How to solve the NRL’s expansion issue
Roar Pro By dlang30, 24 Jan 2012 dlang30 is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Brisbane Bombers, Central Coast Bears, NRL, NRL expansion, NRL Independent Commission, Rugby League
220 Have your say
The NRL has been looking to expansion in attempts to both increase its revenue and make headway on its biggest rival, the AFL, in winning over the Australian public for the dominant share of the country’s winter sporting market.
While I do believe expansion is necessary for the game and does indeed help sell the product of the code more, it must to be handled in a sensible manner and one which will be good for the game in the long run.
Since 2005, six major bids of interest have been put forward with the Central Coast, Wellington, Papua New Guinea, Perth, Central Queensland and most recently a second team in Brisbane.
On top of this, there have also been suggestions that some of the current Sydney based clubs in the league should relocate or simply fold to make this process easier for these potential bids to pass.
In my personal view, I think that any form of relegation-based approach the NRL takes to achieve its goals is nothing short of ludicrous and unfair to supporters who have given decades of support to their clubs, only for them to be cut from the competition or rebranded to make way for a new club.
Such bids as a team in Papua New Guinea or a second team in Brisbane are something which I hope never eventuates in my lifetime of supporting this great game.
Putting a team based in PNG isn’t practical based on the current facilities, getting players to sign to play out of the country and the money that the NRL would have to invest to get such a project up and running.
Having a second team in Brisbane on the other hand is something which I just don’t see as needed or helping the code explore into other markets.
The clubs intended name as the ‘Brisbane Bombers’ just doesn’t bring any flair or imagination at all. Not to mention copying from an already existing club name in the AFL.
The Broncos are a one-city team with a monumental fan base and successful history that the entire city of Brisbane has adored for more than two decades.
It’s not like down here in Sydney where we have that culture from one suburb to the next of having a club in Parramatta, Cronulla, Manly, Belmore, Bondi and the Sydney based derbies every weekend.
You can definitely argue that it will bring a game to Brisbane every weekend and increase the games revenue overall, but that’s only if the city chooses to embrace another club with open arms and I’m just not sure the NRL is truly trying to expand the league if that is the way they go about it.
The Central Coast Bears is easily the most promising candidate in my mind for the next expansion period.
The city of Gosford gets at least half a dozen games a year held at Bluetongue and it is obvious they would like to have their own NRL based club in the league to support.
They have excellent facilities, a well thought out corporate structure, over 7000 current memberships and a strategic target area to grow their support.
Other bids from Central Queensland, Wellington and Perth aren’t what the NRL should be focusing on right now until they can sort out the current financial struggles of the already existing clubs in the league and until after a bid like the Central Coast has been made a reality.
I leave the rest of the debate up to my fellow Roarers to have their say on all the topic of expansion, and who they think deserves a team in the NRL.
Recommend this story.
The Turkey 10
The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.
Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!
Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.
Find out more.
January 24th 2012 @ 9:43am
Australian Rules said | January 24th 2012 @ 9:43am | Report comment
The title: “How to solve the NRL’s expansion issue” couldn’t be more misleading.
This piece offers no genuine insight into the complex issue of expansion, settling instead on poo-pooing a 2nd Brisbane or PNG team, disregarding the other bids, and fluffing up the Central Coast bid.
dlang30 may believe that CC is the way forward, ok.. but it’s a “consolidation” step…not expansion in the true sense of the word. Would a CC team expand revenue, sponsorships, fan base, TV Ratings…maybe a little. But it’s the small play – with the reward mirroring the risk: minimal.
Brisbane should have had a 2nd team years ago. Perth needs one. That’s must be the ultimate goal of this “National” competition.
January 24th 2012 @ 12:42pm
Renegade said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:42pm | Report comment
Couldn’t have put it better myself!
January 24th 2012 @ 9:50am
turbodewd said | January 24th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
I agree PNG isnt ready for a team, not for decades really. I agree Brisbane/SEQ doesnt need another team – 2 there already, and no extra pressure should be placed on the Titans.
Alas Gosford is tiny and a very unwise strategic move because:
* its so close to Sydney – about 45min away.
* population is tiny, maybe 300,000 in whole area, thats okay
* NSW/ACT already has 11 teams – we dont need a 12th!
* the AFL has expanded bravely and boldly into the heart of NRL territory, it would be cowardly to put a team in our own backyard in response. Cowardly!
* Gosford is already NRL heartland, its preaching to the converted to put a team there, they already watch it on TV so it wont expand the TV viewership.
Perth is the only place the NRL should consider – 1.7 million people to convert to the great NRL product which I believe in.
January 24th 2012 @ 10:21am
Chris said | January 24th 2012 @ 10:21am | Report comment
“* the AFL has expanded bravely and boldly into the heart of NRL territory, it would be cowardly to put a team in our own backyard in response. Cowardly!”
Actually the AFL expanded into its heartland first by putting two teams each in Perth and Adelaide. Then they looked at new markets. The NRL should do the same.
January 24th 2012 @ 10:29am
Ian Whitchurch said | January 24th 2012 @ 10:29am | Report comment
Chris,
No, thats not what happened.
The two tough markets were done first with Sydney and then Brisbane, and then the simple heartland markets of Adelaide and Perth.
Note both Sydney and Brisbane needed to be rescued arguably twice each by the rest of the league.
The Western Reds, the Adelaide Rams, Gold Coast Mark one and the South Queensland Crushers were left to die.
January 24th 2012 @ 12:54pm
NF said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
‘Note both Sydney and Brisbane needed to be rescued arguably twice each by the rest of the league.’ Excellent point the NRL admin cut the expanison teams just like that and never gave them a chance to properly grow like the Swans/Lions were able to do. Ruined the possibility of a national picture since.
January 24th 2012 @ 12:17pm
Australian Rules said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
Just to clarify:
The Swans moved to Sydney in 1983.
Brisbane and Perth were introduced in 1987.
Adelaide joined in 1991.
Fremantle in 1995.
Port Adelaide in 1997.
Gold Coast in 2011.
Greater Western Sydney in 2012.
Other markets (without AFL teams):
Tasmania: regular games played there since 2006 – Hawthorn plays 4 home games in Launceston and the Kangaoos will play 2 home games in Hobart per year.
ACT: regular games since 1998 – Kangaroos played at Manuka Oval from 1998 – 2006, Melbourne and Bulldogs played games from 2006-2011 and now the Giants will encapsulate that area.
NT: regular games since 2004 – Port Adelaide & Bulldogs play at Marrara Stadium (in 2012 the NT will host the first NRL game in 21 years)
Cairns: pre-season matches since 2004 and a regular game in 2011.
January 25th 2012 @ 8:10am
Redb said | January 25th 2012 @ 8:10am | Report comment
Swans moved in 1982.
January 25th 2012 @ 9:02am
Australian Rules said | January 25th 2012 @ 9:02am | Report comment
yup, saw that after I posted!
January 29th 2012 @ 10:09am
Dexxter said | January 29th 2012 @ 10:09am | Report comment
Perths population is going over 1.8m this year in the official stats “)
Will be just over 2m by about 2016.
I realise Perth is already a big front runner in expansion, ive read numerous articles coming through NRL and from various NRL personnel, Gallop himself etc. over the past few years. It seems like its going to happen but its just a matter of when, the NRL are so far behind the 8ball compared to AFL in regards to expansion – very slack!
Perth just makes sense – the Western Reds were actually getting some of the best attendances in the league when they were around in the 90′s and that was competing with the eagles who were winning premierships, also the Glory who were doing well and Fremantle Dockers who were a new team also. There is a 20,000 seat rectangular stadium ready to go (way above and beyond what the NRl would see as suitable seeing as many heartland clubs would be lucky to get 15k week in week out) , a population rapidly nearing 2m to tap into, there are already big, big money companies lining up to associate their name to a new team as sponsors and even millionaires putting their hand up to finance them. Whereas AFL teams in Adelaide (Port Power) struggle to find major sponsors in an AFL mad city, that would never be the case in Perth.
Bite, NRL, BITE!
January 24th 2012 @ 10:17am
JohnBGoodington said | January 24th 2012 @ 10:17am | Report comment
RE: Brisbane Bombers….that was clearly just the bid team having a stir, and it worked! It got publicity for their bid. Calling a team the Bombers would be a bit un-PC thsedays anyway…
January 24th 2012 @ 10:43am
Mark said | January 24th 2012 @ 10:43am | Report comment
With all the varied opinions here it makes you think, what is the NRL to do?!?!?!
Maybe some of you guys now know what it’s like to be in charge of League.
I think it should be down sized to a more manageable comp. Then expand. NRL should never have more than 14 teams, same with AFL.
–
Comment left via The Roar’s iPhone app. Download The Roar’s iPhone App in the App Store here.
January 24th 2012 @ 10:47am
THE RFL said | January 24th 2012 @ 10:47am | Report comment
Great article.First things first.The game must rid itself of News Ltd as soon as possible which has done nothing but stunt the growth of the game with it’s lack of vision and/or provide investment opportunities for growth.Next the futures of The Sharks and to a lesser extent The Roosters have to be discussed and sorted before we expand.The Sharks to me in their current form are just a noose around the whole games neck ,and I fear that Gallop and impending I.C.will stop at nothing to save them and waste valueable resources in doing so.If the Sharks want to stay in Sydney then there only option is to me is to be absorbed by the Bulldogs.These two are reasonably close geographically,both sworn enemies of the Dragons who are sandwiched in the middle,Bulldogs play poor drawing teams eg.[Cowboys] at Shark Park instead of ANZ,still a R.L. presence in shire for juniors and local league etc,don’t mess with Bulldogs brand or colours which has untold growth.Sharks fans have had plenty of warning and opportunity to fixand/or help the plight of there team,yet apart from a few die hards that I feel very sorry for the rest are nowhere to be seen.Also this frees up the 16th spot up for The Bears on the Coast.If they want to keep their colours and brand then there only options in my opinion are, wait for it,Darwin of all places or to C.Q..To me Perth should have a completly new entity and should not host any transplanted teams and Central Coast should be reserved for The Bears and The Bears only.Rugby League should forget about Adelaide all togetther.That place is an Up There Cazaly heartland,has 2 teams which are both struggling off the field,and a soccer team which was struggling untill being rescued by the Clipsal bloke.So if this place is struggling with these teams ,then I don’t see how a R.L. team can or could survive,so forget about it.Rugby League needs to think about the Big Picture and that Picture should include Darwin which is about to Boom,which has a more than fair R.L. following.Also with Perth this would make R.l.. a truly national sport and provides a brilliant opportunity to get a foothold and a headstart on the Cazaly brigade to focused and committed on our heartlands.If either the Roosters poor crowds and Membership don’t get past an average of 25000 per year in 5 years time then the Roosters have failed and they should be shifted to the Sunshine Coast/Nth Brisbane.This is another Growth area,a R.L. stronghold which will want a team soon,another team out of Sydney.The Roosters keep their colours , grow their brand and their proud history to new supporters/members.Also Sydney based supporters missing their team will inflate Sydney crowd numbers when the team plays away in N.S.W.
January 24th 2012 @ 11:00am
Patrick Angel said | January 24th 2012 @ 11:00am | Report comment
Mate, it’s a touchy subject, but Cronulla won’t accept the Bulldogs for obvious reasons.
January 24th 2012 @ 11:10am
Ian Whitchurch said | January 24th 2012 @ 11:10am | Report comment
I will never understand the fascination of certain rugby league “supporters” with crippling the code by arguing over which team to kill first.
Didnt you notice all the problems that led to last time ?
January 24th 2012 @ 12:17pm
The Truth Hurts said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
Yep, a bunch of sooky supporters from Sydney who thought their footy clubs were bigger then the game.
If killing off some of these clubs in Sydney will be better for the game in the long term at the expense of some short term pain (ie crying from supporters) then I’m all for it.
And if fans are so bitter and promised not to watch another NRL (looks in the direction of central Coast/Bears supporters) well I’ll say the code would better off wtih out them. If they really do support the code they would take it on the chin and move on to another club, instead of trying to hold on to their faded memories or delusions of grandure.
January 24th 2012 @ 4:00pm
Joe Snow said | January 24th 2012 @ 4:00pm | Report comment
so generations of people who have supported a team thats 100+ years should just say ok, all good let’s forget about this history and tradition and move on.. if Australia get’s invaded tomorrow will your mentality be the same?
January 25th 2012 @ 10:29pm
tiger said | January 25th 2012 @ 10:29pm | Report comment
you merge teams, you lose thousands of supporters to the sport, it simply wont happen. sydney is fine as it is, the whole sydney is too crowded calls is completely overrated. the average crowd for rugby league in sydney is pretty much equal to the average nrl crowd outside of sydney, and of course there is room for improvement. merging, culling or relocating teams cannot just happen for the sake of it. we will expand in the near future, and there will be enough talent and money for 20 teams within the next decade!
January 26th 2012 @ 7:15pm
Queensland's game is rugby league said | January 26th 2012 @ 7:15pm | Report comment
The Truth Hurts,
You know your stuff.
The Broncos gave the BRL the bird, yet it only made rugby league in Brisbane far stronger.
The best thing that could ever happen for rugby league in Sydney is to send its current NRL clubs back to the NSW Cup and introduce 5 super clubs. The whingers who wish to cry and throw a tantrum can go watch Aussie rules for all I care.
January 26th 2012 @ 8:32am
Bob said | January 26th 2012 @ 8:32am | Report comment
What are the obvious reasons Patrick?
January 24th 2012 @ 6:52pm
WTF said | January 24th 2012 @ 6:52pm | Report comment
Sharks absorbed by the bullDOGS…… you lost my interest there, didnt want to read anymore of your dribble.
January 24th 2012 @ 10:52am
Ourimbah Magies said | January 24th 2012 @ 10:52am | Report comment
18 teams is perfect and its not rocket science on how it can be achieved, I would add the Central Coast Bears, Central Qld and move the Sharks to Perth, that way Qld gets another side, a major league stronghold gets the team it deserves and the Sharks financial situation is solved…win, win, win!!!
I agree with Paul on a Souths/Roosters merger and form a sydney side but it will unfortunately never ever happen.
January 24th 2012 @ 12:46pm
Renegade said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:46pm | Report comment
Your right, that’s not rocket science its plain STUPID!
Any plan should not involve a relocation of a team to Perth.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:28pm
Ourimbah Magies said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:28pm | Report comment
And what happens in a few years if Perth can’t sustain its own side, the NRL will have another Melbourne on its hand where it has to prop them up again and again and again.
My sister has lived in Cottesloe and now Scarborough in Perth for over 25 years, she comes from a league background, she works in a company with 400 plus people, she says league talk does not exist on Monday mornings and that you are lucky to hear league talk even around State of Origin time.
She has always said “the day that you see rugby league played on the sacred turf of Subiaco Oval is the day WA is serious about rugby league.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:33pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:33pm | Report comment
Of course it doesn’t exist in the water cooler talk. There is no Perth team, so why would they talk about it. You’re running up against the parochialism there; if we had a team in the mix, then there would be a reason to talk about it.
And all the other rectangle codes hate playing on Subi because of viewing angles from any oval ground.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:41pm
Ourimbah Magies said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:41pm | Report comment
But to deserve a team you must have interest in the majority not from the minority. How did Perths S.G.Ball side go last season, hmmmm a whole state to draw on and still woeful…yep good breeding ground there. Very, very risky I say.
January 24th 2012 @ 2:00pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 24th 2012 @ 2:00pm | Report comment
It was competitive enough. And the junior development is going to have an uphill climb with the Force around until there is a professional pathway in place.
Besides, in this kind of expansion, any increase to the player base is just a bonus. Its the financials, tv deal, sponsorships, etc that are the big benefit. Remember just as there are sponsors over here that would like to have more exposure over east, there are also companies over east that would be more interested in sponsoring teams when they know they’ll get exposure into an additional state.
January 24th 2012 @ 12:46pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:46pm | Report comment
Relocate the Manly Sea Eagles to Perth. Mass confusion ensues between the Eagles and Sea Eagles, people start turning up to the wrong games, no one knows who is talking about what, hysteria reigns, WA eventually secedes from the Commonwealth to form the People’s Mining Republic of Western Australia and puts a requirement for all team names to be unique into the new Constitution.
January 24th 2012 @ 12:52pm
Renegade said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:52pm | Report comment
I’ve posted this in other threads and the first team in should be Perth!!
dlang, your article is ridiculously biased towards the bears bid to the point you pick holes in the brisbane bid and undermine the perth ….you could have been a bit more subtle.
The next expansion phase is supposedly 2015…..if the Central Coast Bears are one of the teams admitted then the league has not taken advantage of it’s current situation.
Perth should be given a license by the IC now for 2015 and strategically i would say 2nd Brisbane (hopefully not called the bombers) would be ahead of Central Coast.
January 24th 2012 @ 12:56pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 24th 2012 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
Some certainty would help the WA Reds out no end in negotiating with the upcoming NIB stadium redevelopment and for laying more concrete groundwork with media relations and sponsorships.
This toing and froing by Gallop is helping no one!
January 24th 2012 @ 1:36pm
Ourimbah Magies said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
NIB Stadium redevelopment ?…they should just turn it into an Olympic Pool after that Souths v Brisbane match, I haven’t seen a ground in such bad condition since the early eighties.
Perth is an AFL state.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:55pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:55pm | Report comment
Mate, that game just had the ill-luck to take place within five minutes of the worst downpour we had had within memory. No ground in WA is designed with that kind of rainfall in mind.
Although I daresay drainage will probably get on the redevelopment agenda at some point in addition to the stand redevelopment. Would dearly love to see someone put a carbon copy of AAMI Park where Subi is now when we demolish the old oval.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:11pm
yewonk said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:11pm | Report comment
bid teams like central coats bears offer nothing really to the nrl sure there is enough talent there to fill first grade teams, but the way your average nrl team is run is deplorable. a bunch of cats could run penrith eagles and eels better. so along comes the bears bid with 7000 members and there 19, 000 capacity stadium and it just does nothing for the league. what needs to happen is the cq bid, reds or orcas need to set a precedent in how to run a club, a benchmark. like , huge member numbers, first class stadium development youth academys marketing partnerships business partnerships community culture. otherwise there is no reason to any more pidgeons.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:31pm
Ourimbah Magies said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
And you admit a Perth side who then get “ALL” of their players from the Eastern seaboard anyway, yeah makes real sense.
January 24th 2012 @ 2:11pm
Renegade said | January 24th 2012 @ 2:11pm | Report comment
It will make ‘cents’ alright….The game needs a team in Perth to grow.
January 25th 2012 @ 10:04pm
Ian Whitchurch said | January 25th 2012 @ 10:04pm | Report comment
It does matter, and has never mattered, where a team gets their players from.
Once they’ve played for you for long enough, they are yours.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:14pm
turbodewd said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
Can I remind people that the Titans are under pressure from the Suns and that throwing in another Brisbane team would not help them one bit.
2 teams for SEQ, i.e for 2.5 million, is enough. The NRL needs new markets. and NO more NSW/ACT teams – 11 is more than enough. Sorry Gosford – WA, Qld, NZ all deserve a team before NSW gets another.
January 24th 2012 @ 1:50pm
Mals said | January 24th 2012 @ 1:50pm | Report comment
How is putting another team in NZ going to help the National footprint? Plus it would just undermine support for the Warriors.
January 24th 2012 @ 7:29pm
Rob9 said | January 24th 2012 @ 7:29pm | Report comment
Agree! The NRL needs to concern itself with making a serious investment in getting the game right here and pushing the game to new areas in Australia before looking at cities across the ditch. That plus the fact that the most likely candidate for expansion is a quarter of the size of Auckland (roughly the size of Canberra and things aint exactly going swimmingly there) and they already have a Super Rugby franchise and A-league team. Not exactly a promising set of factors for setting up shop in the NZ capital. Forget about NZ and international expansion in general, lets get it right at home before we go take on the world.
January 25th 2012 @ 10:34pm
tiger said | January 25th 2012 @ 10:34pm | Report comment
we should be doing what is the best for the sport as a whole rob, not just for the sport in australia. if the best option is to expand into nz and png, which it will be within the next decade or two, then so be it! there is a market for the sport in those locations and they all deserve a team in the nrl eventually along with perth and another brisbane team.
January 25th 2012 @ 11:14pm
Rob9 said | January 25th 2012 @ 11:14pm | Report comment
Id argue that doing what’s best for the sport outside our borders isnt in the NRL’s durastiction. Expansion is a huge investment, regardless of where it occurs. That sort of expense shouldnt come back on the shoulders of Australia’s national league, especially when there is still so much work to be done here in becoming trully national and reinforcing the game in it’s heartlands. That’s where the NRL should be allocating their funds. Regardless of the fact that Wellington and PNG are outside our borders, the reasons ive listed above are reason enough for them not even being on the expansion radar. When we have a strong and trully national game here at home and if the landscapes in Wellington and Pt Morseby have been dramaticalpy changed to suggest they are ready to support a team and the NRL can realistically percieve that they can achieve a return on their investments is when Id be open to expansion outside Australia. I believe there’s no chance of these stars lining up within a decade and id even suggest it would be longer than 2.
January 27th 2012 @ 9:03pm
Jaredsbro said | January 27th 2012 @ 9:03pm | Report comment
I’m not sure if anyone’s made this comment yet but without the Warriors, effectively the NRL’s in the same situation as the AFL (but quantifiably weaker). What would happen if the game’s left to be neglected here…like what was happening for a time while the Maori Tribe Tainui first bought the Warriors? You’d have the potential for a pseudo-continental comp…but years behind the AFL. That’s not taking advantage of one’s competitive edge?
Personally I don’t think the NRL will ever rival the AFL pound for pound cert not if I understand capitalism…you need expansion, just like the AFL wants to…but will always struggle to do so. If the Warriors can work viably, so can true expansion teams over just placing teams where the code was left to sort itself out on its own…Sydney, Brisbane (and arguably Canberra)
January 27th 2012 @ 11:33pm
Rob9 said | January 27th 2012 @ 11:33pm | Report comment
Dont get me wrong, Im all for the Warriors. Ive never once said the Warriors shouldnt have been included back in the mid 90s. A population of over 1 million people in NZs rugby league heartland (not to mention in a developed country unlike Pt Morseby). Wellington’s a different kettle of fish though. Im also very much for expansion outside Sydney and Brisbane. I think both CC and Perth bids are vital for the future but if it had to be one or the other id go West. Further down the track bring on Rockhamton, the Sunshine Coast, Adelaide etc. But for the league to open up the doors to further international expansion the conditions in the new area have to be perfect and for the time being they certainly aint in Wellington or Pt Moresby.
January 28th 2012 @ 6:39pm
Jaredsbro said | January 28th 2012 @ 6:39pm | Report comment
Yeah I wasn’t particularly suggesting a Wellington bid should get it any time soon. What I was saying was that many here seem not to realise that without teams like the Warriors and the Cowboys for that matter…Provincial areas in a traditional Rugby League sense are THE competitive edge…that’s why a Central Queensland team should be on the cards. Perth is all-important…eventually, but pound for pound RL will not win, but the AFL does seem to want two teams per primary market, which leaves more room at the table for mine.
Also the strength of the comp is places much closer (but that have had teams much longer) to primary markets which often don’t make good dollar sense, but the trick is having all bases covered, why arg they should reinstate Balmain, versus keeping the Sharks perhaps…as that side of Sydney is the crucial market and if Wests can truly play in the West, bring on cross-coding doubleheader weekends