WA Reds win endorsement to join NRL in 2013

[watersiders]

Have you seen the sort of never-was bums who dominate domestic league in WA - watersiders?

How many Rockingham Raiders players would even make 2nd tier league in NSW or QLD? I had ex-juniors mates who were playing in that comp at 35 and killing it!!!

Bringing in EVERY top-25 player from the East Coast is a sh*t look!

And without a NRL team, that is exactly how domestic leage will remain here in WA. If league is gonna go anywhere in this state, we need a team and support from the NRL.

 

[redemption]

Fair call mate - at the moment some of the best players in the WARL are Polynesian scaffolders from the east who only get to play every second week!

I am not an expansionist in the current climate because I believe talent is a bit thin in key positions across the league and I also believe the grass roots have been severely neglected since Super League - and that should be the priority for funding and development.

However - I'd back the WA bid over Central Coast or Central Qld at this time if expansion is agreed to! I agree that there is more fertile ground on which to build in Perth or Freo than Melbourne or Adelaide!

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

i believe a 2nd teir competition should be set up with all these clubs tryin start up in the nrl, you could join queensland cup and nsw sides where the top two sides can be promoted up to the nrl and the bottom 2 demoted from the nrl each yr.

2nd tier won't work. No TV station will want the rights and if they do, it will be at a bargain price. As soon as teams are promoted, they would struggle immensely as the pool of quality first graders coming of contract at the end of each season would be minimal as the top tier would be able to dominate negotiations.

Although, the NRL could be a one round competition (play 15 matches) and we bring back a knockout cup competition where all senior teams to group level are eligible…..

 

[Gary_Bakerloo]

Whether it's the Bears or someone else, you'd imagine they'd play some games at NS Oval.

I understand the split will be 9/3 or 10/2\. The games at NS will essentially be the heritage games.

 

[tiger_one]

Wow! A knock-out comp for everyone to enter. I'd love to see that.

Nostalgia takes me back to:
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TV Ted Ellery dead at 66
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BY TERRY JONES Western Advocate - 24th March 2008

ON the football field Ted Ellery was a blockbusting winger, who never took a side step, steamrolling opponents.

Off the field the man referred to as “TV Ted” was a gentle giant. He passed away in Bathurst on Thursday night aged 66-years.

Mr Ellery became famous not as a young club footballer in Group 10, but later when he played for Western Division in the Amco Cup of 1974.

Something unheard of happened that year when Western Division, the poor country cousins of rugby league, pulled off one of the greatest upsets of all time. They downed Penrith, one of the glamour clubs of Sydney, 6-2 at Leichhardt Oval before 16,000 fans.

But it was much bigger than that for Mr Ellery. The Amco Cup final was immortalised in a televised game that had bush footballing fanatics cheering.

And one of the stars of that series was the man distinguished by his bald head, Mr Ellery, called onto the field as an impact player by the former Australian international winger who coached the team, Johnny King.

The magnificent triumph of Western Division that year was the catalyst for a Sydney man Noel Dixon to publish a novel “Country Strong” released in November 2006, a story Mr Dixon obviously based on the Amco Cup but called the Courage Cup involving Western Division Goannas playing a mythical North City Condors.

What catches the eye in the book are the references to a mythical “Ted Hanley, 33, a real legend, eight years or reps.”

“Ted Hanley” mentioned in “Country Strong” was a mythical Orange butcher who trained at the Orange Memorial Oval and wore a beanie to cover his bald head while his father held a stopwatch to time him in sprints over 100 yards.
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The same book tells how at training for Western Division Ted Hanley (think Mr Ellery) wanted to learn a side step.

“Alright, alright..Ted run up to the 25 yard line,” the coach said. “This step is one I learnt playing for for Australia against the Kiwis in ‘65\. I want you to run hard...”

“Yeah,” said Ted.

“Straight at the player...”

“Yeah”

“Run straight over the top of him. There you have it Ted, the Maori sidestep.”

“That, not a sidestep!” “That’s the only sidestep I wanna see you use”.

“Country Strong” tells it like many remember Mr Ellery: “Simmons to Hanley [Ellery], takes it up hard; the big man..bumps off the first…bumps off the second...Hanley’s still going..ah, good run from Hollywood Hanley...what a favourite he is.”

The softer side of Mr Ellery who died suddenly at the weekend was often observed in his latter years working tirelessly as a organiser and negotiator, fighting for the rights of employees.

Significantly his last week of life was one of the great triumphs for the modern Australian Labor Party, when legislation repealing WorkChoices passed through Federal parliament.

Being a union man was one of the lasting memories that residents of Bathurst have of Mr Ellery, last month parading to stop the NSW Government sell off of power stations.

Mr Ellery was near to retirement but still a prominent face in the crowd with many younger protesters as they marched on the offices of Member for Bathurst, Gerard Martin

 

[Mrs_T]

Interesting read, tiger one.

"That's not a sidestep" lol.

 

[redemption]

This is the same 'Maori sidestep' (i.e. lifted knees in the tackle) that saw many Polynesians banned from league from the 60s through 90s - and have to return to Union!

My old mate Olsen only got away with it because of his short & trunk-like legs (where the knee lift went undetected)!

But when Craig Smith (Maori) continued to lead with the knee in the late 90s & later for the Dragons - he was eventually cast out of the domestic game to finish his career at Wigan!

The Union commentators are probably the worst offenders in this regard - attributing alot of the famed sidestep to Jonah Lomu's treatment of opposing defenders (Jonah being Tongan - NOT Maori)!

While the 'fend-&-run-over-the-prone-body' (as per Lomu & his fellow Tongan boys Vatuvei &Tuiaki) is now considered a "Maori sidestep" - the original term is both factually incorrect & culturally inappropitate!!

 

[Florrie]

Glory got serious die hard fans, who dont care if they win or lose. As for the Force, went to one fo the bigger shopping centres here, saw atleast 10 people with Force members gear on withing an hour. WA is a multi-sport state, if a good team can get established early, the support we stay for the good. If however, the Reds are s*** from the word go, the club will have a lot of trouble.

to be fair though there are alot of English expats in perth that support the glory

and alot of south African expats that support the force

and the rest support the afl

But i hope it happens anyway

Are you suggesting there are not a lot of NSW or QLD expats there??

Not to forget the huge Kiwi population who keep the WA Rugby League teams well stocked with players/supporters at all levels.

 

[gallagher]

Northen eagles 2000-2003.
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The northern eagles werent a central coast team. A merger between manly and norths whom may have played a handful of games at gosford cant be considered a central coast team.
We have played a handful of home games at jade stadium over the years, that doesnt mean that christchurch has had a team.
A Central Coast team has never existed in the NRL

The Northern eagles played half theyre games at the CC, not just a handful. We played one game a year at Jade. By your reasoning the NRL doesnt have a team at Campbelltown or Wollongong.

You cant re-write history. If you believe league wont work in Perth based on that it didnt work there before you have to say the same about CC.

 

[Yossarian]

Northen eagles 2000-2003.
\
\
The northern eagles werent a central coast team. A merger between manly and norths whom may have played a handful of games at gosford cant be considered a central coast team.
We have played a handful of home games at jade stadium over the years, that doesnt mean that christchurch has had a team.
A Central Coast team has never existed in the NRL

The Northern eagles played half theyre games at the CC, not just a handful. We played one game a year at Jade. By your reasoning the NRL doesnt have a team at Campbelltown or Wollongong.

You cant re-write history. If you believe league wont work in Perth based on that it didnt work there before you have to say the same about CC.

It was always a thinly disguised Manly team playing games at Gosford. Hardly anyone thought of the Northern Eagles as a Central Coast team. You can't really compare it to the Western/Perth Reds.

Btw I'm not opposed to a Perth team.

 

[Leroy_The_Tigers_Fan]

I had a bit of a soft spot for the Original WA Reds, they unfortunately were sacrificial Lambs along with the Gold Coast when the ARL & Super League kissed and made up.
If Super Greed had never come along we would never know how long either of these sides would have survived, however by the time of the Reds possible re-admission to a National RL Competition 15 years will have passed, will the same passion be there, we have heard from fans based on the EAST Coast as opposed to actual WA fans that are in favour of it, but in my opinion it's like the GWS gAyFL team, nobody asked the local fans if they wanted a side!.

 

[gallagher]

Northen eagles 2000-2003.
\
\
The northern eagles werent a central coast team. A merger between manly and norths whom may have played a handful of games at gosford cant be considered a central coast team.
We have played a handful of home games at jade stadium over the years, that doesnt mean that christchurch has had a team.
A Central Coast team has never existed in the NRL

The Northern eagles played half theyre games at the CC, not just a handful. We played one game a year at Jade. By your reasoning the NRL doesnt have a team at Campbelltown or Wollongong.

You cant re-write history. If you believe league wont work in Perth based on that it didnt work there before you have to say the same about CC.

It was always a thinly disguised Manly team playing games at Gosford. Hardly anyone thought of the Northern Eagles as a Central Coast team. You can't really compare it to the Western/Perth Reds.

Btw I'm not opposed to a Perth team.

Not really comparing the two former teams or even the two current bids, just replying to his stament that Perth should be ruled out based on the fact that it was tried before. Its a ridiculously simple statment and i was comparing that to an equally ridiculous statment that CC should be ruled out on the same basis.

 

[gallagher]

I had a bit of a soft spot for the Original WA Reds, they unfortunately were sacrificial Lambs along with the Gold Coast when the ARL & Super League kissed and made up.
If Super Greed had never come along we would never know how long either of these sides would have survived, however by the time of the Reds possible re-admission to a National RL Competition 15 years will have passed, will the same passion be there, **we have heard from fans based on the EAST Coast as opposed to actual WA fans that are in favour of it, but in my opinion it's like the GWS gAyFL team, nobody asked the local fans if they wanted a side**!.

What maked you think the fans you've heard from are not from Perth?
15,000 plus fans turn up everytime the NRL comes to Perth. You cant suggest that 15,000 east coasters make up the crowd.
And its nothing like the GWS. GWS was put in by the AFL with little imput from the locals, the WA Reds are a bid put together by western australians, not just plonked in on Perth by the NRL.

 

[Geo]

When do we play them…..I'm there.... :wahoo:

On a sad note poor CCB....how is J Flo going to get a start now... :laughing:

 

[Spartan117]

Sounds good to me, Now all they need is a little PR momentum - Poor Bears.

We dont need another team so close to Syd