Proposing a future NRL expansion model
Roar Rookie By Hanos Stalwarts, 16 Dec 2010 Hanos Stalwarts is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- adelaide rams, Central Coast rugby league, Central Queensland NRL, New Zealand Rugby League, NRL, NRL expansion, Perth NRL, Rugby League, West Australia
Lote Tuqiri scores for the Tigers: NRL Round 20 Manly v Tigers @ Bluetongue Stadium Sun 25th 2010. Digi Image by Grant Trouville © action photographics.
There have been a number of articles and opinions expressed in recent times on the expansion of rugby league and how the code will survive in the future.
With the birth of the Independent Commission imminent, a new television deal on the horizon, more income possibly being derived from the betting turnover model, and expansion on everyone’s lips, I thought this might be an opportunity to share my view with regards to expansion, which can and should include a Strong second tier national competition.
Our current structure, of main rugby league competitions, is as follows:
NRL – 16 teams:
QLD – Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans, North Qld Cowboys.
NSW – Newcastle Knights, Manly Sea-Eagles, Sydney City Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St.George-Illawarra Dragons, Wests Tigers, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Penrith Panthers.
ACT – Canberra Raiders.
VIC – Melbourne Storm.
NZ – New Zealand Warriors.
QLD Cup – 12 teams:
Redcliffe Dolphins, Ipswich Jets, Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles, Central Qld Comets, Wynnum Seagulls, East Brisbane Tigers, Norths Devils, Northern Pride , Souths Logan Magpies, Mackay Cutters, Burleigh Bears and Tweed Heads Seagulls.
NSW Cup – 12 teams:
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs, Balmain Ryde Eastwood Tigers, Newtown Jets, Windsor Wolves, Western Suburbs Magpies, Wentworthville Magpies, Melbourne Storm, Cronulla Sharks, Shellharbour Dragons, Auckland Vulcans, Central Coast Centurions and North Sydney Bears.
NYC – 16 teams.
My bold expansion proposal for 2013 to 2018 is to have an extensively expanded NRL competition, with the focus on adding teams from predominantly heartland areas, that will continue to provide a sustainable future for the game long-term.
Through grassroots development and also providing additional opportunities for heartland regions, to get behind and identify with a new sporting entity, expansion into the proposed regions outlined below will increase the profile of these regions and also the new or established clubs representing those regions.
I am also proposing a strong second tier national competition, the NAL (National Affiliate League), comprising of standalone clubs from existing teams (from the QLD Cup and NSW Cup) and also longer term expansion areas, all affiliating themselves, with NRL clubs to become their feeder club teams and catchment areas.
Following on from the aforementioned setup, the NYC would be disbanded.
I know a lot of people will be thinking the following; how do we fund all of this?
The Qld Cup clubs were recently at loggerheads with their own administration, there will be a lack of depth to support the proposed NRL expansion and NAL competitions, the potential for low crowd attendances in the NAL, the need to substantially upgrade facilities for a second tier competition, and whether the standard of the second tier comp is even worth televising and so on.
The second tier national competition should be a fair dinkum breeding ground for future NRL players, ensuring constant competitiveness for positions, for both, younger players working their way through the grades and also to keep exposure and pressure, on senior players, coming back from injury or who are simply out of form.
The NAL competition may also prevent players from heading overseas, if structured and funded correctly.
Future growth and security should be ensured, with the formation of the Independent Commission, the rumoured $1 billion television deal and the betting turnover model.
The NAL competition will provide further opportunity for more televised games with standalone clubs, and it will also enhance the current feeder club system, providing designated catchment areas for NRL clubs, allowing for a more structured pathway for aspiring players, in specific geographic regions, especially in terms of proximity.
For all this to be achieved (establishing the NAL competition and expanding the NRL, as a whole) and to ensure long-term viability, certain rivalries, egos and self-interest agendas from existing clubs will all need to be put aside, for the greater good of the game going forward.
The proposed new NRL clubs outlined below all have substantial growing population bases to support them, as well as numerous corporate opportunities (with the ability to attract new national and regional sponsors).
Also, in expanding the NRL competition and setting up the NAL competition, some existing clubs will need a new identity, so as not to conflict with NRL clubs
The two competitions I am proposing are a 22-team NRL competition and a 22-team NAL competition, which would look as follows (NRL team first, then with their respective feeder clubs, in the NAL comp):
Current Qld NRL teams – Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans & North Qld Cowboys.
QLD NRL teams and NAL feeder clubs under the new expansion model:
NRL team – Brisbane Broncos.
NAL feeder club – East Brisbane Bengals (formerly the East Brisbane Tigers Qld Cup side, name changed due to West Sydney Tigers in NRL).
NRL team – Gold Coast Titans.
NAL feeder club – Burleigh Barbarians (formerly Burleigh Bears Qld Cup side, name changed due to North Sydney Bears in NAL).
NRL team – North Qld Cowboys.
NAL feeder club – Far Northern Qld Pride (formerly Northern Pride, Qld Cup side).
NRL team – Moreton Bay Dolphins (new franchise for the NRL, born out of the Redcliffe Dolphins Qld Cup side).
NAL feeder club – North Brisbane Devils (current Qld Cup side).
NRL team – Central Qld Capras (new NRL franchise, born out of the Central Qld Comets Qld Cup side).
NAL feeder club – Mackay Cutters (current Qld Cup team).
NRL team – Sunshine Coast Sharks (new NRL franchise, Cronulla Sharks to relocate/give up current NRL licence to the Sunshine Coast).
NAL feeder club – Cronulla Schoolies (Current NSW Cup side, with a slight name change due to Sunshine Coast NRL side).
NRL team – Ipswich Brothers (new franchise born out of the Ipswich Jets Qld Cup side, name changed due to Newtown Jets in NAL).
NAL feeder club – Toowoomba Rangers (new NAL team).
Queensland will have seven NRL sides.
Queensland is currently the rugby league capital of the world, in terms of both performance on the field and also crowd attendances, and this must be recognised, rewarded and strategically used as base for future growth.
Current NSW NRL teams – Newcastle Knights, Manly Sea-Eagles, Sydney City Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St.George-Illawarra Dragons, Wests Tigers, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Cronulla Sharks, Parramatta Eels and Penrith Panthers.
NSW NRL teams and NAL feeder clubs under new expansion model:
NRL team – Newcastle Knights.
NAL feeder club – Northern Rivers Kingfishers (formerly the Tweed Heads Seagulls Qld Cup side, name changed due to Wynnum Seagulls in NAL).
NRL team – Manly Sea Eagles.
NAL feeder club – Wynnum Seagulls (Current Qld Cup side and Wynnum a strong catchment area that Manly lacks).
NRL team – Sydney City Roosters.
NAL feeder club – Eastwood Ryde Ravens (formerly Balmain Ryde Tigers, name changed due to formation of New NAL feeder club).
NRL team – South Sydney Rabbitohs.
NAL feeder club – Newtown Jets (current NSW Cup side).
NRL team – St.George-Illawarra Dragons.
NAL feeder club – Shellharbour Serpents (current NSW Cup side, with a name changed due to St.George–Illawarra in NRL).
NRL team – West Sydney Tigers.
NAL feeder club – Campbelltown Magpies (formerly Western Suburbs Magpies in NSW Cup).
NRL team – Canterbury Bulldogs.
NAL feeder club – Bankstown Pit Bulls (formerly Canterbury Bankstown in NSW Cup, slight name change, so as not to conflict with Canterbury NRL franchise).
NRL team – Parramatta Eels.
NAL feeder club – Wentworthville Wedge Tails (formerly Wentworthville Magpies NSW Cup side, name changed due to Campbelltown Magpies in NAL comp).
NRL team – Penrith Panthers.
NAL feeder club – Windsor Wolves (current NSW Cup side).
NRL team – Central Coast-Gosford Grizzlies (New franchise for NRL, born out of the Central Coast Centurions, NSW Cup team).
NAL feeder club – North Sydney Bears (current NSW Cup side).
Balance of NRL teams and NAL feeder clubs under new expansion model:
NRL team – Canberra Raiders.
NAL feeder club – Port Moresby Pirates (new franchise team for NAL comp, with view to NRL inclusion at later date, playing out of Darwin and Port Moresby).
NRL team – Melbourne Storm.
NAL feeder club – Adelaide Rams (new NAL franchise, with view to inclusion in the NRL at later date).
NRL team – Perth Piranhas (new NRL franchise).
NAL feeder club – Logan City Scorpions (formerly Souths Logan Magpies Qld Cup side, name changed due to Campbelltown Magpies in NAL, Logan is a great catchment area to help Perth succeed).
NRL team – North Island NZ Warriors (slight name change for NRL comp).
NAL feeder club – Auckland Vulcans (current NSW Cup side).
NRL team – Wellington Capitals (new NRL franchise).
NAL feeder club – Christchurch Monarchs (new NAL franchise, with view to inclusion in the NRL at later date).
(Changing club monikers/names and putting aside existing rivalries will be difficult, and the above names are for example purposes – we are looking at the bigger picture.)
The ultimate aim for expanding the NRL and developing the NAL is to saturate heartland areas and the market as a whole, and provide more opportunities for future areas of potential expansion.
The NRL competition will ultimately be able to sustain 24 to 26 teams, representing two to four countries.
Other opportunities that may present themselves, with this new look format, could include a lucrative Challenge Cup style knockout pre-season competition between NRL and NAL sides (trials could have some meaning), a new 12-team finals format (more games), extra representative games (NZ Origin and combined states teams), however we can assess that at a later date, for now, setting up the expansion parameters will do.
As a result of the aforementioned outline, the end result would initially see a 22-team NRL comp and a 22-team NAL feeder club comp (with each NAL team having its own identity).
With this forward thinking opportunity and bold plan for expansion, rugby league can stay ahead of the competition from rival codes, especially in heartland areas and increase the profile of new NRL expansion regions and enable second tier clubs to prosper, with higher profiles and providing a truly strong feeder club system.
Taking a longer term view, it is hoped that junior rugby league players will aspire to play for their regional NAL club and ultimately an NRL club. Fans could embrace their regional representation and ultimately see and support more games of rugby league.
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December 16th 2010 @ 5:47am
Crosscoder said | December 16th 2010 @ 5:47am | Report comment
You lost me when you had Cronulla in relocation mode,when in fact by 2013 the club may well be more financial than some of the current NRL clubs.
December 16th 2010 @ 7:42am
captain nemo said | December 16th 2010 @ 7:42am | Report comment
Me too crosscoder….looks like the sharks have soughted out their leagues club finally. That was one of the biggest problems with the sharks, running its leagues club. It has never done anything much with its club since Peter Gow (Elle Macpherson’s old man) was thrown out after that inglorious jumper cutting episode upstairs in the chinese restuarant. Say what you want about him as a person, but the bloke was a good businessman and new how to run the club. Finanally they have Gymea Tradies club running the show for them, they will turn it into gold. I was at the sharkies last Sunday, couldn’t move in the joint, hasn’t been like that in a while and yes, they have the famous chinese restuarant back upstairs. Sharks aren’t dead yet!!!
December 16th 2010 @ 6:36am
mick h said | December 16th 2010 @ 6:36am | Report comment
name changes won’t work eg tweed head seagulls ,burleigh bears. tradition is a key componant in any sporting organisation
the value of that diminishes through name changes and relocation.i believe the nrl should become a 20 to 22 team competition over time.
1. cc bears / perth 2013
2. wellington / 2nd brisbane 2016
3. central qld / port moresby 2019
before we strenghen the qld / nsw cups we need to resource the crl adequately through more junior development. once we build those regions up we can look at the second teir competitions.
December 16th 2010 @ 7:06am
Hunter said | December 16th 2010 @ 7:06am | Report comment
Alot of the ‘NAL’ teams listed have there own proud heritage and making them all change their names won’t fly. Plus it would erode their commercial marketability making them even less profitable. The ARU lost nearly $5 million trying this concept through the ARC and the ARC was only a 8 team comp running over 10 weeks.
Crunching some simple numbers, if an 8 team 10 week comp (with a debatably more marketable nature) lost $5 million, a 22 team, 26 round NAL would stand to run at about a $40-50 loss per season.
This would be unattainable and the cost would not jusitfy the benefits.
December 16th 2010 @ 7:48am
Jammy said | December 16th 2010 @ 7:48am | Report comment
New Competitions and expansion plans look great on paper. The NRL has grown organically and is a combination of clubs with decades long history or short term expansion, each with their own personalities. Expansion works only because demand makes it neccessary, not because it looks good on a map.
The QLD cup is fine as it is, the NSW version needs fine tuning, that is all – a national 2nd tier would look glossy but have no real substance.
And getting rid of the NYC? – it has its faults but its a work in progress and a great way for our game and the kids who play in it to get exposure.
But, still a good concept and one which helps add to the debate on where the future of the great game may head.
December 16th 2010 @ 8:09am
Fivehole said | December 16th 2010 @ 8:09am | Report comment
I like some of the new names (Serpents, Grizzlies etc) but everyone is right, name changes won’t work for established teams. Also think there are too many QLD sides, but at present there are too many Sydney teams, so may be a better balance
December 16th 2010 @ 10:24am
Jason said | December 16th 2010 @ 10:24am | Report comment
Why isn’t there any analysis of junior playing numbers and the discrepancy of those areas that don’t have an NRL club within their catchment area to support? Wouldn’t it make sense to target those areas first, or is it a case of taking them for granted and exporting the code into other television markets to drum up the media deal?
I can’t see a viable Wellington club in the distant future. Not while the Warriors still only have an average crowd of ~15000. It would also look decidedly idiotic to have to rename them the Auckland Warriors again. Adding Wellington would mean they couldn’t keep New Zealand in the name.
I also can’t see a healthy partnership between Canterbury and Wellington. It’s just not how New Zealand works. They’re on different islands to begin with.
December 17th 2010 @ 12:21am
bilbo said | December 17th 2010 @ 12:21am | Report comment
The amount of junior kiwis coming into the NRL now is phenomenal -and many are from traditionally non-league backgrounds.
The advantage a second NZ team has over, say, perth, is that there is already a large amount of athletes there who could easily make the switch to RL.
And the Warriors crowd averages are very variable – they are one of only a handful of teams who can easily pull big crowds when they are successful – but their fans are very much fair whether.
Two NZ derbies each year would be wonderful for the code – the only concern is the financial backing necessary to maintain such a team, especially when NZ economy is not great. But if we get a good new TV deal….
December 22nd 2010 @ 1:04pm
Sam H said | December 22nd 2010 @ 1:04pm | Report comment
There are some issues with a Wellington bid but as bilbo says there are some big positives too – a sucessful team there would be a major boost for the NRL and for the international game.
We did an interview with Wellington RL CEO Jason Hemson here on the prospects for a Wellington / Southern NZ NRL bid: http://www.footyfootyfooty.com/2010/11/interview-with-wellington-rl-ceo-jason.html
December 16th 2010 @ 10:24am
Boydy said | December 16th 2010 @ 10:24am | Report comment
Serpents, Grizzlies?????? C’mon Fivehole, we’re not in the states. Next you’ll be wanting the Green Bay Packers and the 49enrs. Let’s keep away from the Yanky smaltz and stick with what us Aussies are used to. Fair dinkum, with all the new names proposed (Piranhas for God’s sake!), there was no mention of names more fitting to Australia such as the Kangaroos or Wombats for instance. C’mon people, let’s keep it real.
December 16th 2010 @ 1:06pm
Col the Bear said | December 16th 2010 @ 1:06pm | Report comment
Phew.. too much to take in..
I can let you know now.. the North sydney Bears will still be playing out of NSO in the U/16s, U/18s and NSW cup (feeding into the CC Bears)
I don’t think the centurians name will be around for the long duration newcastle aren’t playing any games at bluetongue next season,I think that if mr tinkler takes over why wouldn’t he want to consolidate everything onto Newcastle, including their own NSW cup side, centurians have just been a bandaid soloution.In 2013 the CC Bears will be in the NRL and Toyota cup, Centurians name has been mooted to be changed to the CC Cubs ….and continue to field the U/16s and the U/18s rep sides.which the CCBears have said they pick up the tab for that…
Brett can you remove the Manly playing out of the Bear den.. I’m sure it’s a stir up ;right
December 16th 2010 @ 1:42pm
Stu said | December 16th 2010 @ 1:42pm | Report comment
No more teams in NSW! Everyone knows that NSW is not the home of league anymore. If the bears come in, a current club has to go. Relegate them back to the NSW cup.
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December 16th 2010 @ 2:09pm
Col the Bear said | December 16th 2010 @ 2:09pm | Report comment
sorry stu.. but the Bears will be there.. and so they should have been for the past 10 years.. Bears and Reds will be first in as they are the 2 that are ready to go now.. Bears have already been put on standby twice now.. first if Sharkies fell over and then if storm fell over..the NRL know that the Bears are ready to go, and we are.. C qld have already stated publicly they won’t be ready until at least the 2014 season..hey Qld got the last team in expansion.. time to share it round..