The next NRL television deal is due to commence in 2023 – and Tom Malone, Nine’s director of sport, wants to relocate an existing team to Brisbane.
Protected by the current licensing agreement, the NRL cannot force a club to relocate. A club would need to do it voluntarily.
After Malone expressed his sentiments, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter Beattie asked the NRL to “work on a footprint strategy and report back by December 2019” and “clubs will have a chance to voice their views on September 12”.
In an ideal world, NRL heartland south-east Queensland would have five teams: North Brisbane, South Brisbane/Logan, Gold Coast, Bayside/Sunshine Coast and the Western Corridor, covering Ipswich to the Darling Downs.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Central Queensland is another heartland not to be forgotten.
In terms of growth, there is also New Zealand. Having a North Island team (the Warriors) playing against a South Island team (such as Canterbury) would also have merit.
Add to the mix the Central Coast of NSW and Perth, both have a case for representation.
Expanding the number of teams thins the talent and makes it more difficult to both qualify for the finals and ultimately win a premiership, so an alternative is needed.
So are we back to relocating a team? Maybe not.
Rather than relocating Sydney teams, there may be another option that delivers a strategic footprint.
A dual city approach would see Sydney teams stay in Sydney but play more games in other regions. Instead of only representing Sydney – which in recent years has seen crowd numbers drop – Sydney teams would form powerful alliances with south-east Queensland and other regional locations.
Prime candidates are the Eels and the Rabbitohs. Both are big crowd pullers in Queensland, and with many migrant New South Welshmen fleeing Sydney for warmer waters, there is an existing Eels and Rabbitohs supporter base now in the Sunshine State.
Given these facts, NRL teams playing in south-east Queensland could become…
1. North Brisbane Broncos, representing North Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast and playing at Suncorp Stadium.
2. Souths Rabbitohs, representing South Sydney and South Brisbane to Logan City. They would play 11 games at ANZ, eight games at the QE2 Stadium or Suncorp until a future venue, such as Wakerley Park near Runcorn Station is developed.
3. Gold Coast Parramatta Eels, a merger of the Eels and Titans, splitting their games between Suncorp or Cbus Super Stadium as well as the new Western Sydney Stadium. The blue-and-gold colours of the Eels are a natural fit with the colours of the Gold Coast.
4. Manly Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles, representing Manly in Sydney and Brisbane’s Bayside (Wynnum-Manly) all the way to the Sunshine Coast. They would play 11 games at Brookvale and eight derby games at Suncorp.
5. West Tigers, representing Western Sydney and the growth corridor in south-east Queensland, namely Ipswich to the Darling Downs. They would play 11 games at the Western Sydney Stadium plus four derby games at Suncorp until a future venue in Ipswich is developed.
It is important that Sydney teams still retain the same number of home games. At the same time, existing supporter bases in south-east Queensland finally have a regional team to support on a regular basis.
Downsides, of course, are that some teams may need to reduce their home games from 11 to nine or ten, so they should be compensated accordingly. Likewise, travel costs stand to increase. That said, there is far more upside, including revenue from the broadcast deal, gate takings, merchandising, sponsorships as well as marketability.
Outside of south-east Queensland, we could see the introduction of the red-and-black Canterbury Bears playing eight games out of Canterbury in New Zealand and four games out of the Central Coast. The Canterbury Crusaders may even wish to bid for the rights to the franchise and become the first dual-code NRL-rugby union team.
Next come Perth, Adelaide and Central Queensland. The Storm and Roosters have become a regular feature in Adelaide, and this should continue.
Likewise, other teams in the competition should seek to form alliances with Perth and Central Queensland.
September 12 is fast approaching. What should the NRL do?
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Titans have the fans. They averaged the 3rd highest crowds from 07 to 10. They’ll come back when the team starts winning
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Leave my poor ol Titans alone. We’ll win the comp in 2021. You just wait!
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Qld wouldn’t accept any nsw teams
Mondo
Roar Rookie
It sounds unnecessarily complex. 1. If the Gold Coast has trouble supporting a team full time, move some of the games to Suncorp and rebrand them as the South Qld Titans. The Dragons have worked with a similar arrangement for 20 years. 2. The Central Coast has a decent stadium but no team. Manly needs a decent stadium, so this one explains itself. Find another use for the Brookvale land, so there’s no chance for a cut-and-run this time. 3. The league might be more patient short term if an existing team is moved to Perth. The West Coast Sharks has a nice ring to it, and they already have a rivalry with the Storm. Still keep a 16 team competition, so no issues with diluting talent.
BeastieBoy
Roar Rookie
Souths Rabbitohs, representing South Sydney and South Brisbane to Logan City. WTF.. NO NO. Teams represent tight locations.. mixing states is crazy. You can't relocate teams.. you will just lose supporters. but you cant stop progress. there are growth areas that League must claim now. So pick the top 4. Wellington NZ (give local Derby), Gosford, 2 x Queensland teams. Then simply have a raffle and you will not play every team twice. there will be 4 occasions per year when you don't. That will keep the game numbers the same. It's a Evolution not a revolution. Next step .. are there more growth areas with financial support.. then start them. the next steps will become obvious. Find more players? 2 conferences based on location to reduce travelling.. split in 2 after one round with the premiership for the high achievers and a plate final for the lovely ones.. promotion and relegation. the one to pick will become obvious. The important thing is to claim the growth areas asap. The areas in decline will naturally fall off the cliff.
Josh H
Roar Rookie
I would never merge successful Sydney sides because their supporter bases are far too established, but there is a lot of merit in clubs designating regional areas not yet covered by a current NRL team. We've seen Souths have a lot of success in moving games to Perth over the past decade, and if they could increase the allotment of fixtures there by 3-4 games, they could establish effectively a secondary fanbase. The Titans are struggling for fans. They need to consider Northern NSW as an option. Coffs Harbour and that region is relatively small, but it's still beneficial as they could develop a boatload of juniors. Cowboys? Look at Darwin. Storm? Consider Tasmania. Canberra? Look into Country NSW. It would only need to be half a dozen games per season, but at regular intervals, teams could ascertain a lot, without having the need to necessarily expand or merge.
Nat
Roar Guru
Like I said, you can narrow the scope all you want, I didn't qualify my statement to home ground attendances like you have here. There are club who have great out-of-town support and mostly they are the traditional clubs Souths, Roosters and Saints. Overall the Roosters have more bums on seats this year.
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
I left the Rabbit's games at Gosford and the 'Magic' Round out of the equation already so, no, the Roosters do not out-draw them and I'd hazard they don't out-draw anyone. Granted the SCG sucks as a football ground. 2018 Roosters drew an average of 13,136 at the SFS in 10 games (they played at Gosford and Adelaide) while the Rabbits drew an average of 16,782 at Stadium Oz, leaving out their games in Perth and the Double Header in Sydney. It's really line ball between them but neither have crowds to crow about.
Nat
Roar Guru
It's a good point but Souths have the same outliers. They too had Magic Rnd and a sold out game at CCS against the Storm. I could also highlight playing out of the SCG instead of a RL ground. It is close without doubt and maybe in Sydneysiders turnout on Thursday it may swing back but I'm keeping it simple, and that is the Roosters have averaged a higher crowd figure this year.
Nat
Roar Guru
You don't read the Daily Tele? Baahahahaha, that and Fox are the only sources you quote!! Hooper goes on Melbourne -Jujitsu rant and sure enough Papi jumps on the bandwagon. Buzz makes up some garbage about the Qld teams and Papi is all over it. Or the classic "I don't often agree with Paul Kent but..." My man, you are the reason they exist - You are their target market and you swallow it all. So you butcher the Bard's quotes and question my education? What's your excuse then?
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
Fake News Rooster. The Roosters have played 9 times at the SCG but 2 of those games account for almost 45% of their total attendance. No surprises to learn the two games were hosting Souths (24,527) and Anzac Day vs Saints (38,414). For the remaining 7 home games they drew a total of 78,541 for an average of 11,220. The Premiers are drawing 11,000 and change to their games. Pathetic. Souths have played 8 games at Stadium Australia for 101,106 for an average of 12,638, still nothing to brag about but more than the Roosters. The Roosters have also had 3 'home' games at other venues, Lang Park, Adelaide Oval and Gosford. All three venues had bigger attendances than the 7 games at the SCG I mentioned earlier. Their 'home' attendances are boosted by actually playing away from home. How's that for fan support?
Emcie
Roar Guru
Bidding for short term limited rights to something doesn't give nine the right to make long term strategic decisions for the league
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
Roosters crowds are appalling for a team as old as they are and the current Premiers. They (and others) it should be noted were given the total attendance at the stupid carnival games in Brisbane as their home attendance rather than the number being divided by the two or three 'home' teams on the day. that's to say, if the crowd was 35,000 for the double header each 'home' team got 35,000 attendance against their season total. What a joke!!
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
A kindred spirit!! I'm with you Kevin, less Sydney teams can only be a good thing and the more National it gets the better. I know Origin is an event game now wherever they play it but the attendances in Perth and Adelaide have to indicate there is interest. I would still kill off the Gold Coast - it is a sports graveyard.
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
Keep Souths, dump the Roosters!!
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
Because if they stop paying to televise the game paid attendances at matches won't ever cover their costs.
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
wow 30% Red-V. that's more people than they draw at Kogarah, maybe they should move to SE Queensland.
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
and yet, we had the Adelaide Rams drawing crowds in the late 90s.
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
Max, you may not know nor remember there were two (moderately) successful teams in Perth and Adelaide and were they resurrected today would bring plenty to the NRL (think TV contracts, rivalries with Storm etc) that co-opting Brisbane club teams into some quasi-expanded competition would not. To truly be world class and professional the NRL needs to play less games at sub-standard suburban grounds (hello Manly, Wests-Tigers, Cronulla) and operate in the bigger centres. Killing any of the above-mentioned clubs would only 'hurt' short term as they have very poor following (actual match attendances) anyway.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Tim you wouldn’t know what, a heartland was.Sellouts last weekend and this weekend at two NRL games in Sydney. Now you’re answering for Peter Piper.You’ve got issues mate. Sydney’s not the heartland of your code mate, nor the others you pretend to protect.It’s (rugby league)the only football code that rates in Sydney .The other Tv ratings in Sydney are embarrassing.But you go on and BS and tell the usual porkies.Amateur hour . Expansion on the drawing boards for the NRL. No cutting teams in WA.I know you’ll enjoy it.