Roar Pro
Joined March 2014
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Raj is a lifelong Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane Lions fan (and even managed to work for both for a bit). He realised he wasn't insightful enough to offer anything original in terms of game analysis so he writes about the intersection of business, money and sport instead.
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Middle Eastern and Russian billionaires grab the lion’s share of the headlines when it comes to English Premier League. But when it comes to…
If you're anything like myself and the 20-odd guys in the office tipping comp, Origin time turns your rational footy brain into a confused…
Before we go any further, I'm not going to argue that the NRL judiciary is crazy, inconsistent or that there needs to be an…
Since we have a breather before the final four games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, it gives us a chance to look at…
With the 2014 FIFA World Cup only days away, it seems appropriate to recap some of the biggest shocks, controversies and outrageous incidents the…
The muppets at the FFA who helped kill our 2022 FIFA World Cup bid have struck again. From the same people who thought that…
Following on from last week's article ranking the NRL expansion bids, here is Part II. This part reveals those ranked number three to number…
In a week that has been about as exciting as a buck's party thrown by NRL coaches Wayne Bennett and Steve Price, we need…
Thankfully racism in sport is a subject that rarely generates headlines. But Dani Alves from Barcelona and the Los Angeles Clippers have won praise…
Imagine for a moment you are sitting at the head of the table in the Old Trafford boardroom. You've just sacked David Moyes. The…
When it was announced in January 2014 that Melbourne Heart would be bought by Manchester City, the red and white half of Melbourne could…
Following on from last week's article about the one weakness most likely to cost each team the premiership in 2014, here is Part 2.…
Australia crashing out in the group stages of a tournament normally triggers days of trial and judgement on the back page of every newspaper.…
Every keen league fan imagines they are able to pinpoint, in one brilliant flash, the exact reason their team isn't winning. In that great…
Fortunately for most of us, we will never have the chance to lose a few million dollars in a few fateful seconds. Even James…
The danger of a single round of football played over 10 days instead of the usual three is it gives sportswriters the chance to…
Some moments in sport stay with you. I remember watching a Brisbane Broncos game in a friend's shed in the Gold Coast hinterland in…
Glad to have provided a chuckle to start the week Fred, cheers for the feedback about the other two, I agree that three could’ve been split but I left them together because they covered the same city so had a lot in common too
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
I’d agree with that, it’s a shame one NZ city can’t have the best of both world’s because Forsyth Barr stadium in Dunedin is fantastic, if you have a look at Part 1 of this article you’ll see that I (and a lot of others in the comments) thought a Wellington based team playing regularly in ChCh and Dunedin could be a good result.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Great response Anthony, this is why comments sections are great they can every so often bring out a well reasoned well written response from a passionate fan. If you’re not on the Brothers bid team (and I suspect you may be haha) you should definitely drop them a line.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
The only thing standing in the way of a second NRL club in NZ is the lack of a bid ! If you look at Part 1 of this article you’ll see them ranked pretty low but that’s because no one has put anything together for the public to see yet, and there’s no formal interest. If there was they would’ve comfortably made top 3.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Phew, I think everyone on this particular conversation thread needs to have a lie down!
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Silly comment, do you know how much do each of the individual clubs contribute to the “NRL TV pie” ??
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
There’s an impressive team of ex-Brothers juniors floating around out there in the NRL, the four I picked are just the big names but the other 14 that could fill out the squad are no slouches either.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Exactly right Fiver, it’s funny how many people in Brisbane especially support teams from other cities and states
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Cheers for the feedback AR, glad you found it enjoyable for the most part. I admit I didn’t do a detailed socio-economic analysis for the purposes of this article, and you’re right about Port Moresby. That’s why the Hunters play out of Rabaul, which as Jay pointed out above is much safer and better serviced.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Unfortunately it’s also sometimes banned in schools because the kids take it so seriously they end up with serious injuries just from playing and lunchtimes.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Goes to show that there are definitely options on the table, especially in terms of partnerships and playing the games in safe cities.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Well thought out contribution, raised heaps of points that make a lot of sense Code 13, thanks for that. Particularly like the ideas about a Pacific Cup and creating more pathways for PNG players to get into the NRL.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Tassie is woefully under-represented you’re right, but I don’t think that a NRL bid has ever seriously been contemplated. Other than that there’s been a few attempts to get an AFL club to relocate there.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
Hey mate, cheers for your comment, it’s awesome to hear from someone who’s actually there. To answer you question, no I’ve never visited but your points are all completely valid. I’ve got a mate working over there like yourself and he says a lot of the same things but made the comment that the money flowing in is having a positive effect on the security problems. Obviously nothing is going to be fixed overnight but like you, I hope that it is in time to see a team based there.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
The first argument you raised was also the main reason that people were against the inclusion of the Storm at first, we know how that turned out – expansion isn’t an immediate financial win, it’s a long-term strategy.
And regarding attracting players, Perth would have the same issue, as would most other expansion bids. Canberra already has issues holding on to talent so it’s not a problem that only PNG would face. How many non-Kiwi players run out for the Warriors? Arguably given a 3-5 year timeline, PNG wouldn’t even need imports.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II
There is no such thing as a one game country, just like there’s no such thing as a one code state in Australia
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part one
Haha Bugs isn’t too bad, definitely no danger of being copied
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part one
Like any start up, all the clubs that start out in the NRL from a low base will need support and grants to get themselves going. What proof is there that the Bears would be financially viable straight away?
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part one
Quite apart from inconsistency, there were a lot of reports around the team that Khawaja needed a bit of an attitude adjustment to be part of the long term set up. It was never defined what exactly, but at least it means his future is in his own hands.
Barcelona and NBA stars win battles against racism in sport
The problem with “All Stars” ideas is that the fans love them a lot more than the players. When NRL stars have switched off mentally after a long preseason and season, how would you get them to get motivated playing for a “best of the rest” team?
They had this exact problem with the All Stars concept in cricket, some players cared deeply and gave their all, but some used it as an all expenses paid holiday and the actual contest went nowhere near representing the best abilities of the team as a result.
League needs an Australia v rest of the world series
There is no shortage of talent in the QCup and NSW Cup, I don’t think depth would be a problem for any new team. Seems like the perfect solution given the amount of talented players but the restrictions on squad sizes and payments imposed by the salary cap.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part one
Interesting hybrid idea there, marrying those two sets of supporters guarantees probably the most engaged supporter base in the gam doesn’t it?
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part one
Cheers mate, always great to hear feedback like that. And apologies for being disparaging about the Leprechaun, you’re right it is distinctive and I take your point about the Rabbitohs comparison. Regarding the merch thing, I was only drawing attention to it because I found it amusing that they already had it on offer, it seemed like a case of putting the cart before the horse!
Feel free to share a link to this on the Facebook page, I’d love to hear what the other Brothers bid fans had to say, yours was one of the tougher bids to research for this piece.
Ranking the NRL expansion bids: Part II