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Consider Tasmania for NRL expansion

Roar Guru
6th January, 2017
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The Broncos and the Storm drew a good crowd in Tamania. (AAP Image/David Crosling)
Roar Guru
6th January, 2017
79
2184 Reads

In the debates over expansion of the AFL and the A-League, Tasmania is a prominent candidate – but not in the NRL.

Why?

Australian bids
In Australia there are a number of bids for new NRL sides.

But while they all have strengths they also have weaknesses.

Perth and Adelaide each have not just one but two AFL teams, so if a new NRL team doesn’t perform will the fans still show up to support them when they have other teams to follow?

The Brisbane Bombers will have to play out of Suncorp at great expense, which will be difficult if they fail to attract fans. I don’t think their awesome logo will do much to pull them in.

What’s their team song going to be? Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines?

The theme from Seinfeld?

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On the other hand if they do manage to build a large fan-base but do so by taking fans away from the Broncos, then how will it affect that team?

Ipswich would need to build a new stadium which isn’t a deal breaker if they commit to building one, but there would be questions over a stadium deal in Queensland.

Could a new team survive one in Queensland?

Central Queensland keeps popping up but can they support a team financially better than Tasmania?

And what about their stadium deal?

Central Coast might work but even if it does it barely manages to take the game outside of Sydney let alone New South Wales.

Overseas bids
Meanwhile, there are also a number of bids from outside of Australia but these come with their own problems as well.

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Papua New Guinea is a rugby league heartland but the security situation is a shocker.

Papua New Guinea has so many security issues.

If you’re thinking of travelling or know anyone who’s thinking of travelling or if you think they should have an NRL team, then take a look for yourself first.

Fiji is in the mix as well but they have recently had a military coup. Not a good sign.

Wellington and Christchurch are in safe and secure New Zealand and can call upon God himself to defend them if necessary.

In the case of Wellington they would have to play out of the Cake Tin, which is one of the worst stadiums known to man as the ‘Nix have found in the A-League.

The biggest problem facing the Wellington Phoenix is that their stadium isn’t popular with fans who make every complaint you can think of.

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It’s the wrong shape, it’s cold, windy and wet because it doesn’t have a roof. The food is expensive, the seats are too far back from the pitch so there’s no atmosphere and the feng shui is rubbish!

To top it all off it’s built in an area that’s prone to earthquakes.

But just before you think it couldn’t get any worse, along comes the British Bulldogs bid who would play matches around England and at a halfway home in Dubai. What could possibly go wrong there?

In case they haven’t heard there’s already a team in the NRL called the Bulldogs and furthermore there’s even an Aussie Rules team representing Britain called the Bulldogs who are coming to the next AFL International Cup. Talk about confusing!

Photo via Wiki Commons

Tasmania
Tasmania has a population of over 500,000 and is part of Australia and yet locations overseas have a higher profile in the debate over expansion of the NRL.

Or should that be the so-called NRL?

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From a Tasmanian perspective it must be quite perplexing that a bid from a team on the other side of the world would be considered before they look at Tasmania.

Not to mention the New Zealand bids.

Why would we even want to help New Zealand develop their game anyway? It’s bad enough what the Wallabies have to deal with when they come up against the All Blacks. Do we really want the Kangaroos to suffer the same fate?

And why do the All Blacks always have to get so worked up when they do the haka? It can’t be good for their blood pressure or their cardiovascular health.

Why can’t they do something more peaceful and sedate like tai-chi?

The crane spreads its wings…the dragon…stretches out…feeeel his energy.

Tasmania has a larger population than either Christchurch or Wellington. Unlike another team from New Zealand a team based in Tasmania could help to find additional talent for the Kangaroos.

I guess it’s easy to look at the negatives about Tasmania and count them out without much thought.

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The troubles with the Tasmanian economy and its employment issues are well known and documented.

But the bids for Tasmanian AFL and A-League teams demonstrate that there are business plans showing how they could work if given the right support.

If a bid team was set up for a Tasmanian NRL bid they could take these plans and run with them themselves. Most of the work’s already been done.

There’s still the question of whether or not people would support a team there but from what I’ve heard most of the crowd who showed up to watch the Storm versus Broncos match were from the rugby union mob.

So if they show up again to the Storm versus Bulldogs match, who cares which code they play their club matches for. As long as they would be willing to support a team representing Tasmania if there was one in the state that’s all that matters.

If there’s a good business case for a team that can be sustainable, and the right people are willing to back a bid, and if there are enough people who would become members and support the club then a Tasmanian NRL bid might be feasible.

So if the AFL continue to neglect Tasmania then there is the potential there for the NRL to take advantage and fill the vacuum they’ve left and move in if they want to.

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When it comes to potentially hosting an AFL or A-League team in Tasmania people might have their doubts but they still take Tasmanian bids seriously when they do come up. But in the debate over NRL expansion they aren’t even on the radar.

Tasmania might not be the most likely candidate for hosting an NRL franchise but they should at least be part of the conversation.

They are part of Australia after all.

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