23 clubs? Got a source for that figure? I can only see 16 in my quick search.

North Sydney the suburb is smaller than Manly the suburb. But Manly- Warringah districts or the Northern Beaches region? As opposed to the “entire” Northern Sydney region? It’s all down to semantics and what we want to use as a definition.

And how do we know North Sydney Bears wouldn’t have won those 2 Grand Finals?

@TheBarry
Why is it that you believe it to be disingenuous?

@Clanger McClunk
I have been thinking for a long time on the very subject and agree with you on the need for a rethink about how RL is arranged in Australia. I might have slightly different ideas on how to distribute the teams who participate and the number of teams needed or wanted in Sydney.
I think removing all current teams from the NRL and redistributing the franchise holders would be an idea. Traditional clubs could compete in a revamped NSW Cup and have multiple teams feeding into the re organized NRL franchises.
I also reference my point from above to AE47. I genuinely think the ARLC or NRL need to hold a review on the state of the game and to be meaningful allow public submissions. After all it is the public that are the greatest stakeholders. And by way of being taxpayers and rate payers are asked to fund stadiums with public money.

@AngryEagle47
There are a couple of rare events, first two Bears and Sea Eagles supporters agreeing and second a Sea Eagles supporter advocating culling teams that include his own beloved team!!
I genuinely think the ARLC or NRL need to hold a review on the state of the game and to be meaningful allow public submissions. After all it is the public that are the greatest stakeholders. And by way of being taxpayers and rate payers are asked to fund stadiums with public money.

Well I have a bit to say on this.
@ BA Sports
“This piece is loaded for the North Sydney and Newtown Jets lovers to come gushing in, but there is no way the game can go forward if it keeps goes back too the past with brands that have not been relevant for 20 years and thus mean little to potential new fans”
Well I am one of those North Sydney lovers and I must admit I have a certain soft spot for Newton too. I make reference to a comment I made as a reply to Clanker McClunk’s comment. For the past 18 to 20 years 16 brands have been protected and allowed to live on even though if true market forces were at play some of them would’ve gone under. You say that the game cant go forward if it keeps going back to the past. If that were the case why are retro team jerseys or heritage jerseys so popular? Why is there a retro round during the season? Why are there people in response to this article talking about watching Fox sports summer replays of games from the 90’s? @Warhorse said “I was watching a number of replay games from the 1990s on fox and man what a difference the game was back then” and @AngryEagle liked that comment. You know it is a bit rich when the fabric of league back then included the Bears , Western Reds and the Crushers. The Steelers too who were a stand alone team. BA Sports you say that past brands have not been relevant for 20 years and have little relevance to potential new fans.That may well be true but they have not been allowed to test that assertion! Like I said 16 teams have been a protected species. If there wasn’t the self interest and self preservation we would have a better idea. Had the bears been re admitted at the same time as the Gold Coast was allowed back in to the game and gone ahead on the Central Coast what kind of footprint would they have made? Just out of interest I would like to know who you barrack for? Is your club/team one that was bailed out and administered by the NRL? Is your club/team one of the few that made a profit? Is your club/team one of the privately owned clubs? You say that the game cant go forward if it keeps going back to the past. But we are stuck in the past, for 20 years there have been no new teams or new opportunities to grow the game. It is like Rugby league is on an endless cycle of repeat repeat repeat. Rugby league is stagnating and like a stagnating body of water if RL keeps stagnating pretty soon it will start to stink!
@AngryEagle47 you said “Bears, what rubbish they will never play in the NRL again” Well I hope we do that is kind of obvious. But have you thought about what would happen if your club fell over financially? What are the chances? What if the Penn’s said they can no longer hold the club up? There is a club just across the Spit that as much as people say they are a “dead club” or an “irrelevant” club they have some money and the potential. I am conflicted as I would love to see your club fall over. I would love to see North Sydney pick up the license. I would love to see NS Bears back in the NRL. But ironically I would not want to see the end of the Sea Eagles altogether. But I will never stop supporting the Bears and as Steve Mascord says those who try and revive RL’s icons deserve congratulating not criticism. So Perry Lopez and Greg Florimo and co keep it up! I am with you 100%

“Those past brands served their purpose at the time they were relevant but the game moves ”
Except it doesn’t! For the past 18 to 20 years 16 brands have been protected and allowed to live on even though if true market forces were at play some of them would’ve gone under.

biasm? are you just inventing new words now?

I am not sure I completely agree but it could work. However I wonder what you mean by ” The fans would be ready for a merger, unlike in 2000 when the NRL dropped a bombshell announcing mergers. The Norths Club would know their place.” What in your mind would be Norths “place”?

“They’re in a way worse situation all round than the Bears were, when they were booted”.
True but since then clubs have been a protected species.

NSDRL runs and administers the game in Northern Sydney.
MWDRL runs and administers the game on the Northern Beaches.
You cant take what you don’t own!

@ Peter

And with that comment you demonstrate why MW are not iked and why their fans are not liked as the author of this article demonstrated by his recollections.
Why are you such an angry little man? Is it that you are threatened by even the possibility of Manly joining the list of former top grade clubs?
For the record; North Sydney is not “dead and buried” as you claim. We (yes I am a Bears supporter!) are just going about our business running a club. If we were so dead and buried then how is it that we have funds to even look at the option of joining the NRL again?
Also the Bears run the club on the smell of an oily rag compared to the tonne of Money that NRL clubs can bring in and yet with all that money Manly are in trouble. Maybe just maybe they don’t deserve to stay in the NRL. But I will begrudgingly say that they should be given the chance to fix what clearly is an extremely ugly situation there.
As far as your last comment, “A disgrace? Try looking at the club playing out of North Sydney Oval in the NSW Cup” My answer to that is at least the Bears are still competing, without deep pockets and without large NRL grants they fielded a team in the NSW womens comp where was Manlys?

@ Shane.
You are right in saying there is an easier solution but kicking them out is not the answer. If you do just kick them out then you merely have a bunch of disgruntled former fans who wont watch or participate. If the Manly-Warringah club do fail then yes give the NRL license to the Bears. The Bears have already demonstrated they are wiling and able to step back up into the NRL. Just dont prop up MW or any other club like has been the case in the past.

@ BA Sports,
I think the title by design or by accident is inferring that the real power is held by the select few and a lot of those ran and still run the game be it NSWRL or NRL.

Hey TB I think your article is great and part of what makes it so is the grammar. That shows that you have thought about your article and therefore probably written and re written before you have submitted it. Of course I could be wrong but suspect not!
What frustrates me about some authors/articles is that they are no more than a thought bubble. Putting thought into how you get your message across is key to communication. By coincidence I would say the Jets have thought long and hard about how they want to get their message out there too.

The shoulder charge law states: “Point of contact from the defender must be forceful and from the shoulder or upper arm, with no attempt to wrap the arms in the tackle.”
Sure, Slater’s tackle of Sharks winger Sosaia Feki was forceful, but the fullback’s right arm was always the key factor”
The question would have to be asked do you even read what you are writing Mr Lord?
1. Billy Slater was guilty of exactly what the law describes.
2.Are you blind? Is the judiciary panel blind?
3.The next part of what you wrote is nonsense because
Slater was coming from left of field to right. The point of contact was on Feki’s right side. Slaters point of contact was his left side. His left shoulder went into the opposing player his right arm has bugger all to do with it. Why didn’t Slater get his left arm up and wrap the player up and drive him over the sideline? As supposedly the best fullback in the world wouldn’t you think he can do that ? Answer cause he had had no intention of doing that and he was lining him up for putting his left shoulder into the player. Therefore he is guilty and you are writing absolute rubbish !

3RM
Here is what you said
to me a proper shoulder charge is a front on tackle with a high collision impact.
now lets remove a word or two
.. .. . a …… shoulder charge is a ….. .. tackle with a high collision impact.
Front on or side on. Whats the difference? Both have potential to seriously hurt a player even more than the normal contact in a contact sport that league is.
If as you say taking a tackle is what any decent outside back should have in his arsenal. Then executing a proper arms and all, wrap around tackle should be in the skill set of a decent fullback. Slater had a tonne of time running across to make a proper tackle. No excuses !

You’ve covered a lot but said not much. Taking crowd figures for the past 20 years as a sole measure of who goes and who stays not really practical why don’t we just cut who has had the worst designed jersey?
As far as Super rugby goes. There is no way cutting halve the current Aussie teams and 40% of NZ teams is going to fly. Putting in a Pacific team possibly could work or add a Singapore based team?

I am just an observer of things as Ive never been compelled to join as an AFL club member. ( I’m from NZ so I don’t “get” AFL so to speak ) But as I understand it Membership gets you a car stick, scarf as well as priority finals sales. MCG members get first go, then club members of respective finals qualifying clubs and then a couple days later the general public. Seems to encourage the uptake of memberships doesn’t it? Also they seem to do a lot of in club media stuff so their followers/supporters have a outlet to go see their teams squad interviewed find out whats going on. Do any NRL clubs do that or is it left to the NRL media to do that?

@ Marty
North Sydney 110 not out! 91 Years in the top grade before being forced out on rather flimsy criteria. Surviving despite receiving hardly any funding at present and being surrounded by Union strongholds their entire existence and with AFL and soccer to compete with.
Golden rule don’t speak of what you fear!

Correct Riley! They saw the link up as a disadvantage and the Roosters as financial drain on the Wyong club!

The Rabbitohs will be applying to feild their own side in the NSW Cup/ISP.

When Newton was forced out of the Winfield Cup their junior clubs were taken over by the Rabbitohs. That part of Sydney is not traditionally Rabbitoh territory.

I can reasonably state that North Sydney ARE NOT HAPPY to play in the NSW cup ! Have you missed all the articles about them looking at pathways back to the NRL/top level?

Yes they have a vested interest in the Central Coast since they kicked off the move to go there but have been hindered ever since. I suggest it is just mere pragmatism from the Bears they have to survive! They receive no funding from the NRL and bugger all from the NSWRL all the NRL affliated clubs get the lions share of that funding.

As I understand the Fijian NSW Cup bid is dead in the water as they couldn’t meet the deadlinre for paying the fee to register for the competition.