Phil Gould speaks out on NRL expansion and relocation of Sydney clubs

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tiger_Fan18
  • Start date Start date
Here's a left field suggestion, establish a new team in Dubbo. It is the fastest growing regional city in NSW and in RL heartland. Think of how many good footballers come from Dubbo, Wellington and surrounding areas. Let the NRL kick in a few dollars and support the club which would bring interest, juniors and $ into the district.
 
It's a nice idea, but simply, Dubbo's economy isn't big enough to support an NRL club. You need huge corporate sponsorship bucks to run a footy club.

Greater Western Sydney's economy (with basically 2 NRL sides) is worth $114 billion p/a compared to $2 billion in the greater Dubbo area.

Perth is a $182 billion economy and would bring more viewers and bigger tv bucks.
 
The next NRL TV deal should be buffered to cover costs associated with the establishment and running of a Dubbo Club.

A Perth club will end up as most league and union clubs do, coming cap in hand expecting the NRL or other clubs to fund travel and accommodation themselves,

Then you have the lack of juniors and the new club driving up the price of available established and junior talent.

I don't believe a club is Perth is viable without the guarantee of a long term funding source other than the NRL or established clubs. Expenses in Dubbo can be managed plus there is an established junior rugby league system in place.
 
Don't forget, any expansion will be aimed at getting maximum value from the next round of tv rights.

Perth opens up a market of over 2.5 million new viewers. That's a big deal.

Dubbo (or even for that sake, Brisbane) would not expand the tv audience at all.

The NRL would most likely subsidise Perth because they can sell the tv rights for more.
 
PNG's population is 8.6 million and they are all rugby league nuts ….

My point is if the Perth side fails .....will the crowds and the NRL support them

If PNG finishes last they will still pack the grounds every week
 
Gould is 100% correct about clubs owning the game, he didn’t say ALL the clubs own the game. What he meant was the few powerful clubs own the game. Roosters, Bulldogs, Broncos, Storm and Panthers are listened to far more than the rest.
 
@Pawsandclaws said:
The next NRL TV deal should be buffered to cover costs associated with the establishment and running of a Dubbo Club.

A Perth club will end up as most league and union clubs do, coming cap in hand expecting the NRL or other clubs to fund travel and accommodation themselves,

Then you have the lack of juniors and the new club driving up the price of available established and junior talent.

I don't believe a club is Perth is viable without the guarantee of a long term funding source other than the NRL or established clubs. Expenses in Dubbo can be managed plus there is an established junior rugby league system in place.
Click to expand...

Perth has an established juniour system. 13 clubs with about 3000 participants. Macathur has 12 clubs as a comparison. How many does Dubbo have?
 
Group 11 plus surrounding Groups (refer link). But rather than counting numbers, look at the quality that is coming out of Dubbo and surrounding areas including Blake Ferguson, Braden Burns, Kotoni Staggs (I'm sure there are more Indigenous kids playing with NRL especially from Wellington) and if you look at the past Dean Pay and Russell Richardson were two Kangaroo reps from Dubbo, David Gillespie from nearby Narromine., Balmain fans will remember Wayne Sing from Dubbo Westside and Magpie fans Jimmy Leis from Dubbo.

http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=2466
 
@Pawsandclaws said:
Group 11 plus surrounding Groups (refer link). But rather than counting numbers, look at the quality that is coming out of Dubbo and surrounding areas including Blake Ferguson, Braden Burns, Kotoni Staggs (I’m sure there are more Indigenous kids playing with NRL especially from Wellington) and if you look at the past Dean Pay and Russell Richardson were two Kangaroo reps from Dubbo, David Gillespie from nearby Narromine., Balmain fans will remember Wayne Sing from Dubbo Westside and Magpie fans Jimmy Leis from Dubbo.
Click to expand...

There would be no corporate support.
 
That is what I meant by the NRL having to subsidise the expansion club (as it would have to do on a much greater basis for a Perth team). We've seen with the Super Union team no backing which bled the coffers. Why waste money on the West when they can easily watch it on tv if they are that interested.
 
@Pawsandclaws said:
That is what I meant by the NRL having to subsidise the expansion club (as it would have to do on a much greater basis for a Perth team). We’ve seen with the Super Union team no backing which bled the coffers. Why waste money on the West when they can easily watch it on tv if they are that interested.
Click to expand...

I disagree that the funding needed for a perth team would be more than a dubbo team. A city of 2mill has a better chance surviving than a town if 40k.

But we're never gonna found out.
 
If the NRL have to subsidise a new team - then they are not worth bringing into the competition.

I wouldn't be advocating Dubbo entering the NRL comp myself - they have nothing to offer what so ever - stick to the zoo I'd say.
 
I have given the idea of a country based NRL side little thought, but if the powers that be, including and especially the clubs don't do something in the bush, it will further flounder. Many country towns are struggling to keep their youth and in many of those communities, the ones that stay are often swamped with the vicious drug ice.

Regardless of the size issues with the rise of Polynesian player numbers in the younger juniors, the game would be nearing needing life support without them. Meanwhile the NRL have a few people running around in SUV's, whilst the AFL are providing more resources and installing 4 long poles with flag holders at each end of grounds around the state.

A pathway that allows our some of rural lads to live and play in an environment that is comfortable for them has some merit, even if it is only at a state cup level to begin with. For mine, the main reason that the City v Country game died lays at the feet of greedy clubs and us taking a game to Tamworth or similar is a good thing.

You only have to look at Rugby Union at all levels here to see the result of focusing on TV rights and a single elite competition.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,126 (members: 32, guests: 1,094)
Back
Top