NRL General Discussion Thread

[Morkel]

Closest competition ever.

 

[Super Freak]

Ricky Stuart has re-signed with the Raiders until the end of 2020.

I think the GH is going to explode...

 

[Browny]

Excellent, the raiders will be useless again by then lol

 

[Morkel]

Ricky has enjoyed more success than I expected him too. And I think I know how - the players have bought in to him. Not because he's a good coach, but because he seems to have not only inherited, but recruited even more to, a squad of some of the dumbest footballers known to man. Leilua, Rapana, Austin, Paulo, Boyd, Lima. For once he is a genuine chance at being the smartest person in the room. Regardless, they'll all be burnt out by the end of this year or early next year, in typical Ricky style.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

 

[Foordy]

Rothfield in the paper this morning advocating for a Sydney team to be cut from the comp (just not the Sharks), in order for a second Brisbane team to be admitted to the comp to weaken the Broncos

 

[Foordy]

Sydney can’t continue to support nine NRL clubs — one of them has to go

SOMETIMES I wish one of the nine Sydney-based NRL clubs would go broke.

Just one club and no one in particular.

It is the only way to get a second Brisbane team into the competition and that’s what the game needs right now more than anything else.

If we’re ever going to lift the average crowd from 15,000 to 20,000 in line with the strategic plan, having football at Suncorp every week instead of once a fortnight is the way to go.

Plus it would make the television rights more valuable because the networks desperately want strong ratings north of the border which is why the Broncos always get prime-time coverage.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is already on record as saying that the game’s administration will no longer be in a position to bail out clubs that can’t manage their own finances.

With each of the 16 clubs getting $13 million grants from 2018, it leaves nothing in the NRL coffers to bail out anyone who goes broke.

Like the Wests Tigers who had to take out a $5.4 million loan from former CEO Dave Smith (since paid back by Wests Ashfield) to save the joint venture.

Or St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust who had to borrow — and still owes — $6.5 million from Smith despite having the best and most famous brand in the competition.

The Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast Titans have also needed millions of dollars to stay afloat.

Once they are sold that’s it. Once Doust pays the money back, it’s all over.

Surely we all agree that a second Brisbane side to end the Broncos monopoly of having a major capital city to themselves is the way to go.

And no one wants to watch them every Friday night and have the advantage of seven-day turnarounds.

Put a second team in the comp and Brisbane families will finally get a chance to watch one local team on a sunny Sunday afternoon while the other Brisbane team plays on Thursday or Friday night.

Make Mal Meninga the figurehead, like a Gus Gould at Penrith.

This would also strengthen Sydney teams which are monopolising the wooden spoon every year because it is impossible under the current lopsided system for them all to be strong at the same time.

Since 2001 Sydney and Newcastle clubs have taken the wooden spoon in 14 of the 16 premierships. How do they compete with a one team town like Brisbane?

So now to the prickly topic. Which of the Sydney-based clubs will go bust first?

Which Sydney-based club can make the Brisbane dream happen?

Obviously Parramatta and Penrith have to be there in Western Sydney heartland.

Manly have to be there as the only side north of the bridge until you get to Newcastle. Plus we need a team to hate.

It leaves the Rabbitohs, Roosters, Dragons, Bulldogs, Cronulla Sharks (let’s not even think about it) and the Wests Tigers.

Anyone who watched the Wests Tigers game on Friday night against the Titans at Campbelltown with a crowd of only 6000 would be concerned for them.

It was an embarrassment compared to the Swans — Essendon thriller at the SCG in front of 35,000.

Can the game afford to lose Campbelltown considering we already have the Panthers and the Eels covering the western suburbs?

Yet the Wests Tigers have 17,000 members and the most growth in 2017.

The Bulldogs can’t go because they are supported by a thriving Leagues Club, one of the most successful in the state.

The Sharks are the premiers and own their own ground. St George Illawarra have no money but a great brand.

Same with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and surely we’ve learnt from the mistake of getting rid of them last time. And the Roosters are a foundation club with wealthy benefactors who would never allow it to happen.

None of the Sydney clubs will even entertain the idea of merging, even if it is for the good of the overall competition.

And we can’t just add a second Brisbane team and Perth because the current 16 clubs wouldn’t cop a smaller share of the revenue. A pie split 16 ways is better than 18.

Yet we all know nine Sydney teams is too many.

One has to go for the game to take its next step forward. From here on it’s the survival of the richest.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...o/news-story/acc75bc3829727275d6645b8bd3e1d69

 

[mitch222]

Case for sharks - we own our home ground. That's it

 

[tommy]

So he says one of them has to go then makes a case as to why none of them can.

 

[Super Freak]

It has to be Manly. It's the most logical choice.

 

[Broncs_Fan]

The Roosters are the most obvious choice because they have no fans and are based in Sydney City. But it will never happen because of the Sydney heavy hitters involved with them.

 

[mitch222]

What do the sharks bring to the comp?
All they do is poach the Dragons juniors. **** them off
Roosters wont go because they are a foundation club and have a ton of money.

 

[Broncs_Fan]

What do the sharks bring to the comp?
All they do is poach the Dragons juniors. **** them off
Roosters wont go because they are a foundation club and have a ton of money.

Play in their own unique stadium.

 

[Foordy]

What do the sharks bring to the comp?
All they do is poach the Dragons juniors. **** them off
Roosters wont go because they are a foundation club and have a ton of money.

could you imagine Rothfield's reaction if the NRL took his advice and cut a Sydney team for a 2nd Brisbane team ... with the team being cut, the Sharks.

 

[Battler]

A second Brisbane team will not work unless they're given an extra couple of mil on the cap AFL style, which won't happen; the team would also have to be an old school BRL club like Brother or the Diehards imo, otherwise only bandwagoners and casuals will follow them, Titans style.

On the topic of the Titans, killing the GC and bringing in Perth or the Jets would be a good idea. If we do get a second Brisbane team Sydney and Victorian clubs should have their access to QLD jrs severely restricted, see how much they like 'crippling' the Broncos then - which is all this 2nd Brisbane team thing is about.

 

[tommy]

Out of curiosity how many players running around in the NRL are actually WA, SA, Tasmanian, Victorian, or NT juniors?

 

[Battler]

Out of curiosity how many players running around in the NRL are actually WA, SA, Tasmanian, Victorian, or NT juniors?

Tohu Harris is a Victorian junior from memory, and I think there's a solitary NT jr running around as well. The Victorian jr system is, considering the Storm have been around for 20 years now, an absolute disgrace.

EDIT: correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't WA have a better JR system than Victoria at the moment?

 

[mitch222]

A second Brisbane team would just kill the titans off which isn't exactly a bad thing.