The Sharks are staring down the barrel of being completely wound up, the worst thing that can happen to any sporting team.
I hope this does not occur as the fans showed on Sunday night they do have passion for the club in the time of need.
However, these are the possible expansion options if the Sharks are forced to leave the game.
Second Brisbane team
Brisbane rugby league fans have always wanted a second team, as not all of them support the Broncos for various reasons.
The introduction of a second team provides a derby and ensures rugby league every week at Suncorp Stadium.
If the Broncos have a bad year, there is another option for Brisbane league fans.
Also, a new team snapping at their heels will provide the Broncos with the motivation to perform better off the field, something that they have consistently lacked.
Western Australia
The most obvious area for expansion as it will help grow the national footprint of rugby league and legitimate the ‘national’ in NRL.
It will require funding, and constant commitment and dedication to keep the club going in it’s infancy, but the league as a whole will benefit.
One just needs to look how the AFL benefit from the Lions and Swans to see what an extra non-heartland team can bring. This will require the NRL to support them in their times of need especially early.
Central Coast
A good portion of the league community do not want another NSW team as there enough already and the unimpressive turnout at Gosford last Friday nights shows that they are not doing enough to convince NRL to put a team there.
However, if a Sydney team needs to be replaced, for the sake of ‘heartland’ the CC will be a easy option.
If they were to get it the crowds better be great considering all the campaigning they done to get it.
Second New Zealand
One of the most unlikely options as the Warriors still have a long way to go in New Zealand before the mere thought of placing a team anywhere outside of Auckland.
Considering the hot and cold success of the Warriors on and off the field, it is best to wait until the team is financially stable and has a decent supporter and membership base.
Out of the potential options, the two most likely are second Brisbane and Western Australia.
It depends on what the ARLC wants to prioritse from expansion and whether they will play it safe with Brisbane or put in the hard work in WA.
My best wishes to Sharkies supporters. We have lost too many teams already and it be a shame to lose another.
Keep the faith Sharks fans. .
NF
Roar Guru
Marco I see you rubbing into league at the moment in regards to what is happening at the moment but don't think that the AFL will get away scot-free from this either. Redb and his spin-doctor of a article deflects all the attention his club is getting to Cronulla, so we just wait and see what the final results are.
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
Tynan motors is a very small major sponsorship deal and it was leveraged through this tough time from a loyal supporter of the club (of which there are few).
Von Neumann
Roar Guru
What will probably happen IF ASADA (rightly) resist the pressure to alter their policy of standing down whole clubs for more than 2 cases of cheating. Cronulla licence revoked. Essendon stood down for duration of ban. Because the AFL have no international competition whatsoever, and they are not big on their drug policy there is a remote, outside chance, they will ignore ASADA and just let Essendon play anyway. This would dent their credibility but they would try to spin it anyway in a failed public relations attempt Other clubs yet to be investigated, too hard to say. ** You want to revoke cronulla because you can feasibly add 3 teams to the NRL and the comp operates best between 16-18 teams. 19 or 20 will be too problematic (at least for this stage of its life). I dont think anyone is officially going there at the moment because it would be a public relations nightmare -- best to leave it dawn on people indirectly. Also it would be as if they were trying to escape punishment and scrutiny, now is not the time to discuss it publicly in any official capacity. Its true it may never happen, but its remote the club can even survive now without help - thats a fact - and the ARLC would not want to throw good money after bad on this. (I have chosen to focus specifically on Cronulla in the text because people don't like it when the reasons for other clubs legitamacy are brought up - its a jealousy thing, and hey, thats ok, its real, but it does not change the facts that another club would be a better proposition - the game is open to all fans australia wide now. )
Matt
Guest
Ha ha there is no way the Sharks will be relocated. Only team in the league to own their own ground + a major development next door which will not give them a steady income. The loss of sponsors is a minimal issue, and they just signed Tynan Motors today anyway. No way in hell the NRL will lose the shire to another code. One of the western sydney teams would be relocated way before the sharks.
Harry M
Guest
Gus, I havent read anywhere that 9 AFL clubs are involved. Essendon came forward and started their own investigation. Cronulla have investigated (in record time) after a whistleblower came forward and the adviser suggested they take 6 months although that is now being challenged. The Essendon probe is not yet complete so any comparison is moot at this stage, Surely an amnesty will have to be declared and the 2 big footy competitions affected players will have to get 9 months from October otherwise there will be chaos...
Redb
Roar Guru
gus, I don't know just how similar the circumstances are between Cronulla and Essendon. There are very strong rumours coming out of Essendon that they will be cleared of taking PEDS. The methods (injections) on the other hand could be an issue. I also dont know why Cronulla have just collapsed like this - they seem dysfunctional and that is another difference to Essendon. A big fine by the AFL is almost guaranteed, then ASADA and that outcome.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
makes sense, unless they went to a location that is unlikely to be able to host an NRL side, such as Adelaide
Atawhai Drive
Guest
Mail is that Damian Irvine will quit this morning (Wednesday).
Bring Back the Bears
Guest
It would never work because the new location would never accept the franchise as its own. The only way it could possibly work is if you did the reverse, 2 home games a year at cronulla.
NF
Roar Guru
bronco 31k for a season OPENER against Manly for the 25th Anniversary is just unacceptable can oikee explain such a disappointing crowd to me. I expect the Broncos to bounce back on the road againist Roosters/Dragons, so come the Storm/Cowboys game will be sell-outs no excuses there.
Epiquin
Guest
I'll admit I'm a bit biased in wanting a bears team on the coast, but I think you're right: There is a distribution problem in NSW, perhaps to the NRL, removing the sharks and putting the bears on the coast is the right option. People from the shire are claiming that the NRL will lose the shire if the Sharks are gone, but I don't think it would take much for a new generation of fans to follow the Dragons
dishes
Guest
They wanted to have an arrangement like that with Central Coast if i remember,but Gallop stopped it because the NRL wanted full relation or nothing at all. i'm not sure if the NRL has since changed its position on that.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Any chance of the Sharks adopting the West, say playing 2 home games there a season? A similar approach seems to have worked well in the AFL for Hawthorn who play occasionally in Launceston and Port Adelaide who head to Darwin once a year.
gus
Guest
No, we can't. But we can say the game doesn't need any more NSW clubs. We can say that there is a distribution issue in NSW. We can say that the game should overook the quaint "bringing back the Bears" campaign and expand the game somewhere which is actual expansion. Like Central Queensland, Brisbane, Perth, New Zealand or Adelaide.
gus
Guest
Oh, the Sharks probably should never have existed in the first place. The NSWRL wanted another "south" team to break up St George's 11 in a row dominance. They wanted Illawarra, but the Country RL blocked it. Cronulla were brought in as an inferior option. Interesting that St George provided a coach, players and financial guarentees to get the Sharks established. Good ridance to bad news sharks
gus
Guest
I'd say no. Sydneysiders love league. Its in the city's dna. The teams are regional too in Sydney. The shire is a "young families" region of sydney, with lots of fans of other clubs in the region. The sport most popular in the region other than league is soccer, and a few Sharks fans might gravitate that way, but Rugby League would endure. The Sharks probably should have been killed off in the 90s - they were one of the weakest back then, and the only thing that saved them was a Super League bailout. They dodged the "rationalisation" following super league, but they were never a strong team.
bronco
Guest
how has brisbane lacked off the field ???
gus
Guest
Red, I guess the Sharks experience is good prep for what Essendon will surely cop later in the year. Difference clearly is that Essendon is one of the strongest AFL clubs, Cronulla the weakest NRL club. Interesting that the other 3 clubs mentioned in he ASADA letter to Dank were Geelong, Gold Coast AFL and Manly... up to 9 AFL clubs rumoured in trouble, 6 NRL. Who knows how many other individuals are involved. could be a bad year in the AFL/NRL. Cronulla folding/relocating next year is just the tip of the iceberg.
gus
Guest
not just years. decades.
Don Marl
Guest
One of the problems is that the Sharks brand has been badly damaged through all this. If the sharks club as we know it goes out of existence (lets say it goes bankrupt then new entities in the way you describe might be better making the break and assuming an entirely different moniker.