- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Central Coast Bears must be wondering whether their curse is set to continue after their rally at the NRL match between Souths and Newcastle came at a time when expansion is a dirty word in Australian sport.
While the farce of the A-League’s push in Queensland develops daily, the lessons of their ill judged move into North Queensland and the Gold Coast should not be lost on the NRL bosses.
While many football fans and media commentators in Australia were initially in a chest beating mood over Clive Palmer and his wealth, their gloating over his involvement must now cause them to wince with embarrassment.
The whole business model of relying on the largesse of one tycoon when it is patently obvious their investment will suffer heavy losses has been seen to be seriously flawed.
But from the wreckage of the Fury and Gold Coast United, it has become clear that three things are vital to make new franchises work.
A ground-swell of public support, a broad based ownership structure and the commitment of the governing body to firstly carry out proper due diligence on the bids and to be prepared to support these expensive experiments.
It’s obvious to anyone that in the rush to show everyone how ambitious and bold the A-League was they cut corners and pushed through the two Queensland clubs.
It’s a stark contrast to the plight of the Bears who despite having an enormous amount of support from the rugby league public, a solid business case and possibly even the moral highground they’ve had to wait a torturous length of time hear whether they have got the green light.
If anything their actions on Saturday could well be construed as reminding the NRL that they were still waiting patiently to be granted a licence.
Only in the past week has David Gallop finally stated in public that the NRL may consider expansion in 2013 with the Central Coast and Perth his personal preferences.
The Western Reds are also hoping that their softly, softly approach of appeasing the NRL bean counters will also be successful. It’s certainly a long way from Clive Palmer, his bullish statements and helicopter rides. But the Reds have been in constant contact with the NRL over a return to the top flight.
Their decision this year to enter the National S.G Ball competition over the NSW Jim Beam Cup came after discussions with the governing body ended with the decision that the former would be viewed more favourably when it came to decision on expansion.
With their focus on youth development their expensive waiting game continues.
The Reds would undoubtedly need more support by the NRL or whatever governing body controls the purse strings in 2013, but like the AFL with the Gold Coast and Western Sydney, it’s decision which must be supported for the good of the game. If the NRL decides it is in the financial position to back their decision.
Finally, the failure of Gold Coast United should also be a hammer blow to those who were hoping to see an NRL team based in PNG in the next 30 years.
With Clive Palmer again the man behind that bid, the idea that his long term commitment to such an incredibly expensive operation could be trusted is fanciful.
PNG may have a population that loves rugby league but they also have a country seriously lacking in infrastructure.
It may seem that every man in his dog knows someone who has trekked the Kokoda Trail these days, but that does not mean they have anywhere near the facilities to handle an NRL franchise.
The population, as much as I’m sure they would love to see NRL players in the flesh every fortnight, would probably prefer the money spent on providing more basic amenities.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.