Florimo casts doubt on Perth NRL bid

That's a fact that cannot be ignored by the ARLC. If the premiers are one of the worst drawing clubs in the league then what value do they add? The combined population of Manly and Warringah is just over 180,000. How many of the 180,000 people in those two LGAs are actually rugby league fans? It's a good bet that many of the people who live there prefer soccer and rugby union. I'd be surprised if there were more than 15,000 diehard rugby league fans in the LGAs. If that's all they have then they are not in a position to support an NRL club. It makes sense to revoke their licence and give it to the Central Coast.

Yeah, probably not a good idea now; not within a month of an attempted coup...

Manly do indeed get poor crowds. They won the comp and yet finished 4th last in crowds!!!

Yep, the first step is get the Bears going again. Then the next move has to be to get rid of the joke "West Tigers" and have the mighty Balmain and Wests flying their colours in the top grade again. After that, get Newtown back on the cards and reverse the injustice dealt out to the Dirty Reds and end the constant suffering of the Glebe fans. Lastly, get rid of that silly competition name, and get the "SW" back in there!

Perhaps one could look at the number of units being built by Meriton adjoining the road to the airport. The units are hardly gentirfied.Mass produced yes. But yes the area has changed,but the Roosters are more affectd and not the Rabbitohs,the latter's fans are south of Randwick and spread all over. The Shire is one of the most expensive areas in sydney in terms of housing yet retains a large junior rugby league,and a decent following when the weather is fine.

I think it was the PNG Prime Minister that came up with the PNG bid. A PNG bid that has government support cannot be overlooked. Obviously it's not right to put them in now, but I think they might be ready for a team within the next 10 to 20 years.

I think the best scenario that the Bears can hope for is that they'll be brought in to replace Manly. I cannot think of one reason why Manly should be in compettition while Central Coast is unrepresented. The Central Coast represents a larger area, a larger catchment of fans, it has a world-class stadium and it will provide a derby match for the Newcastle Knights. Everyone bar some of the people of Manly and Warringah hate the Sea Eagles, so it's not as if the game is going to lose a heap of fans should Manly be given the boot.

I actually posted an article outlining a similar plan last year which had some pretty good discussion. http://www.theroar.com.au/2011/03/03/should-the-nrl-consider-a-roving-team-in-the-nrl/

It's all shaking down as everyone barr the Bears fans have always thought. Perth and Brisbane 2 might have been slow out of the blocks in comparison but the longer the NRL waited the more likely they would get their bids together. Prepare for a 2015/16 expansion to Perth and Brisbane 2. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.

B A Sports - the inner city of the days when league was born and the inner city of today are two completely different things. Apart from the housing commission areas of Waterloo, it has become gentrified and the people that lived there then could not afford to live there now, whereas the Central Coast, apart from a couple of enclaves, has not become gentrified. Maybe Norths and Easts should have spread their wings and moved before the inevitable decline in support and for Norths its demise.

Clipper - League was basically born in the inner sydney area. Games were played at Birchgrove Oval, Norths, Souths and Easts are foundation clubs, it doesn't get much more "heartland" than that. Would people on the Central Coast turn their collective noses to rugby league if they didn't get a team? ONe or two might, but I don't know. Nobody does. I personally would think that the answer to that question would be black and white if the Central Coast was "heartland".

B.A, Thanks for replying, you raise some excellent points. I thought that this deserved a discussion of it's own. Watch this space!

I agree Nathan. I don't think the CC has much of a hope to be honest. Time will tell.

I have often thought that. I have thought that not only would it be good for the game to have more professional games in the country (obviously), coupled with the time the teams could spend in the community in the lead up to the game, I have also thought it would be great economic boost for the towns they played in with people travelling in to watch their team play (both the Country team and the visiting team). Towns could plan alot of tourism around the event each year. But I think the biggest issue becomes the whole fact that about 85% of games are played at night now and country grounds don't have the facilities to accommodate TV lighting, travelling media, getting broadcast vans to these venues will cost networks $$, etc. There would also be the additional ‘inconvenience’ shall we say of getting to some of these venues, particularly for the non NSW teams who would have to fly into Sydney and get connecting flights where possible, or get shuffled onto buses for long trips out to grounds. Not so bad going to the game, but with the injured players post game, players needing to get to rehab conveniently after games, they don't want to be stuck in a commute situation for long hours, I think it becomes tough. More games need to be played in country areas and i would love to see every club be required to take a game to the bush each year. I travel through places like Wagga and Griffith and on the South Coast (Shoalhaven and south) and i see a real shift in the amount of interest in League, fewer clubs, fields etc.. Just having an annual game would make such a difference I think. And not a trial match, because people have worked them out. The teams aren’t going for it and stars often get rested, its not the same (I lived in Regional QLD, i know).

As always, hate that this sounds code-warrish, but honestly, if the expansion is to Central Coast and not Perth, the television networks will have had, in the space of a couple years, both the AFL and the NRL come to them and say "we are confident that we can support a team in NSW". One of those answers will be considered a lot less confident and impressive than the other.

B.A. Sports - there would be many areas that are more 'league heartland' than others. Most of the more affluent areas of Sydney like the North Shore, Eastern Sydney and the Inner City would be far less 'heartland' than the Central Coast, as would a lot of Southern NSW around Albury and the Riverina, so perhaps there may be a point there, although the people of the Central Coast would be unlikely to swap to another code like the people of the North Shore.

Dear Mr Florimo, you say the NRL should look after its own backyard first. We do. We already have 11 teams within NSW borders - we are full and dont need anymore here.

Interesting comment and I tend to agree. One thing I've wondered is why you couldn't have a "NSW Country" team, dressed in traditional Maroon and Yellow, training in Sydney and playing home games in the country. One week Wagga, next week Dubbo, Orange, Tamworth, Bathurst etc... Thoughts?

I hate how the term "rugby league heartland" is constantly thrown around by Florimo and Central Coast supporters. The Illawarra is heart land, so is Western Sydney and Newcastle. Far Noth Queensland is heartland, so is Rockhampton, so is Brisbane. How many years have i been listening to people tell me that we have to look after country rugby league because country rugby league is the "heart of rugby league"? So why don't we stick teams in Dubbo, Wagga, Parkes, Bathurst etc? The Central Coast is no more or less about rugby leaue than anywhere else in NSW or QLD, On a per capita rate i would say they have significantly fewer players who have gone on to play first grade than most other regional centres.

I hate to have to be the guy to point out that this person is an idiot, but he's patently an idiot. And does anyone think the Central Coast juniors system is not already being tapped by the existing clubs?