General NRL Expansion

[snake77]

A second NZ side would mainly be exciting for having a local rivalry.

It would help the game in NZ with more opportunities locally. If they have feeder teams playing in the Australian competitions it would help things further.

The main concerns would be the financial side and the being competitive. The Dolphins set the bar high for the initial amount of capital needed. I could see the second side struggling to attract talent, the Warriors have a hard enough time attracting talent. Auckland turns recruits off due to the rain and being colder. Could see the other locations finding it harder again.

Besides the financial side the NRL may not look to deeply into those areas and leave it to the people bidding for the club to deal with that. Then it would be would it increase the NZ broadcast and overall broadcast with the extra game vs another Australian side.

I can see the NRL favouring Perth with the time zone and spreading their geographical footprint wider across their main market.

 

[matiunz]

A second NZ side would mainly be exciting for having a local rivalry.

It would help the game in NZ with more opportunities locally. If they have feeder teams playing in the Australian competitions it would help things further.

The main concerns would be the financial side and the being competitive. The Dolphins set the bar high for the initial amount of capital needed. I could see the second side struggling to attract talent, the Warriors have a hard enough time attracting talent. Auckland turns recruits off due to the rain and being colder. Could see the other locations finding it harder again.

Besides the financial side the NRL may not look to deeply into those areas and leave it to the people bidding for the club to deal with that. Then it would be would it increase the NZ broadcast and overall broadcast with the extra game vs another Australian side.

I can see the NRL favouring Perth with the time zone and spreading their geographical footprint wider across their main market.

A couple of years back I would have said Perth was a no brainer to come back but it has a few things going against it.
Can the city support another professional team? Population of 2 mil already has, Eagles and Dockers in the AFL, Glory in the A league, wildcats in the NBL and Force in super Rugby.
A lot of the chat was that the force pretty much scooped up the old Reds fans- most in WA genuinely don’t know the difference in the codes it’s all ‘rugby’ to them.
Flight time is a pain and expensive, it’s 5ish hour flight to and from sydney it’d be a hard sell to players.
At the moment WA is seen as pretty difficult for sports with their border policies so until things calm down there can’t see them getting in

 

[mrblonde]

Come on Wellington NRL team.

Upper Hutt Tigers. Don't even need to use an expansion slot, just replace the current Tigers.

Now the Dolphins are sorted for 2023, I think at the earliest tne NRL will move on relocation of an existing NRL team/adding an 18th NRL team when they negotiate the next TV deal in 2027. Any disasters with the Dolphins will lead to either no 18th team or no relocation. Personally, I think relocation is much more likely than expansion, now.

The NRL will be looking to see if/when COVID makes a Sydney NRL side finacially untenable.

 

[snake77]

Now the Dolphins are sorted for 2023, I think at the earliest tne NRL will move on relocation of an existing NRL team/adding an 18th NRL team when they negotiate the next TV deal in 2027. Any disasters with the Dolphins will lead to either no 18th team or no relocation. Personally, I think relocation is much more likely than expansion, now.

The NRL will be looking to see if/when COVID makes a Sydney NRL side finacially untenable.

If they add an 18th side you would expect the opportunities for relocation would start to reduce for the Sydney clubs.

The likely places talked for relocation are usually Perth or the Central Coast. If the 18th side is Perth or a second NZ side that could take Perth out of the equation.

The opportunity to move to Queensland is likely closed with the Dolphins. Four sides is probably their limit for that market for the foreseeable future.

I'm not sure if there is still money on the table for relocation. Or the NRL can still afford to sweeten the move.

 

[playdaball]

On triple M this evening Abdo mentioned they were hoping to encompass’the north’ so possibly something like North Brisbane, Or Queensland possibly?

The Dolphin Crushers ? Same concept as the old ARL team

 

[mrblonde]

The Dolphin Crushers ? Same concept as the old ARL team

Can you imagine the PETA protests at the team's games?!

Let alone the inevitably PG Rated logo some marketing guru would probably come up with.

 

[Worried2Death]

More rumours of NZ expansion

Inside the NRL's battle plan to take on the All Blacks

There has long been a fascination over the “rugby versus league war” in this country.In reality, ‘war’ is a mismatched descriptor on mor...

businessdesk.co.nz

 

[gREVUS]

establish a new team in NZ in 2024. Its already 2021, the next team off the rack hits in 2023, and they want another team in 2024?

man thats gonna dilute the player pool even more. a great time to be an up and coming league junior though

 

[gREVUS]

i like the speedboat to tanker analogy re the respective codes, but it has to be added that if the tanker turns at the wrong time for the speedboat, the speedboat becomes flotsam and jetsam

 

[Worried2Death]

i like the speedboat to tanker analogy re the respective codes, but it has to be added that if the tanker turns at the wrong time for the speedboat, the speedboat becomes flotsam and jetsam

Let's Gone Chch Flotsam and Jetsams

 

[Angry Pirate]

Given that Auckland is more than 4 times the population of Christchurch and Wellington and has a much larger player base, would it not make more sense to have a second Auckland team at North Harbour stadium? Doubt the Warriors would be too impressed with the idea, but genuine local derby in Auckland would be pretty cool and at least one extra game a year with no travel. The Tuatara franchise have a baseball team and now a basketball team on the North Shore. Will they enter the League market? Bit of a longshot conspiracy, but worth contemplating.

 

[matiunz]

Given that Auckland is more than 4 times the population of Christchurch and Wellington and has a much larger player base, would it not make more sense to have a second Auckland team at North Harbour stadium? Doubt the Warriors would be too impressed with the idea, but genuine local derby in Auckland would be pretty cool and at least one extra game a year with no travel. The Tuatara franchise have a baseball team and now a basketball team on the North Shore. Will they enter the League market? Bit of a longshot conspiracy, but worth contemplating.

Think a second Auckland franchise would cannibalise the Warriors too much, plus they’d have to compete with 2 super rugby franchises- not sure the markets big enough.
Most NZers support the Warriors because they’re NZs team whereas they barely engage outside of Auckland- another team outside of Auckland I feel would engage a lot more fans simply because they were a Warriors alternative than just another Auckland team would.
Love the Warriors but there is a large portion of fans that have simply had enough and would jump on a 2nd NZ team- Auckland 2 would probably be more of the same.
Yes Auckland is 1.5m of the population it still leaves 3.5m outside of Auckland as a potential fan base, Wellington in particular has 1m odd relatively close in the surrounding provinces to draw from

 

[playdaball]

Perth …

 

[matiunz]

Perth …

Yeah not sure why the seeming resistance to Perth at the moment, all talk is it’s probably the strongest grass roots outside of Qld and NSW.
Can only assume travel times and cost is a deterrent (more expensive and longer than NZ), plus I guess the volatility with the force might put another code in setting up

 

[Gizzyfan]

The problem with a 2nd NZ franchise will be they will have the same problems recruiting wise magnified.

If the NZ teams had the NZ talent to themselves, then a reasonable player base could be available. However, the reality is the Aussie clubs are in the mix as well. Also reasonable to assume the Warriors will have the advantage in Auckland, by far the biggest catchment. Attracting young Union talent isn't a flood.

That is not even considering Aussie talent, I don't think they will be lining up because they can see the Southern Alps or Cook Straight,

 

[The Falcon]

I like how the NRL have been very outspoken about going head to head with rugby - which really means NZ rugby with their expansion strategy.
Any expansion into NZ will need some serious assistance and there are so many hoops to jump through to get to that point, namely players, finances, fickle supporters attending live sport etc.
But if it could happen Christchurch is the obvious candidate with a new enclosed downtown stadium due for completion in the next couple of years.
It will be the best stadium in the country. The city is in growth mode and the age grade development being undertaken will help the sport. Would love to see it

 

[snake77]

I like how the NRL have been very outspoken about going head to head with rugby - which really means NZ rugby with their expansion strategy.
Any expansion into NZ will need some serious assistance and there are so many hoops to jump through to get to that point, namely players, finances, fickle supporters attending live sport etc.
But if it could happen Christchurch is the obvious candidate with a new enclosed downtown stadium due for completion in the next couple of years.
It will be the best stadium in the country. The city is in growth mode and the age grade development being undertaken will help the sport. Would love to see it

I was listening to Darcy Watergrave interview Trevor McEwan (not sure on spelling on both of those) the other day and the subject was about a second NRL franchise. I've seen some statements around the NRL's plans but not looked into it too much. McEwan was going over Christchurch or Wellington being a base.

The more interesting part was Watergrave's comments afterwards as he had the impression this has come up a lot and never gone anywhere. That's not the best to hear as it reaches a wider audience which can build a perception. The second NZ franchise has come up a bit more when NRL expansion has come up and if you wanting to bid you would want to create discussion when other bids or expansion.

The key points are the NRL has moved to an odd number and have started looking at expansion. They will want to eventually get to an 18th side.

A second NRL franchise in NZ will be a different proposition to Redcliffe. Redcliffe had a lot of capital and have to keep a significant amount available to prove they are viable and can basically stand on their own. A NZ side will face the obstacles you listed and would need help from the NRL. That could be a whole range of things I doubt they would adjust the cap as they believe the cap is fair and they want to maintain the integrity of the competition (insert Roosters sombreo jokes and laughing here). They would need to be prepared to prop up the franchise financially and invest in the game locally like you here the NRL media talk about the AFL. Basically need to play the long game.

 

[Worried2Death]

As an old Chch boy I mull this over from time to time, what if we got the South Island Sikcunts or whatever into the NRL, always thought there's a bit of untapped potential. Plenty of Warriors fans who had no interest in league previously following nrl now, more than you'd think judging by the low numbers of registered players around the local clubs. A few more kids might give league a second glance if there's a clear pathway to pro careers on their doorstep.

We've been starved of events since the stadium fell down, I reckon they'd fill the new one initially for big games like the derby and any finals if marketed for the local southern pride angle. They could get maybe 5,000 diehard regulars and a lot more bandwaggoners if they have some success. Cantabs don't back losers though, so after the novelty wears off they'll struggle big time to hold a fanbase if they get thrashed every week. I'm still 50/50 on it, it's a huge risk.

On the other hand, if they got a Bellamy to come in and set up the systems and establish the culture, who knows, they could shock the league world. Craig would fit in well with the hard nosed win at all costs culture in Canterbury. Nice to dream about anyway. I'd personally never turn my back on my Worriers but I'd certainly go to all the SI team games just to see live nrl when I can't get up to Mt Smart, I know a lot of us would.

Having said that, with never ending covid they'll probly end up based somewhere in fukn Queensland all year training with the Warriors and poaching our players, the dirty inbred sheepshaggers.

#Let'sGoneSikcunts

 

[eudebrito]

I think there is a fan base and commercial interest in a 2nd pro franchise in chch, enough to be respectable, but bloody Wayne Bennett in Brisbane can't sign a player for his expansion team atm, no one but no one will play for a 2nd NZ team unless they are completely locked out of all other teams. Might take 7 years to get the first crop of 15 year olds who like league into functional NRL players

 

[The Falcon]

Christchurch ‘laying the foundations’ for an expansion team ..

Preliminary designs revealed for Christchurch stadium

Christchurch City Council has revealed four preliminary design images for the long-awaited 30,000 seat Canterbury Multi-Use Arena.

www.rnz.co.nz