Should the NRL be limited to 16 teams?

No idea why people are mentioning Perth or Adelaide expansion. AFL strongholds that lie untapped by the NRL for a reason. Yes Perth games get good crowds in the same way the AFL game in NZ this year will get a good crowd: ex-pats, people traveling over, and a once-a-season venture. Adelaide is a completely different story. No-one there would have any clue what the NRL or rugby league is. Don't even think about expanding to Adelaide. Perth could work if the NRL starts by leeching off the rising popularity of the Western Force. For example, an Auskick-type venture could work. Don't go throwing an arbitrary team into Perth though. Would be embarrassing. As for "traditional market" expansion, a central NSW team could work, as could another Queensland team as well a second NZ team. However, in the conception of these teams, the NRL should look to 'promote' an already formed team. Would result in much quicker popularity. For example, the Central Coast Bears, or a team from the Queensland Cup or NZ national league. This is all assuming the game becomes popular enough an has a big enough talent pool by the time expansion is even seriously mentioned

but how many of them were born in the islands? except for indigenous we all come from somewhere. of course there are no show pony players of non white skin?

By greedy, show pony white Boys, I assume you mean the players managers, club officials, NRL lawyers, marketing people, directors etc. That would be amusing watching all of them fight it out as they would still want more but, there would be less to go round, I like it very amusing Steve.

I`d like the ARL go to the Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, somewhere like that. half the NRL is Islander guys. For no other reason than to see all the clubs try to fit all the greedy, show pony white Boys under the salary cap.

Mushi is 100% correct, as a fan who loves to go and watch the games expansion has given little but, taken a lot away. Whilst my ticket price has probably gone down slightly I now pay to park further away from the ground as I am forced more and more into the sterile stadium Australia where my team has no home ground advantage only to sit further away from the game than I would be if I were watching it at the SCG. I travel further from my home, I am forced to miss more games because they are played on week night's that are just impractical to take my children to. Then at the end of the year I see the most successful team in the history of the game (a team that is heavily subsidised by fans who truly love the game) win another premiership at a time that has now changed so that a family can not watch it comfortably together only to return to their home city to find that they fit comfortably back into anonymity because the main stream of that city do not care. As for what Rod is saying I also agree, the Bronco's have a lot to answer for but, perhaps they have simply learned from the sad lesson's of history. In 1947 Wests secretary in a selfless act proposed that Parramatta be admitted to the competition and this was seconded by the then president of Wests, the club was admitted from an area that was formerly the drawing area of Wests and the game as a whole became stronger for that selfless act from a club that put the game in front of itself. For this reason it was sad to see that Wests would not be fielding a stand alone team in the NSW cup as that club just seems to unfortunately fade into history. The Bronco's pty ltd will not make the same mistake they fight for every inch of ground and would see the game shrink and bankrupt itself by setting up more teams in places other than QLD. Therefore if expansion is our destiny and 2 more teams are admitted to equal the VFL then 1 of them has to be from Brisbane for the good of the game and no more from places that just need propping up because it is assumed they bring more revenue to the game via other sources (revenue to the game gives the individual fan nothing).

Well, I am aware of such a sport, but I've never heard of a Northern Territory cricket team fight for the Sheffield Shield, let alone any of the Australian "National" cricket competitions and I know the Canberra Comets fail to play in any such competition, therefore what's your point? (Note the combination of terms "truly" with "national")

It is funny to see this narrative about commericalism yadda yadda blah blah. we are consumers - we should not be concerned with the commercial other than ensuring the product remains in place which brings the flip side that expansion is a risk toa business as a consumer this is a bad thing. and yet we bleat like it is a great thing?

I don't think finding talent, should be a reason not to expand, we are in a region that produces the best athletes for our game on the planet, we have NZ, PNG, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa on our Door Step. That also ignores the fact we have the North of England and the South of France. There is a far greater pool of talent that know and love League than AFL right there, which of course can try and and market to these locations, I just don't see AFL being a front line choice for that region right now. In other words if AFL can have 18 teams, league most certainly can. The fact there is not a second Brisbane team defies logic, everyone has a go about the storm and there breaches of Salary cap etc(No I don't follow the storm), but gee the Bronco's have been blessed like no other. Personally given there advantage they have, the Broncos have been bone lazy, they should be filling that stadium every week and there membership should be double everyone else's. You know why it's not. It's because they don't need to do. They are lazy and things are good and there is not the motivation to. A second team would change that. A second team in NZ plus a team in Perth. I can't see SA, NT or Tas in the short term as being viable options. I would love to see the CC bears as well. That would bring us to 20. Maybe that's too many short term, but that or a couple relocations(only if there is a desire to so) might be the answer.

Just make it about the fans not about the places that don't care like south NZ and South Australia. they do not care. Another QLD team fine make it 2 but, they have to stop the Bronco's from stopping it first, The Bronco's are expansions worst enemy in QLD as for the rest well lets not take teams away from those who love them in Sydney to give them to fan bases that are no larger in other area's. There are still 5th generation bears fans in Sydney who feel personally hurt about what happened there. I am not debating if it was right or wrong, I am just saying if you are going to take a team away from a real fan then have a good enough reason like you are going to share it with 2 passionate fans in QLD not with 5 people in the South of NZ who might care about it in 10 years.

i just want a Central QLD team. then i'll be happy. a PNG one would be good too.

The rationalisation of Sydney teams may yet occur organically. Souths will struggle post Crowe/HaC. Wests (Balmain) desperately need the green light on their redevelopment. Were Souths to go belly up and Wests partnership dissolve it would make a lot of sense for Wests to merge with Canterbury which would have been the logical choice geographically in any event (South/West Sydney). Parramatta would align naturally with what was left of the Tigers. Provided one could consider, for the purposes of this exercise, St George to be a Wollongong team that would result in there being only 6 Sydney teams. Three from the west (Canterbury, Penrih, Parramatta) and three from the east (Cronulla, Sydney, Manly). I think a lot of people could live with that (other than Souths, Canterbury or Wests Supporters) particularly if it paved the way for Perth, Wellington, Brisbane 2 and Central Coast while only increasing the number of teams in the NRL by 2.

brewski - rl clubs group 7 15 junior clubs agrade 9 teams res 8 u18- 8 womens tag 6. albian pak,batemans bay,berry shoalhaven,bomaderry,culburra,gerrigong,jamberoo,kiama,milton ulladulla,nowra,st georges basin,shellharbour,sussex inlet tullamber and warilla lake.see the league boundaries are different to afl's. group 16 bega bermagui-cobargo bombala eden merimbula-pambula moruya-tuross and tathra a grade-7 teams res 6 u18-4 and womens- 7. illawarra a grade 8 very strong comp res -9 third div 7 and a womens full contact 6 team comp.brewski your facts

Agree with Brisbane, AFL is in a lot of trouble. Union and League are really kicking along... the Broncos get the TV viewership and strong crowds and the Reds have a big membership base, the strongest crowd (albeit by not much and they have less games than the Broncos), and they get pretty good viewership considering they are on Foxsports.. factor in the Roar and AFL is coming at least 3rd in Brisbane, quite possibly last in junior numbers... Not taking over the world yet.

if thats true about your son thats disappointing in the pjrl he would be allowed to play we need leadership from the arlc.

First truly national sport? I take it you've never heard of Cricket?

Well played Sir. I do wonder which comp the Perth Pirates will pop up in. Will it be the NRL or the AFL? Either is possible........

If you can't see a full stop,that is your problem.The para may well have been better constructed. And you have established a reputation on these rl boards,for agenda driven trolling,and you get away with it,whats more. Its a debating forum at last reports.QED I am little concerned what you or Brewski consider my reputation is.I shake in fear. Just to keep the homefires burning .Look at the trend lines for Swans crowds since 2003 and you have a shot at the Storm dropping 10%.

You wrote 'Only scratching the surface in Vic.Second highest crowd average for the code last year', which reads as I responded - and you're getting quite the reputation for always having to have the last word.

He stated quite clearly in óne of his first interviews that one of the priorities was ensuring the 16 clubs are underpinned,sustainable or words to that effect. The strageic Plan also refers to club being sustainable and resourced. Perhaps I should have been a little clearer,(me culpa) because they were two separate occasions, in then going on and stating in a later interview the expansion issue would be revisited in 2014. So you are correct ,it was not at the ARLC formation but later the matter of expansion delay was advised. But it does still show priority 1 is the sustainabilty of current clubs and delay in expansion,meaning expansion is not the no1 priority. And I have mentioned prior,should a club IMO not be able to handle the financials ,then relocation would be a strong consideration. You aim for sustainability,and do your best to ensure it happens.There are no iron clad guarantees.The very reason the clubs recently received $7m for a salary cap of est $5.85m to assist.And I guess the very reason,they are building a $225m fund. The fact all the AFL clubs continue ,is I suggest they are sustained. As part of the Strategic plan and Ï quote to respond to the usual suspects, who stated Internationals are not part of the ARLC program:- "Kangaroo selection is revered as the pinnacle of player achievement. The International game and specifically Pacific Islands will be strengthened." Probably why the Warriors have just visited Samoa and then Tonga.

And many have remained in the background,so it depends on the growth factor and the profile.Baseball,basketball. Losing money simply signifies,that regardless of the size of a code,individual clubs can and do lose money.So not everything is perfect ,which appears to be conveniently forgotten.. The crowd average for the code (NRL) was the 2nd highest on record.If you had bothered to read my post I clearly stated, the code average not Melbourne Storm.Maybe its glasses that need clutching, for a touch of point scoring.. The Storm crowds were down,blame mondays and not having star players available for SOO and having Brisbane play them so close to SOO and aginst the warriors on a terribly wet evening.If there is a trend over the years then I would worry. I will be concerned when they have been in Melbourne for 31 years and had the exposure the Swans had in Sydney and the crowds were ordinary.The club has been there for 15 years,with little assistance from head office.They now have money to spend.I suggest you hang around for the next 15.It may not be to your liking. Swans crowds were down this year,and they also were premiers,despite ANZ usage and rebuilding of SCG(still not sold out),and code average was down.