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I called North Sydney stalwart Greg Florimo yesterday and opened with a simple question: “Flo, are the Bears dead or is the flame still flickering?”
There was not even a skerrick of hesitation from the other end of the phone.
“We have not given up hope,” said the 285-game Norths’ veteran, a flint-hard character in his playing days, and nothing less than that as we hit the back end of 2012.
“But I reckon everything rides on a meeting we are trying to set up with NRL Commissioner John Grant this month.
“If he says we (Central Coast Bears) are welcome to submit a proposal at the end of 2014 for possible inclusion in the 2017 NRL comp, it will be all systems go. We would run with that, and I have no doubt we would be one of the strongest teams in the comp.
“If he says the League is looking at other options, well, I would have to report back to our Board and members. That’s when the dream to keep the Bears alive would probably dead and buried.
“We desperately need some kind of endorsement from the NRL Commission.
“I am seeking to meet with John Grant and Shane Mattiske and we will have Joe Hockey (Federal Member for North Sydney and Shadow Treasurer) available to strongly push our cause. He firmly believes in us and what we are doing.
“Yes, it has been very frustrating. Many, many sleepless nights. But we are still in with a realistic chance until we are told otherwise.”
Florimo is unshakeable in his belief that the Bears deserve inclusion to a National Rugby League that embraces the Central Coast of NSW. Since he initiated the CC Bears bid almost seven years ago, he has spoken to and met with thousands of rugby league fans and players who are of like mind north of the Hawkesbury Bridge.
“This area is full of league folk and if they turn their back on us, the district will be wide open to other codes such as soccer and AFL for expansion,” he said.
“They are very, very aggressive and that comes as no surprise. If rugby league dithers, they will simply walk in and take what they want.”
Florimo told me his faith in keeping the Bears alive was reinforced on a weekly basis as he mingles with local players and their families along with potential, but wavering sponsors of the code.
“In my mind, there is no doubt that the Central Coast needs a rugby league team and I know that the Bears can provide a successful, winning franchise.
“It’s entirely up to John Grant and Co. from here on. “
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