For just over two years we’ve heard speculation around the ‘if’ and ‘when’ regarding Melbourne being awarded the fifteenth franchise in Super Rugby.
The naysayers have doomed this initiative before the proposals were even assembled, indicating that there is indeed no place in Melbourne for yet another code of football.
A mere eleven years ago, the same was said with regard to the introduction of rugby league to Melbourne, and again when the A League ‘grew up’ into a professional outfit.
In both these examples, the people ‘in the know’ cited that AFL rules the roost, and people won’t pick the one over the other. These are big words based on the assumption that Melbourne consists of traditionalist one eyed die-hard AFL fans.
Although this is partially true, I have to look far and hard to find an AFL devotee who refuses to follow or support the Storm or Victory when the occasion arises, or at least be willing to utilize these events as an excuse to have a beer or three with their mates down at the pub.
Yet another reason to challenge the theory that there’s no space for a new code is to look at the sociological make-up of Melbourne as a city.
With more than 50 000 new residents making the city their home every year, Melbourne is fast becoming more diverse than the non-thinker would dare to consider. To cite a few examples: the 2007 Bledisloe Cup game – more than 80 000 fans watching a union game, in Melbourne?
Or consider Crusaders Vs Western Force drawing more than 10,000 in a warm up match at Olympic Park.
And what about the fact that the first Wallaby captain was from Victoria?
I say the time is ripe for Melbourne to take its first step into the professional era of rugby.
We have the support base, and the love for the game. All we need is the team.
I look after a group on Facebook. The group in question support the bid for Melbourne to be awarded the 15th franchise, and in four months, we’ve acquired 2000 members.
Fans in support of the bid, ready and waiting!
Mudskipper
Guest
The Melbourne franchise will work. They'll be enough public interest for the game there and especially in the new rectangular stadium. Hopefully they can field a team which can win matches. AFL supporters will stay with AFL but those who have been exposed to rugby will enjoy having a team in the S15. The fact that it will likely be broadcasted on pay TV and not free to air will encourage rugby fans to attend the matches and we know Victorians more than many other Australian city enjoy seeing their sport live.... Lets hope that Melbourne gets the 2011 S15 nod next week....
Bay35Pablo
Roar Guru
Repub, I undertsand the Storm's junior side has done very well this year with almost all local grown talent.
Bay35Pablo
Roar Guru
Which is apprently JON's plan. It occurs to me, again, that the 5th Australian side will be decided by what makes sense for the TV coverage. If it is the Sourthen Kings, how attractive is it going to be to the TV broadcasters for 1 in 3 games every 2nd weekend of the derby rounds to be in the wrong time zone? They'll cruel the TV rights for the Australian Conference, all so the Saafies can meet their guilt quota? No way.
Justin
Guest
Rep - The Storm may not have any locals in their side (yet) but do you kow how many VIC kids have played Super football? There is a few and more than the Force comfortably...
mcxd
Guest
Sorry if i may repeat whats been said above, i dont have time to read it all. IMO besides the actual logistics of oz teams going to SA often, one of the biggest things about awarding the 15th team to SA is the times at which games are played. Oz S14 teams are already having issues with spectators at ground or on TV, it would struggle even more if games were played in the early (late) morning. As a Tahs supporter id definitely watch a Melb v Reds or Melb v Brumbies game but no chance would i watch a Eastern Province (or whatever theyre called) v Reds or Eastern Province v Brumbies.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
that's true - FTA is potentially a boon to the Storm (which the Rebels won't have) - that's counteracted by union's longer history in Melbourne
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
The Storm needs the NRL to get them on Free to air TV to grow. It's the one advantage the Storm has over any new Union team, who can really only attract those interested in the game in the first place.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Sheek The Storm has a strong niche following - I don't think that will be affected. But what it might mean is that the Storm will have little growth going forward, so the question becomes - is the current niche following sufficient to sustain the Storm into the future? (I don't know the answer to that) I don't really know how the Rebels will go vis a vis the Storm's attendances - I expect they will catch them reasonably quickly (super attendances are pretty good around the country). One thing I can say is that in the short to medium term, the Rebels have a greater capacity to produce home grown talent (even if it is limited), but the Storm are starting to make up ground on that front. If there's one place in Australia where both rugbies could pursue the option of joint training programs at youth level - it's definitely in Melbourne.
sheek
Guest
It's interesting to speculate that had rugby league not happened in Australia, all the country would be AFL mad. So I guess that's a missed opportunity for Australian football. Also interesting is that union & league help each other, whether they want to or not. The RU have always had a stronger presence in Melbourne, which helped the establishment of the RL Storm. Now the establishment of the RL Storm will help the creation of the RU Rebels. However, how this will impact on the Storm in return is uncertain. The Storm has established a niche following, which was the purpose of the exercise. Also however, their failure to develop homegrown talent must be a worry. You would think RU, with its stronger presence, ought to be able to do this sooner. produce homegrown talent ,that is. I think the Rebels have a bright future. The Storm's future is less certain. But of course, the Rebels are not yet over the line, although, seriously there cannot be any other choice?!?!?
Invictus
Guest
That is the challenge.
Neville Howard
Roar Rookie
Ever the optimist! Yeh, I definitely don't see how the introduction of Union to Melbourne will do Storm any good. A few foreigners like myself go to the games and support it because they have oval balls and pass backwards! Point is the schools, universities around Melbourne have Union, and that's the market the VRU will be interested in retaining. I don't want to go into a debate on which code is best (don't want to state the obvious :P ), but if I was a 20year old player faced with the option of playing club League and one day being included in the Kangaroos, who frankly play nobody but England on occasion, or the Wallabies with a tight international schedule - it would be an easy choice to make.
Republican
Guest
Neville I think you will find that their support base has hardly grown in the time they have been based in Melbourne. They attract about 12g on a good day to Olympic Park and the expat support gleaned by the Styorm is significant but their patronage does not seem to have made inraods beyond that. That this is enough to sustain the code in Vic is a moot point but the Storm continue to perform extremely well despite home gates being less than flattering for a population of 4mill plus. I have yet to see evidence of any Vic home grown players coming through to play for the Storm either, so what is happening at the GR and how is Union being added to the Melbourne elite sporting mix going to make this any easier for League and visa versa - in that respect? Again, 'long term' is a luxury this particular code can ill afford in my opinion but I may be proven wrong.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
I agree with the general sentiment that more professional spots provides greater incentive for youngster to strive and make the grade - meaning a strengthening of overall quality, not a diminution. The key is bridging school boy levels and the elite level.
Neville Howard
Roar Rookie
The Storm is a team of 'imports', and they're pretty well embraced! :P
Neville Howard
Roar Rookie
I've seen this argument over and over. 'a new franchise will dilute the pool of existing players' - While it rings true, in the long term what the additional franchise does is give younger school, club players hope of reaching the top level of the game. Thus instead of them moving to League (Which so many of the Vic Schools boys does), they stay in Union, and their interest, abilities are retained, especially considering that now they will actually get paid for it if they reach the top-tier. It's a growing pain, not a step backwards. I can assure you, while The Force might have diluted the existing franchises a wee bit, the total amount of professional players, semi-professional players have increased dramatically. Give the young guys time to come into form and grow up with the current infrastructure. The Brumbies and Force are young teams, and have only been around for 1 generation. I think ARU have reached a point of go/no-go where they needed to take the risk of diversifying in 'foreign' WA and VIC markets, and in the long term breeding a new generation of players. They're doing the right thing here, even though they're not producing instant results. The big secret here is the ARU is not as dependant on the local market for support as much as the League for instance. With global tv rights etc, them getting an even share of the profits (Compared to Super 14) they can get away with less than pleasing crowd attendance until performance picks up. The wheel will turn! Analyst Howard signing off.
Republican
Guest
Pete Not so with the Brumby's who drew on almost 50% local talent in their early years however this is ironically no longer the case despite the Brumby's being based in the Capital for more than a decade. The Union GR are looking grim for that demo but I digress. What you are saying is true of the West however and this will also be a similar scenario in making up the numbers for any Vic Super squad. It is evident that the inception of the Force has been the catalyst for the mediocrity shown by Australias Super franchises in the S14. This was not so when it was a S12 with the Brumby's, Tahs and Reds all featuring more prominately at the busuiness end of any given season. Its not rocket science to ascertain that by creating yet another franchise in a non Union demo any potential elite stock will be spread thinner, while those proponents of top down growth talk up the GR growth that we can only hope will slowly ensue; the question is can the game in Oz afford the luxury of waiting around for this to take place, I happen to think not. Finally, are Australians really going to embrace a team of imports as you have alluded to in support of any Vic Super side, because that's what this franchise will ultiimately have to present as if it hopes to be competitive while not leeching off the two strong Oz nurseries of Sydney and Brissy. As I have already stated, expansion here continues to see Unions growth promoted very much on the back of expat P.I's and Kiwis and of course Saffas in Perth all of which are non Union demos. I just happen to have always seen this as fraught in planning to sustain a game of small status in such a competive market place. Far better to grow the game from its historically strong cultural enclaves by focusing on the domestic potential of Sydney and Brissy and perhaps even Canberra, however I believe Union has lost it's devoted for very good reasons in that heartland which has seen Leagues resurgence and Australian footy's new found growth.
The Truth
Guest
That's why they devised this conference system. Weak Aussie sides can pad their records against even weaker Aussie sides and at least appear to be somewhat competitive.
sportym
Guest
Gold.!
Pete
Guest
Republican, its been said here before by others, but the lack of talent claim was a concern when the Brumbies came on board. Then again when the Force were launched. Admittedly the Reds lost players to the Force. They cite this as the reason why the Reds have been doing badly, but the truth is that the Reds were floundering well before the Force were launched. The Reds poor results has more to do with mismanagement than the start of the WA franchise. If the Vic bid gets up, they will find players (Pacfic Islands, Argentina, SA, NZ, League and most importantly Local Rugby players). I don't think there will be a discernable drop in player quality. The hidden gems in club land will finally gtet to prove their worth on a bigger stage.
Republican
Guest
I still for the life of me can't fathom how an extra Oz franchise is going to present as a competitive force when the current Australian teams in the Super 14 are struggling due in the main to the introduction of the WA franchise, which single handedly diluted much of the fledging talent in those union nurseries of NSW, Qld and to a lesser extent the ACT. The pool of available Australian players will be spread so thinly that any vague interest Union may attract initially in Melbourne will all but expire unless they plan to stock this team totally with Kiwis; then why not since that's where the support will primarily come from and that is also how the game continues to survive here, i.e. on the back of NZ expatness. The Australian Super dynamic will be a farce in any expanded comp and probably top heavy since the organisation that commands the biggest corporate clout will in turn attract the cream of the crop.