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As an NRL fan in South Australia, I thought I’d weigh in about the NRL’s expansion options and also throw in my two bob’s worth about the TV coverage here in SA – or rather, the lack of it.
No matter where you live or who you follow, there are only three viable options for NRL expansion teams within the next five years: Perth, Papua New Guinea, and Queensland, be it Central, North or in Brisbane.
Why these three? Easy. That’s where all the fans who don’t have a team are.
Now before you shoot me down with cries of “Papua New Guinea isn’t part of Australia”, let me remind you that last I checked, neither was Auckland, much as we try to claim everything Kiwi… well, except for Russell Crowe.
Papua New Guinea have a good bid, can already field a team, and have Mal Meninga as coach. Who wouldn’t want to see how Big Mal goes in the NRL as a full-time coach? I reckon the big fella could take out the premiership with a team of unknowns in their first season I rate him that highly.
They’ve got a nice website, plenty of fans, and a big feeder base. They could even play a few games in Darwin, and maybe even get the US Marines based there behind the NRL.
Who wouldn’t want to see the Tomahawks more competitive at the next World Cup? Not to mention showing Yanks how real men play full contact sport, without helmets or body armour.
The next option is Perth, which has massive juniors comps, big amateur comps, and even OzTag teams. There are big ratings on telly, too, plus they get what us Adelaidians want – NRL live on Ch9/GEM.
I’m not too familiar with their bid, and we all know how unreliable Wiki is so I couldn’t get much info on it. All I know is David Gallop was a fan of the West Coast Pirates bid before he left in November 2013. They’ve even got an SG Ball team of juniors playing in preparation and a nice website as well, but not much info other than a set of goals.
Then we have the two best Queensland bids, the Brisbane Bombers and the Ipswich Jets. Both bids are first class, both have excellent plans in place, and would continue to use Suncorp as their home when the Broncos are away.
Both have teams in the Queensland Cup, and have access to an impressive roster of players. I prefer the Bombers bid as it makes the most logical argument and seems to have better plans in place. It helps that their website is one of the best I’ve seen yet for a sports team, and that includes current NRL teams.
I think this would make the most sense, and mean that there is a game at Suncorp every week for the NRL-mad Brisbane crowds.
I completely dismiss the Central Coats Bears bid, as New South Wales simply does not need another side.
Want a side, Gosford? Convince an existing team to relocate. That’s all you’ll get from me.
The Bears are dead, much like Newtown before them. I hear the Knights are in need of some money, so you might be able to convince them to play a few games down there for a while.
The Wellington bid is strong, but I think we could get Papua New Guinea involved before we get another Kiwi team in the comp. I think the bid should be a definite for the expansion to 20 teams down the track, but 20 is where it should stop.
And as much as I’d love to see an Adelaide team, there is no interest here for it.
Even my cousin Ben admitted, after a workmate took him to see the Adelaide Crows beat Collingwood at Adelaide Oval, that if AFL can pull 50,051 to a 7pm Thursday night game, the NRL has absolutely no chance here.
I’ve never thought they had a chance, but that’s Adelaide’s loss, not the NRL’s. We are sports mad here and would get behind any sport that has a local side, but breaking the stranglehold on AFL here would be impossible.
Go for a walk through Rundle Mall on a Showdown day and you see Crows and Power flags, beanies, scarves, guernseys, jackets and even the shops get into it, covering themselves in their chosen team’s colours. You would never see that in the NRL, even at Origin time or on grand final day.
In fact, that’s why I think the NRL needs to send a few games here, and make sure Ch9/GEM show the NRL live here. Get the players to experience what it’s like when your whole state is behind you. It’s impressive.
You’ve got a lot to learn, NRL, and you might have to swallow your pride and learn something from the AFL’s successes if you want a truly national competition.
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