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I don’t know Christian D’Aloia, but to quote Montgomery Burns: ‘I like the cut of his jib’.
Of course Brisbane should have a second NRL team. It is a no-brainer.
I don’t agree with Phil Gould on very much (other than that he should never, ever again let his natural hair colour adorn my television screen again), but it is an absolute disgrace that there are only 12 live games of rugby league (not including the Titans and Bulldogs taking home games up there for a sweet payday) during the regular season.
There should be at least one live game being played in Brisbane on a weekly basis. Every year.
The critics who say that the proponents of a second Brisbane team are only from Brisbane or work for channel nine are in fact missing the point.
As I so shamelessly have previously stated, I bleed red and blue for the Knights of Newcastle(#Joey4eva), but even I am not that one-eyed to see that a stronghold like Brisbane should be fortified for the good of rugby league. A strong Brisbane base, along with a strong Sydney base, in fact makes every other team in the NRL all the more better. Fortification breeds strength, which breeds competition and popularity, which will ultimately make expansion even easier to places like Perth or Papua New Guinea.
And that is not to say I am against a move elsewhere. Despite the protestations otherwise, I can in fact be ‘for’ something, without being ‘against’ something else.
If the NRL wants to expand to Papua New Guinea, Perth, Wellington or Somalia, then that is fine.
Do it. If they think it’ll work, then kudos to them. I’d love a road-trip to war-torn Africa to watch a rugby league match, if it was a viable option.
But expansion is all good and well, only when your home is in order. The Roman Empire was strong, because Rome was strong. You think AFL would have expanded everywhere else in Australia if they didn’t have a firm base of their Victorian clubs?
Granted, Melbourne and the Kangaroos are basket cases, but the state of Victoria itself is AFL-strong.
Even the initial expansion points were strong and given second teams. All those ‘second’ teams in South Australia, WA, NSW and Queensland have fortified expansion.
Well, as far as rugby league is concerned, Sydney and Brisbane must be even stronger.
The ‘National’ part of ‘NRL’ is flakey enough as it is.
Granted, I appreciate that I have highlighted that second teams in expansion areas of AFL may suggest that initial expansion is in fact the priority. But, remember, the Broncos were an expansion team.
They are in a position where they have the base upon which a second team should not harm their very existence. They are even better suited than the Sydney Swans to adjust to a team like GWS.
Now, I can reel off numerous problems that would face a second Brisbane team, no doubt already repeated in the couple hundred comments that Christian’s article has received.
However, the two biggest difficulties that I would see for a second Brisbane team are in fact directly related to the Broncos.
Firstly, Brsbane Mach II (BMII) must not dilute the powerbase of the Broncos. BMII must compliment the Broncos, such that a rivalry develops. Each entity needn’t love the other, but nor should the Broncos suffer at the hands of having to compete with a second NRL franchise.
Which leads to a second issue, that being: what would be the identity of a second Brisbane team? How do you enter a competition, compete with a proud, strong and successful team that captures an entire state capital, and maintain an individual identity that the dozens of people who don’t like the Broncos will give their allegiance to?
Western Sydney Wanderers will tell you that identity is in a lot of ways just as important as a competitive team.
I actually don’t have the answer to any of these problems. I’m just that type of guy: I’ll highlight the problem, someone else can solve it.
But you would have to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and Unicorns, all while looking for the leprechaun with a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow if you think that a second Brisbane team is not a mere luxury, but in fact a necessity.
Lockyer and Bennett are no more (come on Benny, premiership for the Knights in 2014 please).
The Broncos missed the finals and crowds are down. There are signs that the kingdom is crumbling. Fortress Brisbane is shaky. If anything, now is the paramount time for that second team. Keep Brisbane strong. Build it and they (the disenfranchised) will come.
So let’s keep the debate rolling. Let’s get that second team up and running. But only if it is done right.
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