The ARL Commission is expected to negotiate a much improved television broadcast deal in 2013. They had better squeeze every last cent out of the networks with the number of expansion bids currently wanting to join the NRL.
The list of Perth, Central Coast, Central Queensland and PNG bids has recently been joined by a bid from the Ipswich Jets.
David Gallop suggested last year that a second Brisbane team was an option and he mentioned the Ipswich-Logan corridor in South West Brisbane as a possibility. Ipswich has since gone alone with their bid with no mention of Logan, and their bid has highlighted an important and often overlooked factor in the expansion discussions.
How important is a second Brisbane team to the NRL, or alternatively, how important is it to let the Broncos continue to have their monopoly on Brisbane?
Reasons to leave Brisbane to the Broncos:
Well, if it ain’t broken, don’t try to fix it. Whatever your personal feeling for the Broncos, (disclaimer: I live in Brisbane and am a Broncos fan) there is no denying their worth to the NRL competition.
They have the biggest NRL crowd average with over 30,000 every year and they rate extremely well on TV in Brisbane.
How damaging would it be for the game to dilute the NRL’s biggest and most successful club?
The Broncos do have advantages over other teams. They have the largest junior nursery to choose from and the biggest corporate support that allows them to legally pay third party payments to players outside of the salary cap.
But should we not leave them to be the great success they are and instead set goals to try to bring the rest of the completion us to the high standard they have set?
The Broncos have won six premierships since they entered the comp in 1988, more than any other team, but they have only won one in the last 10 seasons as the stricter policing of the salary cap (Melbourne Storm debacle aside) has made the NRL an ever increasingly tighter competition.
Also, the Broncos missed the finals this year for the first time since 1991 and in recent years they have limped into the finals in seventh or eighth spot and were simply canon fodder for the top teams.
Leave Brisbane to the mighty Broncos, expand elsewhere and sit back and watch the game grow.
Reasons to put a second NRL team in Brisbane:
The population of Sydney is 4.5 million and there are nine Sydney teams (10 in NSW). Brisbane’s population is two million (and growing fast) and there is only one Brisbane team.
While a second Brisbane team would no doubt weaken the Broncos, both Brisbane teams would still enjoy advantages over other NRL teams as stated above.
A second Brisbane team would allow Australia’s best rectangle field stadium in Suncorp Stadium to be used every week. Even if the Broncos avg crowd was reduced it is very likely the accumulative crowd figures with two Brisbane sides would mean more bums on seats.
The NRL could also schedule local Queensland derby’s between the two Brisbane teams and between each Brisbane team and the Gold Coast, Cowboys or even a potential Central Qld team.
Most importantly the NRL would have a second Brisbane timeslot to sell to the networks for all future TV broadcast deals. Even with a fixed schedule the NRL could schedule a Brisbane team on FTA every week into the lucrative Brisbane market.
And while some Sydney fans would rather see anyone win a grand final than a rival Sydney team, Qld fans don’t see it that way. We all love the Maroons, and if our Qld side doesn’t win, we automatically support all the other Qld teams, (all of Qld is supporting the Titans to win the 2010 premiership).
A second Brisbane team will be well supported by all Qld fans against any Sydney team.
Brisbane can easily handle two or even three teams. The Broncos are a great success so let’s double that success with a much needed second Brisbane team.
The problem with the Ipswich Jet’s bid:
Despite recent cash flow problems due to the delay in the construction of their ‘Centre of Excellence’, the Titans have been and will continue to be a success story for the NRL.
Ipswich shares some similarities to the Gold coast; for example it is a proud independent town on the outskirts of Brisbane.
However, the Ipswich Jets have a long history in the local Brisbane completion with long standing rivalries with other Brisbane teams. There is no reason why anyone in Brisbane would stop supporting the Broncos in order to support a new Ipswich team.
The Ipswich Jets will support Ipswich, not Brisbane, and despite the recent phenomenal growth in Ipswich it is still at least 25 years from having the same population of the Gold Coast today. Even a combined Ipswich/Logan team still leaves 80 per cent of Brisbane to the Broncos.
I imagine the NRL would like to see a second Brisbane team resemble the big brother – little brother situation with the AFL teams in Perth, the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers.
Unfortunately, the Broncos – Ipswich situation would be akin to the Adelaide Crows – Port Adelaide Power situation where most Adelaide fans do not support Port Adelaide due to their history in the local Adelaide competition.
A second Brisbane team needs to represent as many people of Brisbane as possible and not be tied to any existing QRL team with its history and rivalries.
The Brisbane River splits Brisbane neatly in two; you’re either a Northsider or a Southsider. A second Brisbane team should boldly stake a claim and represent one side of the city.
For example, the ‘Southern Brisbane Centurions’ would represent everyone south of the Brisbane River all the way to the Gold Coast. Even if initially only half of the South side of Brisbane are seen as potential Centurions fans that is still 500K people, which is the magic number some use as the minimum population required for a new team.
Time would allow all Southsiders to slowly loosen their support for the Broncos and start supporting their local team in the Centurions.
The north side of Brisbane still guarantees the Broncos an area of one million people.
While all current bids have their pros and cons, what matters is what the ARL Commission decides on expansion.
If the Perth bid is first in line due to the potential for the all important TV broadcast dollar, then a second team in the Rugby League loving third biggest city in Australia may be too good to ignore.
Epiquin
Guest
Doesn't South Brisbane already have a team? aren't they called THE BRONCOS??? If the NRL is looking to expand, they should prioritise an area which is rugby league heartland but DOESN'T have a team yet, that is, the Central Coast. Between the Harbour Bridge and Lake Macquarie there is well over a million people who love their league but have had no one to follow since 1999. When the bears were given the boot, their fans didn't simply migrate to a new club, they switched off league altogether. Having the bears on the coast will help bring these fans back to the game, will consolidate the culture of league on the coast and in North Sydney and will right the wrongs of 10 years ago. Some have said that the bears bid is all about emotion rather than good business. Not only is this untrue, but sometimes there has to be a little emotion behind the nrl. After all, isn't that why we watch the game in the first place? If the NRL keeps making decisions with their paychecks and not the fans in mind, the game won't survive. I agree that the Broncos need to be selling out games every week before a second team is even considered there. Why fix what ain't broken? I also don't think that having the odd few Brisbanites who don't like the Broncos justifies this second team, in the same way that a few Coasties who dont like the bearsthink their bid should be scrapped for something else. If everyone thinks there are too many teams in Sydney, why ant we learn from these mistakes and prevent it fro happening in Brisbane? It just seems logical to me...
Col the bear
Guest
I also forgot to add that this Saturday as well the CC bears will have stall set up at the Kincumber festival.once again out amongst the community.
Col the Bear
Guest
Oh James.. it's going to come down to has has the best bid and who can sustain a licence for all time without having to go for handouts from the NRL/ IC.. Perth and Central Coast are leaps and bounds above other bids.. just go to both our websites and see how advanced they are, both areas could start up next year if they were asked too.. CC Bears supporters on the footy show tomorrow night.. big crowd of Bears for the audience.. CC Bears are on the CC today and for the remainder of the week at wyong working with the OZ tag gala week CC Bears on thursday have their Bears@Work number 4 function at gordon golf club for more corporate dollars to come into the bid. CCBears this weekend are set up on the CC for the senior rugby league GF... and thats just this week.. more on for next week..
JamesG
Guest
SEQ has TWO teams, not one - the Titans are the other. I favor letting Brisbane have one team and adding NRL teams to new markets with big populations (not small ones like Gosford). So Perth is a must Then Id look at Adelaide or Wellington. PNG is 20 years away from having a team, that country is still 3rd world. We need to maximise TV revenue and spread it across as few teams as possible. Then the NRL will stop losing its playing talent. :^)
Corey
Guest
I'm a Brisbane Broncos fan and I would say the Broncos need to average a full house each week if they want to introduce a second team. With a population of 2million they should be having a sold out match each time, so they need to fix that first!
JF
Guest
RL has always found it difficult to expand into new areas, both the NRL and the ESL have not been able to crack new markets. This is however not really that bad - RL heartland areas enjoy great population, growth and prosperity so the game does not need to expand into new areas to 'grow'. There is still much room to grow within the current heartlands, bigger crowds, bigger viewerships, national 2nd division. Not having a Brisbane RL derby in this day seems odd - it would be massive. I like the idea of 2 divisions with P&R, imagine Ipswich, Souths Logan or Redcliffe being promoted to the NRL, the subsequent derby would be huge.
cowgirl
Guest
You said 'leave Brisbane to the mighty Broncos, expand elsewhere and sit back and watch the game grow.' What about us who don't particularly like the Broncos? You say ''they have the largest junior nursery to choose from'. Well yeah - they still consider all of QLD their nursery. They have had it too good for too long, and it's time to give them some competition. They dumped Wally Lewis and stole Scott Prince from the Cowboys. Yes - Brisbane deserves another choice in teams. Ipswich won't work - you're right there. Good for state league but not national, just as Redcliffe or the proposed central Qld won't work. South Brisbane - yes, that would work. But the Raiders have that area sown up, from the days that W. Bennet, Meninga, Miles and Co moved from Souths to Canberra. The affiliation is still strong - stop that first, then yes, South Bris would work. Perth has no nursery and will be just another Melbourne, relying on expat supporters and importing all players. But - bring on South Brisbane.
soapit
Roar Guru
there are some things that university just doesnt teach you.
AdamD
Guest
Hahaha you wish mate!!!!
macavity
Guest
profitable "again" ? The Storm have never been remotely profitable. Their cheating was subsidised by the rest of the league to the tune of $6mil a year. They have the best facilities, staff, and players - because the rest of the league pays their way for them. Pretty hard to swallow when my team struggles to rub two cents together. Aside from Bears fans (who can't comment rationally about the bid), I am wondering how many of those pushing the CC wagon have actually been there. The CC is not a continuous urban area - it is a collection of villages, joined by bushland, poor roads, and a million round-a-bouts. Gosford is at one end, and is not exactly huge on its own. For those at the other end, it is just as easy to get to Newcastle. The North Sydney connection adds more to the Bears bid than the CC connection does. But neither connection is as compelling as the case for a Perth team, a second Brisbane team, or even a second NZ team.
Col the bear
Guest
Wasn't beetson talking about redcliffe going to the sunshine coast.I see where Billy Moore pulled out of that bid some time ago
Col the bear
Guest
That's ahead of 3 nrl clubs already and gaining on roosters very rapidly
Fez's are cool
Guest
Well, they were ment to ofload the Storm, but the cheating ruined that. News will now have to keep hold of the Storm and make them profitable again before they can be sold off, rightly so.
Fez's are cool
Guest
Where will the playing strength come from to field 20 teams in 2017? We should expand wherever is in the best interests of Rugby League. Take the emotion and bias out of the Bears bid and it is nowhere near as lucrative as Perth or Ipswich/Logan/South Brisbane. Wellington offers more.
Knablig
Guest
Oh yeah, and bring back Valleys.
Knablig
Guest
The Sunshine coast must be a chance for a franchise, it has a great local infra-structure and they love their League.
The Bush
Guest
It certainly is... If one lives north of the river and does not cross said river to get to uni, you'd think you would realise that you are still north of the river...
Col the bear
Guest
The Central Coast Bears have just cracked 17000 members on their Fan page today.. way to go you mighty bears..
Col the bear
Guest
I was a Southsider , and yes i think people who dont know Brisbane don't quite understand the geography.. on the north side of the river I hardly ever ventured over there, but stayed on the southside..except when I went to town..and vica versa,North siders .I also was under the impression when i lived there and growing up there that North side was the more affluent to the Souths side..which was more working class..I left Brisbane 26 years ago now..Broncos weren't even around then..and the Brisbane league were just starting to get cracks in it. ie Valleys, Brothers. and. Ipswich weren't even in the comp.The demographics have changed some what.. I know when i was up there at Xmas time my suburb was a very different place to what it is now.. anyway this is about RL not a history, geography or social studies lesson.. :-) Bring Back the Bears!!!!
Col the bear
Guest
news will still have their share in melbourne storm for sometime after the IC comes in also..