybrid” talk – it’s a “Victorian” rugby team.
However, like Perth, they just don’t have enough of their own local talent and have to import most of their players.
But the Gold Coast as the Super 15 Rugby franchise?
How could the Gold Coast possibly successfully support a top-flight team from all four major football codes plus all the other sports and the motor racing circus every year?
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby Union articles
- Will Super Rugby crowds continue their slide? (201)
- Will South African rugby force a Super 21 by 2018? (173)
- The real story of how John O’Neill turned Manchester City down (70)
- Dan Parks and the unsolved questions of expat rugby (65)
- Australian teams at Super disadvantage (58)
- Pocock set to be named new Force skipper (56)
- Can the ‘Tahs win the battle after losing the Waugh? (51)
- France turns to Parra and Trinh-Duc
- Rebels look to lift for formidable Blues in rugby trial
- Mr Fix-It Lucas wants to nail down No.10
- Force roost loses ‘Mother Hen’ Sharpe
- Victory beat Mariners with Kewell winner
- Waratahs romp to 83-5 trial win over Samoa A
- Quade Cooper’s return to the Reds goes up a gear
- Wales show Southern Hemisphere how to play running rugby (29)
- What opening matches of Six Nations taught us (19)
- Will Super Rugby crowds continue their slide? (201)
- Clinical Chiefs cost rusty Rebels in Corio (9)
- Six Nations shows rugby is a parochial game at heart (5)
- Goose’s Super Rugby up-and-comer XV for 2012 (29)
- What does the future hold for the Six Nations (50)
Brett McKay said | May 25th 2009 @ 8:45am | Report comment
interesting topic Jimbo
Kurt said | May 25th 2009 @ 10:11am | Report comment
I’m with you on this one Jimbo, it seems there is a pretty strong bandwagon effect in relation to football code expansion and the GC. The local city council claims the area will have a population of 900,000 by 2030, which is a reasonable size but still no more than approx. 75% of Adelaide’s current population. Sure the GC has more visitors that Adelaide (where doesn’t?) but this hardly seems a solid base to build sustainable support for four professional sporting teams.
Pippinu said | May 25th 2009 @ 10:28am | Report comment
Could the ARU be so foolish, so short sighted, so lacking in vision, that it would ignore Melbourne again?
Using some choice terms from our beloved local game, it would be the equivalent of not running straight at the ball, of taking your eyes off the ball, of ducking the head, of failing to back into the oncoming pack, of not putting your head over the ball.
It would be the soft option in the extreme.
Towser said | May 25th 2009 @ 10:47am | Report comment
Theres enough balls on the Gold Coast with Keno. Last time I was at Jupiters,the balls dropped & so did the money in my wallet.
Funny place the Gold coast every time I go there looking for ‘The Streets paved with Gold” I end up like “The Emperor with no clothes”.
Michael C said | May 25th 2009 @ 10:52am | Report comment
I thought Super 14/15 whatever, was using state based teams as that step up between the ‘domestic’ comp. WOuldn’t it be against the grain to have 2 QLD sides? Or, for the sake of this, do we consider Gold Coast as separate as the ACT is to NSW?
(so, the QLD Reds become the Brissie Reds? – or, can they still be QLD Reds and identify with all of QLD OTHER than the Gold Coast?)
It just seems to me the issue of (the failure of the ARC and the lack of ) a decent domestic structure is getting in the way of the 15th licence.
sheek said | May 25th 2009 @ 11:59am | Report comment
Good discussion point, & who knows, the ARU might even be happy to flame the fires of discussion. But if in reality the Gold Coast get the 5th Aussie franchise license, it would be one of the dumbest decisions ever made by ARU/SANZAR.
Not that they’re incapable of such gross stupidity.
Melbourne, Victoria must be the home of the 5th Aussie franchise license. Lock it in, Eddie!
Justin said | May 25th 2009 @ 12:05pm | Report comment
I think the GC could, and I stress could be all hype. They havent even got a bid team or proposal yet. At the moment its all paper talk with nothing backing it up. Can we please have the consortium interested actually raise their hands.
Jackman is speaking on behalf of who? I think himself, as a rugby lover, living on the GC.
sheek said | May 25th 2009 @ 12:19pm | Report comment
And does anyone think the QRU will sit back & let it happen? The Reds suffered enough when the WA Force came into being. Giving the license to GC would kill off the Reds. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
No, I don’t think so. Victoria will get the gig.
macavity said | May 25th 2009 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
LOL@ Rugby “heartland”
Rugby heartland in Oz is measured in private schools and postcodes, not cities.
Brett McKay said | May 25th 2009 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
spot on Sheek, and that’s why the QRU President/Chairman (it was one of them) has already thrown Qld’s support behind Victoria. Mind you Mooney’s said Aust can’t support a fifth team, so perhaps a common song sheet needs to be found at Ballymore…