It looks all but certain that the NRL has got the final figures for their new broadcast deal to commence in 2018, with all eight games live. But eight games only allows for 16, or maybe 17 if a team has a bye, teams. Why don’t the NRL want to expand?
NRL CEO Dave Smith appears to have put the concept on the backburner.
“This deal assumes 16 teams,” Smith said in a press conference.
“We have had discussions about whether we could introduce a 17th team and they have been good faith discussion and there is the ability within the contract to do this.
“If you do the modelling typically what happens is that you get all the costs that suggest you move to 18. But I’m not talking about that today, this deal is about a 16-team competition, it is about eight games a weekend.
“But there have been some conversations about expansion and we have built some flexibility.”
There are enough players and officials in the game that could easily create two new clubs. Placed in the right spots, these clubs can add an extra game without there being a problem with the TV rights.
The ideal places to expand to from a broadcast perspective would be Perth (two hours behind) and Wellington (two hours ahead).
However, a bid from Brisbane/Ipswich would be a better bet than Wellington, based on TV ratings, due to the huge rugby league-mad market that is Queensland.
There is plenty of talent in Queensland too, so they wouldn’t have any trouble attracting players. As for fans, they shouldn’t have any trouble attracting over 20,000 per week to home games.
The South Queensland Crushers were one of only four teams (along with North Queensland, Auckland and the Broncos) to average over 20,000 fans in their debut season of 1995, the year the league world was rocked by the Super League War.
And wouldn’t a Brisbane derby bring out the fans? There is no reason a battle between two Brisbane teams couldn’t attract 40,000+ to Suncorp Stadium.
As for Perth, every second week you have a game a little bit later without affecting any of the other matches. That is a broadcaster’s dream expansion scenario.
Perth has a bid team, West Coast Pirates, that have been playing junior reps in the Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball in NSW for several years.
And before Perth announced the name of their bid, the Western Australia Reds were playing in these competitions, as well as the NSW Cup.
Perth are definitely prepared to have an NRL team again. One-off matches in the West get big crowds. With their own team, they could go close to selling out home games.
Players who have spent part of their lives in Western Australia who are playing in either the NRL or Super League include Cory Paterson, Adam Quinlan and Curtis Rona.
Even with all the added positives of an extra game, the NRL still seems to want to stick with 16 teams and kill Monday night football in favour of Thursday night football. If the NRL wants to cede ground to the AFL and Super Rugby, particularly in places they have no presence currently, they should stick with the plan.
ChubbzyK96
Guest
I think relocation is the probably th best way to go about things at present......buuuuutttttt, as a boy from Ipswich, i couldnt imagine supporting a relocated team, maybe they would get the support 10 years down the track from next gen, but not from tose who would have known Tigers as a team from Sydney, I wouldnt move my allegiances from the Cowboys..... Bring in the Jets however!
Stephen Mills
Guest
GROW THE GAME SUPER LEAGUE WAR DESTROYED THE LOCAL GAME IN PERTH, ITS FINALLY MADE A COMEBACK NO HELP TO THE POWERS TO BE AND NOW ITS TIME TO REPAY THE VICTIMS. THE WAR DECIDED THE NUMBER OF CLUBS, 20 WAS A GOOD NUMBER BACK THEN AS THE CROWDS FROM BOTH CAMPS CAN ATTEST
BeastieBoy
Guest
Expand to Wellington they wil get a big following. It will also create a derby with Auckland. move the Roosters to the Central Coast as they have no following where they are. Bring on another Queensland team.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
We can expand to 18 even without them. Anycase after the RWC, in 2017 expect due to strong rumours SBW to return to the NRL.I believe there is a good chance Folau and Burgess will follow in 2018.Once WCs and Rios 7s are out of the way.They have in fact done it all. Burgess family resides in Sydney,Folau has strong family connections here with the NRL The new TV deal does not come into focus till 2018,a lot of water under the bridge till then. Should the code expand to 18 teams,sponsorship will be worth more,also 3rd party sponsorships.Marketing opportunities will be greater.
Mark
Guest
Sorry to tell you this bud but East's ain't going anywhere. They are one of the most financial clubs out there with a ton of financial supporters as well as having 5 leagues clubs. They would have to be one of the last clubs that would move.
Red Jack
Guest
NRL awaits Eliab Source: The National,Thursday August 13th, 2015 QUEENSLAND Cup commentators Mike Rabbitt and Adrian Vowles say it is only a matter of time before Hunters captain Israel Eliab is signed up by a National Rugby League club. The pair sung Eliab’s praises during the TVWAN broadcast last Saturday, where the 25-year-old lead his side to a convincing 32-14 win over the Ipswich Jets. Rabbitt was particularly animated after Eliab scored yet another length-of-the-field try bringing his 2015 tally to 19, only three tries behind the club record of 22 set by winger Gary Lo last year. “Eliab does it (scores long range tries) on a weekly basis. He’s deceptively fast and he’s strong, he has that tackle breaking ability and then the pace to go the length of the field,” Rabbitt, pictured, a veteran Queensland sports commentator said. “If any NRL clubs are watching this, I won’t be surprised if someone picks him up next year. He’s clearly at that level.” Vowles, who played State of Origin for Queensland in 1994 quipped that the struggling Newcastle Knights needed a spark and could do no worse than Eliab. “I think a club like the Knights could use him. I don’t mean any offence to a player like Jarrod Mullins who’s their main man but he’s out for the season and Newcastle are in need of a playmaker and ball runner,” Vowles said. Vowles a former Gold Coast Seagulls and North Queensland Cowboys centre likened Eliab to a young John Simon, the former NRL journeyman who played for five clubs over a 12-year career (1990-2001) and earned a reputation as a strong ball runner and defender. Simon played four Origin matches for NSW and one test for Australia. “He reminds me of a player like John Simon for the Illawarra Steelers. Tough, fast and dangerous with ball in hand.” Eliab’s combination with halfback Ase Boas has been one of the reasons for his great form this season. The pair complement each other’s games with Eliab given time to pick his moments with devastating effect without having the burden of being the chief shot caller in the backline. Eliab’s impact on the Queensland Cup last year was almost immediate with the five-eighth earning accolades for his leadership and his ability with the ball. He missed out on the Q-Cup player of the year award to fellow Kumul Luke Page. He may have struggled slightly throughout the course of the Hunters’ debut year finding his feet as he was shifted from the No.6 jersey to fullback and then to the centres. But the after a season under his belt in the Q-Cup the East New Britain native is going from strength to strength and his progress is mirroring the success of the Hunters in 2015 who have not lost a game since Round 6 having won 13 from 14 with one draw and are poised for a top two finish. Hunters coach Michael Marum said he was pleased that Eliab was one of the three players he insisted should be part of the Hunters set up in their inaugural year in 2014. The two players were the equally talented Wartovo Puara Jr and Ase Boas. “Israel, Ase and Warts were the young guys we groomed as part of the Gurias development programme and I spent a lot of time with these guys and I know how good they are that’s the reason I wanted them in the Hunters,” Marum said. “Israel is a great player and leader. He’s developed a lot since his time at the Gurias and he’s one our best.” From winning a Digicel Cup with the Vipers in 2013 to being part of the Kumuls World Cup squad that same year, Eliab’s star has not waned one bit, on the contrary its getting brighter. Eliab will lead his team out before an expectant home crowd numbering 15,000 plus at the Sir John Guise Stadium on Sunday against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in their Round 23 clash.
Baz
Guest
WTF
marco
Guest
Ratings of NRL games in general, not origin games.
john neeson
Guest
Expansion is easy. One comp for Qlders and let's see PNG, Perth (though mining is in the doldrums), Melbourne...arrrgh and a bunch of second rate Qld cup teams. Then a comp for traditional first grade footy teams, (less Easts as they should be happily relocated to the Gold Coast). Expansion complete.
Maroon Blood
Roar Rookie
Ratings for what? NRL games in general? where are you getting your figures? This Origin series, Perth had the highest number of viewers outside of NSW and Qld. Fact.
Council
Guest
You obviously don't know very much about rugby at all.
marco
Guest
Yet tv ratings in perth are often way under 5000. They must be looking at those figures and wonder if its worth it.
Ranga22
Guest
Love it when Rugby League makes the likes of clipper and in brief cry, makes my day. Now they wouldn't cry so much if they didn't lie, here endeth the lesson. :)
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
Agree entirely. And, even as an old Balmain fan, I think that place is Campbelltown / Liverpool.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Especially with the international game and the opportunities it represents on the up.
Maroon Blood
Guest
I just don't get how putting another team in a League stronghold is "expansion". I live in Perth. I have been involved in Junior Rugby League for a decade. We have had four new junior teams enter the Perth comp in the last two years. WA has dominated the Affiliated States comp in senior and junior grades for a decade. The expat East-coast, Kiwi and Northern English population here has boomed along with the mining boom. There is strong Goldfields and Port Hedland RL comp as a direct result. NRL games here easily have bigger attendances than Sydney games. The game is getting bigger every year even WITHOUT our own team. The corporate support, the market, the junior development, the supporter base........it's all here ready to be tapped. All we need is for the NRL to pull the East coast-centric blinkers off and EXPAND the game. NATIONAL Rugby League.............get it??
Maroon Blood
Guest
Bulldogs v Sharks two weeks ago was (to quote the commentators) "a bludger of a game". Are those two teams bereft of first grade-quality players? We somehow managed a 20-team comp post SL War, was the player talent pool much larger back then? The NRL has brokered the best FTA TV deal in the codes history which HAS to lead to greater exposure and interest in the game so expansion, to me, is the next logical step. IF it has to be 17 teams to support the 8 game structure, let it be Perth and put the "N" into the NRL.
marco
Guest
No doubt the money nine offered is good. But, if foxtel dont pay through the nose to broadcast every game as well, then the overall deal for league is still up in the air. There has been no real mention of expansion so any comment is pure speculation. If attendances keep dropping, and the new deal may adversely affect future attendances, then club revenue will drop.They will really need that extra tv money. Not too many clubs will support expansion if it eats into their revenue.
Jackso
Guest
I assume the NRL is offering the carrot from the bidders to offer something, Perth, CC, Qld Govt which has assisted the AFL expansion. |Its unlikely the Qld Govt will assist a second team in Brisbane when the only newspaper is owned by the Broncos owner, the Perth newspaper is Seven owner so perhaps a game or two on seven will be the carrot. Ten could buy the other 4 games cheaply on delay for a couple of years, then take them off and put them on Pay to build subscribers. If the NRL have got the schedule back how will they program the best games so far in advance or will they bow to the network and program all Sydney friday night, a brisabne on Thursday night etc to maximise eyes...
Renegade
Roar Guru
With 18 teams and the salary cap being raised... I think you'll find that those type of players will come back. So yes, the code can support it.