Memo NRL: time for a Western Sydney Cup
Roar Pro By Sam H, 12 Jul 2010 Sam H is a Roar Pro
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- Canterbury Bulldogs, Greater Western Sydney, NRL, Parramatta Eels, Penrith Panthers, Rugby League, western Sydney, Wests Tigers
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Western Sydney has become the new blank canvas for sports administrators keen to project their visions of dominance of the 21st century Australian football scene.
To their eyes Western Sydney has it all. A huge, young, diverse population. Stadia to suit tastes large, small, round and rectangular. And enough indications of a collective consciousness to hint that a Western Sydney-wide sporting franchise could unify a huge and disparate region behind a single sporting identity.
It sure sounds good. A seething mass of sports-mad humanity – one of the best and biggest nurseries for junior talent in the country, ripe for the picking.
Mr Demetriou must have been licking his lips when he saw the population growth charts in some boardroom meeting in the mid-2000s – presumably next to the writing on the wall suggesting that a bigger TV contract next time around would require some big ideas, and big risks.
All those little Israels, just waiting for the right contract – or better yet, a well-paid Pied Piper.
The NRL must look on the AFL’s well-financed, brazen march into the traditional Sydney rugby league ‘heartland’ with a mixture of utter bemusement and simmering rage.
Of course, rugby league does have some major advantages and key assets out west.
Primary amongst these are the four huge, proud Sydney clubs which have forged powerful individual identities within the cities massive westward sprawl. Rugby league, from its inner-city roots, has been marching westward with Sydney itself since the very inception of the game.
Today, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (est 1935), Parramtatta Eels (1947), Penrith Panthers (1967) and Wests Tigers (formed in 2000 by the merger of two of the original 1908 inner-western Sydney clubs, Balmain and Western Suburbs) boast some of the biggest crowds, membership numbers and junior nurseries in rugby league.
An obvious response to the AFL’s incursion into the west is to provide a collective regional outlet for these proud suburban identities.
One simple example which I believe the NRL should look very closely at is the Western Sydney Cup.
It would work a little like this (and you can see an expanded explanation here):
Early every season, the NRL would schedule a three week window for a round robin between the four Western Sydney teams, with the rest of the competition continuing on independently.
The competition points from every game would count towards the NRL ladder.
But they would also count for the competition-within-the-competition – the Western Sydney Cup.
After a home game for each team over the first two weeks, the Cup would culminate in week three with a double header at Telstra Stadium – with Western Sydney bragging rights, prize money and NRL competition points at stake for all teams on the final day of the competition.
In essence this is an obvious extension of NRL’s existing ‘rivalry round’ arrangements. It would be easy to accommodate within the existing NRL season.
It would produce a series of already fiercely-contested local derbies, with an additional prize on the line. And it would be a boon for fans, clubs, sponsors, broadcasters and the NRL alike, as Western Sydney galvanised behind a three week gala of rugby league, with the local boys in the big-time fighting it out at home for what in time could become one of the game’s major prizes.
Imagine the buildup in Western Sydney towards a week three double header where after a few tight games in the early rounds, Parramatta squared off against the Dogs, and Penrith against Wests. Hayne and Hindmarsh against Barba and Idris, Marshall and Farah against Jennings and Coote. A series of promotions, clinics and events could be held in Western Sydney in the days leading up to the game.
And the final result likely unknown until fulltime of the second match of the double header, in front of a packed crowd at Homebush and a huge Friday night or Sunday afternoon TV audience.
This sort of event would be relatively simple to organise and would offer something that rival codes like the AFL – despite the dollars on offer and the rabid expansionary zeal – cannot hope to match.
A bit of wrangling over stadium contracts and member seating and you could even have it up and running next year – perfect timing a season ahead of the arrival of the AFL’s new kids on the block.
A project like this would be a piece of cake for one of the many visionary and accomplished CEOs already plying their trade at the western Sydney clubs. Over the past few weeks we’ve had all sorts of ideas about how rugby league can improve – lengthened seasons, shortened games, stand alone Origin weekends, etc.
The Western Sydney Cup would be one simple, non-radical change that works from within the fabric of the existing competition to deliver a major benefit for all concerned.
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July 12th 2010 @ 7:28pm
Harry said | July 12th 2010 @ 7:28pm | Report comment
Go go go go oikee go you good thing go for gold……
At least you admit the faults of league and how league struggles
July 12th 2010 @ 10:21pm
Karlos said | July 12th 2010 @ 10:21pm | Report comment
Yes oikee, I have been wondering about the crowds at AFL matches myself recently. I know they say the stadiums are huge and 50,000 looks like 30,000 for that reason, but they seem to be getting smaller. Considering the AFL boost everything else (Auskick figures added) about their game I can see no reason a little number fiddling wouldn’t be happening with crowds. The only thing they cant boost is tv crowds and they are going down, down , down.
I have mentioned also the fact that Rugby League and Soccer are pretty friendly. They know who is boss and why. We know they have great junior numbers and they know most of their kids want to play RL but are not allowed by overprotective parents. I also say bring on the fight AFL, because our game has had to fight since its inception. Whilst AFL had a free run for over 50 years and still couldn’t get over Rugby Union in Sydney or Brisbane, Rugby League was able to do that in less than 5 years and AFL was pushed back to where it came from.
The AFL will never get another shot at Rugby League as easy as has been the case since the Super League fiasco. They know that and that is the reson they have put these two teams together nad resorted to old hat RU tactics of buying a couple RL players to boost their image in the short term.
As for the article, dont like it. That sort of rivallry should be happening at the junior level as a stand alone concept where their season is much shorter, but not with the seniors as part of the NRL. I have watched governments ignore Rugby League’s stadium needs for a long time and suspect I will wait a lot longer.
Anyway, the fight with the AFL is on and we will win. As the big brother of the other 3 codes we will bear the brunt, but the other codes will chip away at you too. I am seeing it in the blogs. After 150 years basking in its own glory with no-one to challenge, analyse or question it, the AFL is like the overindulged teenager thinking the real world will treat him the same. Wake up call coming your way.
July 13th 2010 @ 8:21am
Beaver fever said | July 13th 2010 @ 8:21am | Report comment
Your posts usually start off reasonable and then transcend into the above ,,,, rant…. good grief !!,
July 13th 2010 @ 11:46pm
rob said | July 13th 2010 @ 11:46pm | Report comment
Having actually grown up in the western suburbs i can assure you of the following
Canterbury is not in the western suburbs
Balmain is not in the western suburbs.
No one pretends that wests really exist anymore and for the few that do they are located in the south.
That leaves you with Parra and Penrith
There is no unifying or collective identity for the region. The idea of “western sydney” is an AFL thinktank construct. it is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between market and community. The people of Parramatta have no affinity with the people of Blacktown, Blacktown no connection with Rooty Hill, likewise them with Penrith etc.Ask anyone in the area and they will tell you the west starts 2 train stops past where they are.
I think the idea is a dud. You cant just manufacture a separate identity for these clubs. There is no rationale for a seperate cup for these clubs .
You might as well say lets have a cup for all the clubs blue on their jerseys. It would be no less arbitrary and meaningless
July 14th 2010 @ 8:49am
Sam H said | July 14th 2010 @ 8:49am | Report comment
Rob, the clubs involved, the NRL and the NSWRL’s Western Sydney Academy (http://www.nswrlwsa.com.au/) would disagree with you on that point.
Re Wests, there were 19,000 people pretending they existed at Campbelltown against the Roosters earlier this year, and 14,000 last Friday night against the Titans. If you are going to try and argue that Liverpool/Campbelltown aren’t part of the Western Suburbs you might want to start with a letter to Stephen Humphreys suggesting a name change.
Agree on the lack of a collective ‘western sydney’ identity though. Ultimately I think the Rovers and whatever the AFL team ends up being called will struggle to develop any sort of a following outside of their actual base (although given the popularity of soccer they have a better chance).
The NRL obviously has a distinct advantage with clubs that represent many of the separate communities in the west. Whether or not the cup idea would work on a western sydney basis is an open question. Plenty of other rationales though – for one thing it would lock in an extra round of games between these teams, which draw some of the biggest crowds and biggest TV ratings of the season.
July 14th 2010 @ 10:44am
Marcel said | July 14th 2010 @ 10:44am | Report comment
Geopolitical boundaries are one thing, but the emotional / cultural mapping of sydney follows the train lines.
Parramatta is west, Canterbury is south and Campbeltown is only considered part of sydney by cartographers.
Maybe the idea would work best if clubs celebrated their individual rivalries and histories with one off games. This year at your home game, next year at mine. Name it after some old players.
For some reason it all seems a little forced to me, but I guess all traditions have to start somewhere …youve got me thinking now!
July 14th 2010 @ 12:50pm
Sam H said | July 14th 2010 @ 12:50pm | Report comment
That’s the idea Marcel!
The one-off trophies / cups celebrating individual rivalries are good but I don’t think they have that much pull in and off themslves. How many people get fired up for Souths v Roosters for the Ron Coote Cup, or Newcastle v Wests for whatever cup they play for every year, etc? A multi-team format with more games and a bigger prize could work in a way these one-off games don’t.
The individual matchups / rivalries within a Western Sydney Cup would sell themselves. Over and above that it would be a great focal point for the clubs and the game in promoting their community work, memberships, clinics etc. The four clubs and the NRL working together over a three-week period can achieve much more on that front that they can working individually on an ad-hoc basis over the course of a whole season, IMO.
July 14th 2010 @ 3:10pm
oikee said | July 14th 2010 @ 3:10pm | Report comment
Rivalry round this week-end looks juicy.