StK v HAW · CAR v GEE · SYD v RIC · BL v FRE · WB v COL · MEL v GWS · WCE v ESS ·
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But they need to get it right. During SL they tried to copy the AFL and throw teams in Perth and Adelaide. They folded because the governing body didn't have cash flow to support them. This is going back to the days when League naievely thought they could match the AFL.
The A-League is no threat. It's a c-grade comp. They're not going to have a banner year like 2012 every year. Until we can pay players $10m a year and have
The NRL are way more of a threat to themselves than the AFL are. I know so many people who grew up on NRL but for whatever reason are just not interested anymore.
Apart from the doping scandal, football codes will always have off field scandals from drugs, drinking, beating women etc. The NRL have far bigger concerns.
Adelaide failed because the ARL wanted Melbourne not Adelaide. With the right support they could have been the team the Storm have become. Perth is ready for the NRL. It just needs someone to give it an opportunity. Going down to 14 teams killed off the "National" rugby league in its first 3 years of being "National", not necessarily lack of support. The NRL cannot compete with the AFL at this present time, but that doesn't mean things won't change in the future.
The NRL does not need more teams but it needs access to better markets. As much as I love Sydney teams, the NRL needs to tap new markets. Central Coast is a poor option for "expansion", too little population and no real benefit to putting the team there in a business sense. Newcastle and the Sea Eagles will only stand to lose, the Bears won't gain anything at this point in time. Brisbane Broncos would be hurt by a second Brisbane team without much benefit to that second team. If you want to bring up $L then need you look much further than the Crushers and their success (or lack thereof) to see why a second Brisbane team isn't a good idea. Can New Zealand support a second team? Who knows, but I doubt it, especially in the near future if $BW goes back to the AB's.
The A-League is no threat? Considering this country is only getting more ethnically diverse, and the Football Federation are aggressively chasing broadcast and sponsorship deals, that sentence is quite naive. "Wogball" is a thing of the past, more and more Anglo-Saxon Australians are embracing the Socceroos and their local club, and considering the participation numbers of football in Australia it will only get bigger. One thing of note is how many of these new 5-a-side and small-sided football complexes are opening, especially in Sydney. More and more people are looking to football in the summer, especially those less inclined to the cricket. And as the FFA Cup gets going and the FFA get closer to a pyramid league system, more and more people will get behind a team, especially when their rugby/AFL clubs are off on their holidays.
The AFL are always a threat. Buddy Franklin, the AFL's answer to LeBron James, is playing on this side of the Barassi Line now. That's big. That's $BW to the Roosters big. Take a look at the attendances the Roosters had and now have (19500 avg. in 2013 to 12500 avg. in 2012) thanks to that marquee signing. As the Giants mature and become competitive, the ever increasing Western Sydney market will eventually become super significant to the success of both codes. Once the Storm enter a decline (eventually) and the Tigers, Eels and Panthers reach the bottom of their declines, the AFL will definitely pose a threat. And by the way, in your post you also mentioned in passing how the NRL will never be able to compete with AFL, yet you say the NRL are a bigger threat to themselves? If the AFL aren't the NRL's biggest threat then the NRL would probably have teams in Adelaide and Perth still.
Watch for more betting scandals and the like soon, people are starting to develop conspiracy theories in the wake of the Grand Final.
This is an amazingly naive statement. Coupled with "ready", the NRL will need to budget $100m for the first 5 years, then be pretty confident they can commit $20m per year for 15 years after that.
Lack of funding killed it. Lack of funding is a function of lack of support
I don't ever think it will be in the same ball park. I think League has potential to be a profitable and viable national game with a team in Perth and Adelaide, as well as across the eastern seaboard where it is traditionally strong.
It needs to sure up it's heartland.
How will Manly lose? I don't think there is any overwhelming support for Manly on the Central Coast. Even if there was, I doubt many would travel to Brooky for games, so there would be no loss. All that would happen is they swap from watching Manly/Newcastle on TV to Bears.
You are talking absolute shit.
All I need to look at is a League heartland with 2m people to know having only 1 team is the height of stupidity. The NRL need to find a way of inserting a new team that people will swap from the Broncos.
What SBW does makes little difference. On one hand you are saying the NRL needs to find new markets but you are writing off NZ?
You really do have little understanding of why punters follow sport.
Again, you don't really understand what the threat is and how big it is.
Storm are neither here nor there. The AFL has nothing to do with it. When the Storm have their downturn, support will drop off. Not because people go jump to the AFL, but just because people take a breather when their team are shit. The test will be the NRL's ability and willingness to support them financially through tough times. Not sure if News Ltd still foot the bill?
Very hard to see it happening. The NRL has a working class culture and until they changes they will always be behind. Always.
Go read my long winded thread titled State of the Game. I'm astounded at how incompetent as a code the NRL are. Inept dinosaurs have too much influence and it holds the code back.
That's the wrong way of looking at it. Let me show you how the AFL think about it:
I've been on this since mid year. My issue is this:
To be honest, based off the crowd at the Wellington game this year, they are the only market out of the three above where I can see a team working. Expansion has been suspended obviously by the NRL, the only thing we'll see until the next TV negotiations are potentially going to be relocations or folding. The NRL only have 8 games on TV until the next rights so this discussion will all just be discussion until then. I think Perth and maybe Wellington are the next NRL markets, I can't see the Bears playing out of Gosford, as much as I'd love to see the Bears back.
