20th AFL Team

[Badger17]

Anything north of the tropic of Capricorn. (Major cities to base home games Darwin/Cairns split. Possible Townsville)
Passionate sense of identity and a will to support their area. Core element to support a team.
Think how Tassie is passionate and this drive lead to a team. WA footy the same.

You're flat wrong if you think there's a sense of shared identity between the NT and NQ.

 

[RedV3x]

The investors in Perth have dodged a bullet, as the NRL were only considering them as a lubricant necessary to get the Bears back into the league.

There was no way that Cash Converters could have done the necessary job in W.A. that the AFL does on the East coast and the job that the NRL needs to do but doesn't.

 

[Badger17]

There was no way that Cash Converters could have done the necessary job in W.A. that the AFL does on the East coast and the job that the NRL needs to do but doesn't.

Mate, the NRL is at the point where it's sides can survive off the annual grant and base income alone. Obviously it wouldn't be ideal, but they'd scrape by. That makes expansion comparatively accessible for them, if they ever care to take it seriously.

Besides, the NRL has no intention of doing the job 'necessary' in WA. The Bears are the priority, and as PVL has repeatedly stated, bringing them back for "the fans" is the goal, not a genuine attempt to expand the sport's reach outside of the East Coast.

If they're smart the WA government will refuse to support any NRL side for as long as the Bears are involved, as they're literally just being used. Unfortunately I'm yet to meet a politician that's smart.

 

[Walshawk]

Anything north of the tropic of Capricorn. (Major cities to base home games Darwin/Cairns split. Possible Townsville)
Passionate sense of identity and a will to support their area. Core element to support a team.
Think how Tassie is passionate and this drive lead to a team. WA footy the same.

Not sure about that. Are people in Cairns tribal about the Nth Queensland Cowboys? Seems to be just as many Broncos fans there.

 

[errant bounce]

The Perth NRL side is just a push from a very vocal minority and their vocally arseholes. not just passionate, but total hip shooters who peg their cause from absolute nonsense.

Perth's rugby demographic is in union from all the South Africans. Kiwis as well support union. New Zealand Warriors have become massive over there only because of some really good marketing: affordable tickets for a good night out and the 'Wahs' thing was well done, as cringey as it might be.

I grew up in WA and even in 'rugby' areas, those rugby clubs were union ones. I've literally never come across a rugby league club.

People like to think it's some sort of sleeping giant but it really isn't. Melbourne's a city of over four million people and the Melbourne Storm barely permeate the popular consciousness.

Perth is even more of a strict 'footy in winter, cricket in summer' city than Melbourne. most people are fiercely attached to the West Coast Eagles. it's like an extension of their identity.

I mean ffs Perth's full of English expats and even with no other major weekly sports, the Glory have been averaging about 7,000 for the last decade. and they have a 30 year, established name and colours and even if people just see them as 'being shit for ages,' they still can't pull a massive crowd.

If the Force playing union failed, I cannot see league succeeding. it'll die on its arse.

 

[RedV3x]

Besides, the NRL has no intention of doing the job 'necessary' in WA. The Bears are the priority, and as PVL has repeatedly stated, bringing them back for "the fans" is the goal, not a genuine attempt to expand the sport's reach outside of the East Coast.

If that is the case, then that's weird
Instead of $600 million for a PNG side you could have the Bears for literally a tiny fraction of the cost.

 

[The_Wookie]

Mate, the NRL is at the point where it's sides can survive off the annual grant and base income alone. Obviously it wouldn't be ideal, but they'd scrape by. That makes expansion comparatively accessible for them, if they ever care to take it seriously.

Besides, the NRL has no intention of doing the job 'necessary' in WA. The Bears are the priority, and as PVL has repeatedly stated, bringing them back for "the fans" is the goal, not a genuine attempt to expand the sport's reach outside of the East Coast.

If they're smart the WA government will refuse to support any NRL side for as long as the Bears are involved, as they're literally just being used. Unfortunately I'm yet to meet a politician that's smart.

Making the Bears involvement non negotiable is just stupid. And speaks volumes about the NRLs actiual aims.

 

[Bjo187]

I always find it funny that the leagiues up in Sydney call the afl the vfl to make it appear like a silly Victorian thing they only do down there, yet I realised the Broncos won the premiership in what was the nswrl in 93 or so.

There are also more nsw teams in the nrl on percentage than afl teams in the afl from Victoria. It shows how nsw centric (despite being a sport imported from England) this competition is and this is reflective in the bears and now albo's jets being on the cusp of re- entry.

I also know pvl lives in North Sydney somewhere coz my mate sees him dropping off his kids at school there, so he clearly sees it as a way to endear himself to his own area. Funnily enough, his kids school team just won the nsw private schools AFL premiership this year and rugby league isn't even played at the school.

 

[RedV3x]

I always find it funny that the leagiues up in Sydney call the AFL the VFL to make it appear like a silly Victorian thing they only do down there, yet I realised the Broncos won the premiership in what was the nswrl in 93 or so.

It goes further than just the Mexican thing. "Sydney" is synonymous with "Australia" up there, so the Victorian game must be anti-Australian in their eyes.

It shows how NSW centric (despite being a sport imported from England) this competition is

No, Australia developed the game and we are world champions so obviously NRL is Australian.
Victorians developed their game and only they play it so obviously it's not Australian.

I also know pvl lives in North Sydney somewhere coz my mate sees him dropping off his kids at school there, so he clearly sees it as a way to endear himself to his own area. Funnily enough, his kids school team just won the NSW private schools AFL premiership this year and rugby league isn't even played at the school.

I love that.