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Perth Glory owner Tony Sage hopes to replicates Nathan Tinkler’s Newcastle model for NRL team in Perth
The NRL has found its next Nathan Tinkler - a Perth business tycoon who wants to buy his own NRL team in the west.
The owner of Perth Glory and mining magnate Tony Sage plans to replicate Tinkler’s business model in Newcastle of merging an A-League team with an NRL side.
With a personal wealth of hundreds of millions, Sage has called in Balmain Tigers legend Benny Elias to drive the bid for NRL entry in 2015.
Elias, a former Wests Tigers board member, is preparing a proposal to go to NRL boss David Gallop and the new independent commission.
“As a born and bred Tigers man, I find it hard to align myself with any other club,” Elias told The Daily Telegraph.
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"But I’m already on the board of Perth Glory and Tony has asked me to try to make this happen.
“He’s another Nathan Tinkler and he’s determined to get involved. Perth is crying out for a rugby league team and Tony is the guy who could make it happen.”
The NRL plans to expand the competition from the current 16 teams over the next few seasons under the new independent commission.
Western Australia has always been a favourite of NRL boss David Gallop because of the booming economy and the opportunity for an extra television game.
Perth last had a rugby league team (Perth Reds) from 1995 to 1997 when they were sacrificed in the Super League war peace deal.
They had a number of high profile players including former forward Mark Geyer, Rodney Howe, Robbie Kearns, Brad Mackay and Julian O’Neill.
“Perth’s clearly one of the top contenders for expansion although I believe it’s still a few years away,” Gallop said.
"Western Australia provides an extra live timeslot opportunity for television and would increase our national profile in an area where the economy is booming.
"Our recent research in potential expansion areas showed there is a high level of rugby league interest.
"We were surprised by the number of people in Perth who said they were avid fans of our game.
“I’m certainly open for talks with any leading businessman who wants to talk about expanding rugby league when the time is right.”
A number of current NRL players began their rugby league careers in Perth including Corey Patterson and the Goodwin brothers, Bryce and Bronx.
Sage, who went to school in the Shire and supports Cronulla Sharks, said 2015 was his aim.
“It makes sense to run a joint operation with Perth Glory exactly the same as Nathan Tinkler has done with the Knights and the Jets,” Sage told The Daily Telegraph.
"Same marketing team, same medical team, same media team all working out of the same area.
"Perth is ready for a rugby league team and I’ve asked Benny Elias to drive it from here and be the initial chief executive. I needed someone based in Sydney with the right business credentials and the right connections.
“I know how closely he is still connected to the Tigers but he’s keen because he wants to see rugby league become a national game.”
The West Australia Rugby League has hosted a number of matches in recent years and has already had discussions with the NRL.
South Sydney Rabbitohs have a deal with Tourism West Australia to play one game each year in Perth.
Sage said he had spoken to the official body last year about their expansion prospects: “Originally I offered to be a sponsor and take a corporate suite but my interest has grown and I’d now like to get more involved myself,” he said.
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Perth is certainly the next logical place for expansion. Since he is a Sharks guy, maybe that’s the catalyst they need to move the sharks from the Shire to consolidate Sydney a bit?
Also, with Benny E in charge, hopefully he might be able to ward off poaching Tigers players when the team is setup!!
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as a long term option imo perth wont work. not enough juniors, wa is a proven aussie rules state. therefore i think it would be good to see sowfs go there and sink into the sunset
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The amount of juniors is not important, 2 of the more successful clubs of the last decade dont have any juniors (rooster & Storm), what is important to the success is whether they can attract corporate sponsorship, increase overall television and attract a crowd. Perth will do all of that. There is heaps of people from the eastern states working in perth and there is heaps of Saffies and Poms there as well, i have no doubt Perth would be a success
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Would they play as the reds or begin a new entity?
Personally I’d like to see them adopt a new identity, unless there are still fans aligned with the Reds.
I think it would be great for the game to have a Perth team. And even better if a Sydney team were to relocate. Although the major flaw with that is gaining support with local fans. For example if people in Perth didn’t go for the sharks before, why would they in Perth if they were to hypothetically relocate.
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Not to mention Fraze23, by relocating a Sydney team no Perth, not only would you have trouble attracting fans from the local communities of Perth but you would also loose a large number of supporters from where the team was originally located.
I think the best option, in my opinion, would be to start a new team that can create a new identity… It’s own identify.
In saying that, whichever option the NRL opts for, I hope it works as I would hate to see a 2nd team be lost out there.
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All you need to do is relocate the Sharks over there and change from the placid grey nurse ( may as well have a budgie for a mascot) on the logo too a mean man eating great white!
