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If you’re standing in a pack, it pays to shout the loudest. And when it comes to NRL, expansion officials from a second Brisbane team are screaming their lungs out at the moment.
NRL chief executive David Gallop, restricted by the still-to-be-formed Independent Commission, hasn’t committed to a timeline for expansion yet.
But the heavyweights in Queensland are convinced it will be in 2013.
Craig Davison is the director of the bid for a second team in Brisbane, and if you believe an e-mail that popped into my inbox yesterday, he is as certain as can be that the Broncos will have some company in Queensland’s capital in just over 18 months’ time.
The most likely scenario is for two new teams to be introduced in 2013, and going on current form, Davison’s franchise will grab one spot, with the Central Coast Bears, Central Queensland, Perth, Wellington and Papua New Guinea left to fight it out amongst themselves.
The most interesting part of the media release trumpeting their corporate and community power was the fact players have already agreed to terms with the club on the proviso the team is part of the NRL in 2013.
Queensland Reds fly-half Quade Cooper is one player they’re still chasing, but talks are ongoing with his manager Khoder Nasser. They believe a chance to stay in Brisbane and play State of Origin for the Maroons will give them a great shot at securing Cooper’s signature.
The financial modeling has been completed and corporate partners and investors are keen to get started.
Davison added the bid team had also met with Gallop over the last couple of months.
You can expect the announcements to keep coming.
A home ground, almost certainly Suncorp Stadium, will be revealed as will a major sponsor for their inaugural season and membership campaigns.
Does this sound like an organisation waiting to find out their fate or one actively planning for life in the NRL?
The question of just where their supporters will come from is a valid one. Is there any league-loving Queenslander who doesn’t already support the Broncos, Cowboys or Titans?
Their entry into an expanded competition wouldn’t come as a great shock, so their confidence isn’t suprising. Their success does however have a direct impact on the other bidders.
Gallop has said in the past that one of the options is to expand into a heartland while also planting a flag in a new territory.
Given the caution with which the league has approached expansion in the past, it’s hard to see them opening the gates to more than two teams at once.
Brisbane would be the heartland market and Perth looks increasingly attractive, with a new TV deal looming, as a relatively new battleground.
Does this mean the Central Coast Bears and the long suffering North Sydney contingent will be denied again?
Their entry into the competition seemed inevitable at one stage, but if it’s not in 2013, then when?
Gallop has also said on numerous occasions that any new side would have to add something to the competition that the existing clubs could benefit from.
Some have questioned whether the Bears fit that criteria with Sydney 45 minutes to an hour away and Newcastle just up the road.
They have the perfect stadium, a solid junior base and reportedly the support of the corridor stretching from North Sydney to the Central Coast, but is that enough?
It seems we’ll find out sooner rather than later.
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