Roar Rookie
Joined June 2018
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A New Zealander born and raised in the bastion of Rugby Union in the deep South of New Zealand. A fan of rugby league since the Winfield Cup captured the attention of so many union purists and a North Sydney Bears tragic ever since. And having lived in Melbourne a follower of St Kilda in AFL.
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There are some burning questions that need to be asked before the playoffs begin and answered hopefully before everybody forgets that they were even…
The NRL has taken the step of announcing a 'Magic Round' weekend of footy in Brisbane in Round 10 next year. With that in…
@Red Rob
As to part b of your opinion : Why? When has relocation been given a chance to work? The best chance was to allow North’s to move to Central Coast but we all know how that ended!
Bennett in high demand as multiple NRL expansion clubs line up to offer him inaugural coaching job
@ Birdy
I agree with you that any club would not want Wayne as a coach or an inaugural coach.
I agree with you that there are many deserving bids looking to join the NRL.
What I don’t agree with you is that having seemingly punished Tigers and I assume you are talking about Wests Tigers why would you want to just shuffle the deck chairs and put that outfit into Perth. Surely the people of Western Australia /Perth deserve a decent well thought out addition to the competition. Then aren’t you just poisoning the ground for a Brisbane Tigers outfit?
Bennett in high demand as multiple NRL expansion clubs line up to offer him inaugural coaching job
@ KC’s Other Leg
Quality over quantity !
Rugby living rent free in NRL's head but childish chairmen of both codes raise questions on governance issues
Mate that is quite an opinion and I agree with some of what you say but in defence of Rugby Super franchises it was originally in the case of the NZ teams the Auckland Blues and for example the Otago Highlanders but these franchises were and are made up of multiple traditional Unions so for example again the Highlanders were formed of the Southland Otago and North Otago provincial Unions so the Otago bit was dropped (as was the Auckland Waikato Wellington and Canterbury) so it would more accurately include and not exclude any of the supporter base.
In regard to the AFL the Bulldogs were the Footscray Bulldogs but with huge growth to the west of Melbourne the Western part was to include those beyond the tradition areas. These changes are justified. It just seems to be the NRL that cant sort themselves out in traditional Sydney areas
Bring back the Bears nostalgia only goes so far: Norths no certainty to be a success if brought out of hibernation
Big Daddy the Northern Eagles was a stitch up for a start but I agree with you. They have always been at the forefront of seeking entry/re-admission even to the point of delaying and giving other bids extra time to bring them up to par with the Bears especially when the Central Coast bid was so well organized back in 2011/12.
Bring back the Bears nostalgia only goes so far: Norths no certainty to be a success if brought out of hibernation
@ Birdy
That’s a bit of a bit of a spurious argument isn’t it?
Bring back the Bears nostalgia only goes so far: Norths no certainty to be a success if brought out of hibernation
@Cadfael
Well they tried the Central Coast Bears so perhaps Perth based and call the new team the West Coast Bears.
Bring back the Bears nostalgia only goes so far: Norths no certainty to be a success if brought out of hibernation
Mate I think the CC Bears idea is not going to work when you consider Nick Politis has all the Central coast teams using the ‘Roosters’ branding. He has too much money and too much influence going around for the Bears to ressurect the Central Coast Bears idea even though they gave it a red hot crack a decade ago with 7000 members to a club that never was going to be.
Bring back the Bears nostalgia only goes so far: Norths no certainty to be a success if brought out of hibernation
@ Nat
You are right Sydney is full and it remains full. In my opinion because the treatment of North Sydney when they had the foresight to relocate to the Central Coast and had things go wrong with delays in the opening of their new stadium was an indictment on the other clubs that used it as a reason to remove them. Their investment was sold as a lose rather than as an investment. Why would any club in the years afterwards then take the risk of moving/relocating?
By the way indignity is the word you should be using whereas ‘indignant’ is why the Bears have never stopped pushing for re-inclusion because we know we were treated unfairly!
Bring back the Bears nostalgia only goes so far: Norths no certainty to be a success if brought out of hibernation
This article is a bit of a mixed bag for me, the author is entitled to an opinion as much as the next bloke.
What I agree with in this case is that it is true that ‘the trickle of “bring back the Bears” articles will become a tidalwave.’ As a Bears die hard it is a little dis-spiriting to have my club used for every writer that needs an easy story and every hater that needs a whipping boy.
Also true is that ‘current clubs are not keen to see the proverbial pie of revenue carved into more slices than the status quo’ and that ‘current club CEOs and chairs should be ignored as much as possible when it comes to big picture issues in the game’. I opined as much in another article that NRL clubs interfere with the game too much to protect their own interests despite the commission being formed to supposedly stop that.
However there are some factual errors that you would expect an experienced journalist to take time to learn. It was the end of 2021 that North Sydney modified their logo it now has Bears AND ‘NS 1908’ in the crest/emblem. Also hair splitting a little but they are still co-operating with the Roosters who still have some of their contracted players in the Bears squad. This arrangement only ends at the end of the current season.
He states ‘there needs to be a compelling case to bring the Bears back for the ARL Commission to consider them a viable option.’ Well he answers that earlier in the article by stating that they have ‘ millions in the bank to help bankroll a new franchise’. That should put them in contention surely?
Bring back the Bears nostalgia only goes so far: Norths no certainty to be a success if brought out of hibernation
And I am sure there are the logistics of moving broadcast (and I’m talking radio too but TV is meant to be the whole sell for expansion and revenue) equipment and crew and commentators back and forth around wherever the game is scheduled to be played.
'Cannon fodder': Sattler's warning over NRL's ambitious 20-team expansion plan, and surprise verdict on Pasifika team
The last quote struck me as particularly unthinking…
“I don’t agree with Perth, I just think logistically, it’s a nightmare when it comes to the amount of travel you have to do as a side. The AFL do it, and they do it really well…. but honestly, I feel it is an AFL town, leave it to the AFL to dominate.”
How can having a Pasifika team based in Cairns and playing in Fiji also be easier than having a Perth based team? Perth to Brisbane/Sydney frequently (almost constantly) versus no direct flights between Cairns and Nadi you’d have to go the long route and hence more travel.
There is a large population and an established rugby league local comp to tap into . All you need is to poach an experienced AFL travel consultant surely Perth would be worth it instead of waving the white flag and saying its too hard?!
'Cannon fodder': Sattler's warning over NRL's ambitious 20-team expansion plan, and surprise verdict on Pasifika team
Self interest the key phrase. Clubs that have a NRL license/franchise put their own interest ahead of the greater good which is why I thought the league Commission was created ??
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
I suspect that all the other clubs use it as a recruitment centre so they don’t want a permanent presence on the Coast.
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
Yeah but what is NRL’s average crowd you can hardly hold a new team to a higher standard than other clubs?
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
Mate the Bears might be more successful because it was their foresight to relocate there in the first place. It is only because the plan was never allowed to happen in the aftermath of the Super League ARL war. The fact MW set up the JV to fail from the start was a reason why they were loathed. And the Bears had a second crack and were successful to a degree setting up a viable venture there ( I know this because I was a signed up member of the Central Coast Bears). They were so good at it that the NRL set the timetable back for other bids to attempt to get to the same level which they couldn’t. So in the end they just handed it to the GC pretty much handing it to the Titans on a golden platter!
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
Even at 25% that’s 10000 which is a decent week in week out attendance
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
Good point !!
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
I don’t think that is a good argument !
Swans 2 Premierships and 4 losing GF appearances and Lions 3 consecutive Premierships and 1 or two losing GF appearances compared to say Cronulla that took 50 years to earn a Premiership and 3 losing GF appearances!
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
Steve I am willing to bet there are as many girls in junior rugby league clubs across Australia and NZ as there are boys, why shouldn’t there be development pathways made available to the girls as they grow into young women and ladies.
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
I have no idea why you think there is only 1 rugby league club in “Northern Sydney” there are quite definately two!
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
It doesn’t really matter in a comp there will always be wooden spooners and ‘weaker’ teams no matter if you have 12, 16 18 or 20 teams!
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
Yeah the ‘poorly run Sydney club’ Trope !!
What do you think is the definition of poorly run?
Not being able to win a premiership since 2007 despite all their advantage ! ( I’m looking at you Brisbane ! )
Almost getting shut down again until getting an NRL bail out before new owners were found (I’m looking at you Gold Coast )
Cooking the books on a massive scale and getting titles stripped from you ! ( I’m looking at you Melbourne ! )
Those who cannot remember past NRL expansion errors are condemned to repeat them
Have you seen the new seasons North Sydney Bears home and away jerseys for the upcoming season? I like their alternate 2023 jersey that on its own deserved a mention!
The good, the bad and the Dolphins: 2023 NRL jersey review from fashion disasters to Paramount elegance
RR I think the relocation element had much to do with the success of the Swans. The “rusted on” support of the old South Melbourne base probably helped until they were able to draw in the greater support from the Sydney locals once you had that it was more likely to be self sustaining. The ARL/NRL never had the courage to try it or there was or is too much political interference to let it occur!
Bennett in high demand as multiple NRL expansion clubs line up to offer him inaugural coaching job