NRL expansion on hold until 2015

[alien]

<big>NRL expansion on hold until 2015</big>
David Beniuk AAP Sun, Jun 19, 2011 - 7:36 PM

Expanding the NRL to 18 teams might not happen until 2015, league boss David Gallop believes.

With a new broadcast deal to be in place from 2013, bidders have been lining up to become the new sides in the competition.

Perth, Brisbane, Ipswich in Queensland, the NSW Central Coast, Central Queensland, Papua New Guinea and Wellington have expressed an interest in joining the NRL from 2013.

The bid team for a second Brisbane side have been the most vocal in recent months, flagging rugby superstars Quade Cooper and Sonny Bill Williams as among their targets.

With an independent commission to run the game delayed, but likely to come on board later this year, Gallop has never made a commitment to expand in 2013.

But on Sunday, he flagged 2015 - for the first time - as a possible entry date.

"Personally I would have thought we would get to 18 teams by 2015," he told ABC radio.

"It might come earlier but we should be giving our existing clubs a couple of years with the new television money to get themselves stable before we introduce new teams into the competition."

The new broadcast deal is expected to fetch somewhere in the vicinity of $1 billion, a massive increase on the current contract.

Gallop said a new franchise would need 18 months to two years' lead time to be ready.

Meanwhile, the NRL chief executive said State of Origin was unlikely to be moved from a weeknight, when it pulled in massive TV ratings, despite calls to ease players' workloads.

"We're certainly looking seriously at moving it to earlier in the week," he said.

"A Monday night would give the players more days to be able to play club footy after Origin.

"One of the beauties of Origin football is that it's on a weeknight.

"We get clear air (no competition from other codes) and we get that build-up time for the players to be in camp."

Gallop ruled out a mini knockout-style competition involving clubs during the Origin period.

"The fans want to see teams playing for points in the premiership," he said.

"Little competitions in the middle of the year, I don't think, are going to satisfy anyone."

http://www.nrl.com/nrl-expansion-on-hold-until-2015/tabid/10874/newsid/63398/default.aspx

 

[happy_tiger]

As usual the people in charge at the NRL prove they could not organize a chook raffle Let alone a multi billion dollar business Why is most times they try and change things they get it wrong even though the experts tell them to do it a different way
Things like sticking Harrigan and Raper in charge of the refs ,changing the interchange Limiting the amount of people in tackles to prevent injuries everything .
When is the IC coming No time soon I bet as a lot of them will be out of work .
Why do the clubs have to adjust to getting used to have extra money . If clubs make mistakes because they are poorly managed then they get the ultimate penalty of either losing players and finishing at the bottom of the ladder . Thats their faults not the sucessful clubs . And who says that salary cap will stay in(as it is at the moment ) once the IC takes over They may bring in a draft who knows . It is almost like they are just going to shuffle a few seats on the SS Titanic

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

I suspect there will be further rationalisation and a criteria set for the 2015 competition. With a new tv deal, the nrl will have the ability to fund mergers and relocations.

 

[Alf_Duguid]

I suspect there will be further rationalisation and a criteria set for the 2015 competition. With a new tv deal, the nrl will have the ability to fund mergers and relocations.

The West Parramatta Panthers on the cards?

 

[southerntiger]

Great decision.

League needs to consolidate for the next few years

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

Great decision.

League needs to consolidate for the next few years

Interested to see that Gallop will give new clubs 18 months. How about this for a schedule:

- Appoint 4 new entrants mid 2013 (Perth, Brisbane, Central Qld, Central Coast).
- Announce the 2015 season will be an 18 team competition implying two teams will be removed
- Clubs must meet minimum criteria
- Funding to be available for mergers
- St. George-Illawarra and Wests Tigers are exempt from any exclusion

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I agree with Southerntiger. It's not necessarily a bad decision to hold off on the expansion.

Get the IC running and the new TV deal negotiated to put the current clubs in a better financial position. That gives the current strugglers four years to develop and implement a successful business plan, of which two years will be with increased NRL grants. If clubs cannot be solvent by 2015 the dead weight must be cut by means of expulsion or forced relocation.

 

[alien]

I suspect there will be further rationalisation and a criteria set for the 2015 competition. With a new tv deal, the nrl will have the ability to fund mergers and relocations.

The West Parramatta Panthers on the cards?

why wouldnt they just be called 'parramatta panthers'

 

[Knuckles]

I'm with David Gallop on this one ….... whats the rush with all the other goings on in the game ?

 

[magpie_mania]

I'm with David Gallop on this one ….... whats the rush with all the other goings on in the game ?

Agreed you couldnt cut anyone by 2013 but by 2015 Im thinking cronulla could be one team.And a qld and perth team would be great.Central coast also.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

Cronulla, Manly, Penrith and Souths at most risk.

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

SA crucial, says Gallop
June 28, 2011

The NRL wants more games at a redeveloped Adelaide Oval, identifying the South Australian capital as crucial to expansion, chief executive David Gallop says. The NRL met SA's government yesterday to discuss more games at the stadium, which is slated for a $530 million redevelopment by 2014\. ''It [will] be one of the great stadiums,'' Gallop told reporters in Adelaide. ''We want to play games here and we will certainly be talking to the government about ensuring that opportunity is still there for us in the next few years.'' Gallop said while Adelaide remained a long shot as the site of an expansion club, games in the city were needed to fulfil the NRL vision. That continues on July 9 when Canterbury play Melbourne at Adelaide Oval. ''[It's] an opportunity to remind us that they do like their rugby league in Adelaide,'' Gallop said. ''It may not be the next cab off the rank but … our game has got aspirations to have a truly national profile.'' Gallop was also ''comfortable'' with league's handling of the AFL's Gold Coast invasion, and prepared for the battle of the codes in western Sydney.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/sa-crucial-says-gallop-20110627-1gnoh.html#ixzz1QXcSJ5bq

 

[Citizen_Tiger]

Cronulla, Manly, Penrith and Souths at most risk.

Yeah interesting that. Cronulla are a landlocked entity, with the sea behind them, a National Park in front of them and the St George and Illawarra districts on either side of them. If they go you're only upsetting a few thousand hobbits, so I think it's a 'no brainer'

Manly are hardly ever mentioned, but they are in a really precarious position, particularly if a Central Coast team gets up. That territory would start at the Harbour Bridge and extend to the Central Coast, the team in fact representing some 500,000 fans. It would effectively 'landlock' Manly, who's area has shown little or no growth over a long period.