National Rugby Championship 2014

[Dave Beat]

Personally I think the best bids need to get the go ahead. If that means the West (or any other region) is initially under represented, whilst not ideal, so be it rather than having to prop up teams who cannot support themselves adequately.

Mail is that the North Harbour bid is strong and the Sydney Uni bid is expected to be strong based on them already adequately providing everything required barring a home ground suited to broadcasting.

I agree, and you can only choose the best 3, 4, 5, for NSW - and I think read somewhere that there was 41 expressions of interest nationally???

Is it still 8 or 10 teams?
Or is it 10?
If it is 3 from NSW, and lets say Uni, Nth Harbor, gee the 3rd is very broad?

 

[Bowside]

Does the North Harbour bid have any university backing or involvement?

Is the 5th NSW team a country team or a Newcastle team?

 

[Bowside]

I agree, and you can only choose the best 3, 4, 5, for NSW - and I think read somewhere that there was 41 expressions of interest nationally???

Is it still 8 or 10 teams?
Or is it 10?
If it is 3 from NSW, and lets say Uni, Nth Harbor, gee the 3rd is very broad?

I guess they could do 9 teams and have a bye round?

 

[RugbyFuture]

Does the North Harbour bid have any university backing or involvement?

Is the 5th NSW team a country team or a Newcastle team?

The country bid should be country, since NHRU pulled out of bidding.

North Harbour were working on university involvement last I heard and were close to a deal.

 

[Bowside]

I reckon this country team is going to be a failure.

 

[Dave Beat]

Does the North Harbour bid have any university backing or involvement?

Is the 5th NSW team a country team or a Newcastle team?

I'm guessing, i thought Gordon has a connection UTS.

Interesting all this hype about uni involvement, Dirty Reds got UTS on board all those years ago, and unfortunately politics didn't allow it time and they were relegated for 96 I recall?

How many Dirty Reds played in the 97GF, and how many played in finals football in 97?

 

[RugbyFuture]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-11/super-rugby-to-lose-money-in-2014-bill-pulver-says/5252600

In the video, NFJ doesn't seem very keen at all about the NRC... (4m 20s in)

 

[Andrew Jackson]

Some great read here.

From purely a fans perspective... in terms of structure, if the consensus is three NON-NSW/QLD teams are from...

1. Perth
2. Melbourne Supremacy (aka Bourne Supremacy)
3. Canberra (3 of the 8-10 teams).

The next 5 teams in my opinion should be;

1. Western Sydney - Complete no brainer.
2. Randwick if they can get the backing, need an iconic club, it just works. Look at the other codes with iconic clubs going back to the early 1900's. The AFL has Collingwood, Hawthorne etc. NRL has Souths, Canterburry, etc. BUT I wouldn't stop with Randwick... read on...
3. Third NSW Team - I will leave that up to the Sydney folk
4. North Brisbane Brothers - The rivalry that has always existing in Brisbane is North Brisbane v South Brisbane. Cash in on the Norths and Brothers brands. Also includes Uni QLD, Sunshine Coast etc.
5. South Brisbane Dragons - Mergers iconic Souths with Sunnybank Dragons). Also includes Easts, Ipswich region etc.

Once those 8 are filled next two team I would be looking at something like;

1. Country Drovers - Combined NSW & QLD & ACT country team. This would be a hugely supported team over all of country QLD and NSW & ACT
   • This team is essential if you want to test out new markets. Let the team play around QLD / NSW / ACT and see if they have a following
     • It sets up for the next wave of expansion in 4-5 years time perhaps.
     • Teams could play at variety of locations including Toowoomba, QLD Mining Towns, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast in QLD, as well as locations like perhaps Newcastle, Armidale, Hunter Valley in NSW.
     • Have a look at what the North Queensland Cowboys do. They play not only in Townsville, but also Mackay and other country locations.
2. Gold Coast Vigilance - Combines Northern NSW & Gold Coast

The good thing about this is;

• 3 NSW teams
• 3 QLD teams
  • Important to keep club players close to their homes and families and keep travel costs down.
  • Keeps NSW and QLD teams equally strong with equal opportunities.
  • NSW teams are not thinned out.
  • Taps into Rugby Heartland Brisbane market which all the other codes have failed to do (1 Brisbane Broncos, 1 Brisbane Lions, 1 Brisbane Roar - all this in a city of million 2 million people).
• 1 NSW/QLD/ACT team Drovers covering all of the key locations and testing new markets.

 

[Westie]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-11/super-rugby-to-lose-money-in-2014-bill-pulver-says/5252600

In the video, NFJ doesn't seem very keen at all about the NRC. (4m 20s in)

Nfj is a sook. Didn't want it last time either.

 

[Andrew Jackson]

I reckon this country team is going to be a failure.

What would you think of a Country Drovers team ken? Combo team testing new markets.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Why is everybody so fascinated with fucking country teams?

People are saying that teams in the city won't be supported by certain suburbs if players from their clubs aren't engaged, yet people from all over the state are going to love a bunch of players just called "country" and playing all over the place?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, unless our aim is a niche competition with even less interest than stage league AFL and Rugby League competitions, it's fucking pie in the sky stuff.

City vs Country league has a long and proud history, with players actually from the regions, yet nobody gives a fuck about it. A one off rep game struggles to draw 5000. Central Coast Mariners are struggling in the A-League aren't they, despite their on-field success?

If the competition has any aspirations of long term success it needs to engage corporate support. The reason why teams from every major competition are based in major towns and cities is partially to engage this and partially to engage with the biggest fan base.

I just find it laughable that people think they're small corridor of suburbs needs to be adequately represented by a team that bears that suburb's name on the team or JV... yet on the other hand saying "country" will just engage the entire state outside the major city by playing at a few different locations over the year.

I'm with Bowside: Country teams to be a massive failure.

 

[Dave Beat]

I'm with TWaS - most country folk are city people now, change probably occurs when they start boarding school, or get the scholarship, or maybe later in some cases when they start Uni.

@Bruce Ross of last years GF side how many players came from outside of Sydney - Carter, Davidson, Tilse, + ????
So will they play for country or uni?

Creating a Country team would be an expensive nightmare, there would be significant relocation, and travel expenses. Manly of the NRC players may have full time jobs, whether it be an office worker, or a farmer - seriously with a bit of common sense how would a country team train and play.

 

[Train Without a Station]

You really need to be able to draw the entire team out of where it trains and plays. Country doesn't work. You can't draw enough out of one area, and 90% of those that are good enough would already be linked to another team somehow, whether it be the Perth, Melbourne and Canberra teams, or the Sydney club JV teams.

People make it sound as if there's 40 professional standard players in one area, 10,000 supporters waiting at the turnstiles and 1,000,000 potential viewers out there just waiting for a team. There's not.

 

[Bruce Ross]

I'm with TWaS - most country folk are city people now, change probably occurs when they start boarding school, or get the scholarship, or maybe later in some cases when they start Uni.

@Bruce Ross of last years GF side how many players came from outside of Sydney - Carter, Davidson, Tilse, + ????
So will they play for country or uni?

Creating a Country team would be an expensive nightmare, there would be significant relocation, and travel expenses. Manly of the NRC players may have full time jobs, whether it be an office worker, or a farmer - seriously with a bit of common sense how would a country team train and play.

I'm not overly familiar with players' origins, Dave, but from my knowledge of Uni's run-on side: Paddy Ryan comes from Tamworth, Jeremy Tilse and David Hickey from Newcastle, Tim Davidson from Young, and Tom Carter originally from Young.

As to who they would play for in the NRC: Davidson has probably retired; Hickey will play for Uni; Carter is now a free agent and will play for Uni; and who knows who Ryan and Tilse will play for. There have been suggestions that the Waratahs may well assert their ownership rights and direct players to suit their own agendas.Ryan of course could be in the Wallabies squad.

What I do know is that given a choice Uni players will almost invariably play for Uni. It's a bit like my old club in Wollongong, the Woonona Shamrocks, where we used to say: "Once a Shamrock always a Shamrock; but if you go to another Illawarra club, you never were a Shamrock."
.

 

[MACCA]

Why is everybody so fascinated with fucking country teams?

People are saying that teams in the city won't be supported by certain suburbs if players from their clubs aren't engaged, yet people from all over the state are going to love a bunch of players just called "country" and playing all over the place?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, unless our aim is a niche competition with even less interest than stage league AFL and Rugby League competitions, it's fucking pie in the sky stuff.

City vs Country league has a long and proud history, with players actually from the regions, yet nobody gives a fuck about it. A one off rep game struggles to draw 5000. Central Coast Mariners are struggling in the A-League aren't they, despite their on-field success?

If the competition has any aspirations of long term success it needs to engage corporate support. The reason why teams from every major competition are based in major towns and cities is partially to engage this and partially to engage with the biggest fan base.

I just find it laughable that people think they're small corridor of suburbs needs to be adequately represented by a team that bears that suburb's name on the team or JV. yet on the other hand saying "country" will just engage the entire state outside the major city by playing at a few different locations over the year.

I'm with Bowside: Country teams to be a massive failure.

Dear Train WOS
What goals do you think the NRC should aim for?
How would suggest those goals are delivered?
Is our demographic similar to the A League.
Interested in your thoughts.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Not losing money hand over fist. Goal number 1.

 

[wamberal]

Dear Train WOS
What goals do you think the NRC should aim for?
How would suggest those goals are delivered?
Is our demographic similar to the A League.
Interested in your thoughts.

The current rugby demographic would be very different to that of the A League, I would guess.

We should be aiming to attract some of the demographic that we do not currently reach, or if we reach them, do not interest/satisfy them.

 

[TOCC]

Dear Train WOS
What goals do you think the NRC should aim for?
How would suggest those goals are delivered?
Is our demographic similar to the A League.
Interested in your thoughts.

The primary goal is player development which is achieved through a concentration of existing playing talent into a single competition. Not losing money, or dare i say making money from the competition would be a subsequent objective.

 

[Dave Beat]

I'm not overly familiar with players' origins, Dave, but from my knowledge of Uni's run-on side: Paddy Ryan comes from Tamworth, Jeremy Tilse and David Hickey from Newcastle, Tim Davidson from Young, and Tom Carter originally from Young.
.

Cheers Bruce, I didn't have any doubt who's they play for, i was using an example that most country kids change from country to city over time and fielding a quality team would be difficult and costly if they needed to pull together a team from regional areas.

 

[I like to watch]

Some great read here.

From purely a fans perspective. in terms of structure, if the consensus is three NON-NSW/QLD teams are from.

1. Perth
2. Melbourne Supremacy (aka Bourne Supremacy)
3. Canberra (3 of the 8-10 teams).

The next 5 teams in my opinion should be;

1. Western Sydney - Complete no brainer.
2. Randwick if they can get the backing, need an iconic club, it just works. Look at the other codes with iconic clubs going back to the early 1900's. The AFL has Collingwood, Hawthorne etc. NRL has Souths, Canterburry, etc. BUT I wouldn't stop with Randwick. read on.
3. Third NSW Team - I will leave that up to the Sydney folk
4. North Brisbane Brothers - The rivalry that has always existing in Brisbane is North Brisbane v South Brisbane. Cash in on the Norths and Brothers brands. Also includes Uni QLD, Sunshine Coast etc.
5. South Brisbane Dragons - Mergers iconic Souths with Sunnybank Dragons). Also includes Easts, Ipswich region etc.

Once those 8 are filled next two team I would be looking at something like;

1. Country Drovers - Combined NSW & QLD & ACT country team. This would be a hugely supported team over all of country QLD and NSW & ACT
   • This team is essential if you want to test out new markets. Let the team play around QLD / NSW / ACT and see if they have a following
     • It sets up for the next wave of expansion in 4-5 years time perhaps.
     • Teams could play at variety of locations including Toowoomba, QLD Mining Towns, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast in QLD, as well as locations like perhaps Newcastle, Armidale, Hunter Valley in NSW.
     • Have a look at what the North Queensland Cowboys do. They play not only in Townsville, but also Mackay and other country locations.
2. Gold Coast Vigilance - Combines Northern NSW & Gold Coast

The good thing about this is;

• 3 NSW teams
• 3 QLD teams
  • Important to keep club players close to their homes and families and keep travel costs down.
  • Keeps NSW and QLD teams equally strong with equal opportunities.
  • NSW teams are not thinned out.
  • Taps into Rugby Heartland Brisbane market which all the other codes have failed to do (1 Brisbane Broncos, 1 Brisbane Lions, 1 Brisbane Roar - all this in a city of million 2 million people).
• 1 NSW/QLD/ACT team Drovers covering all of the key locations and testing new markets.

How would country work?
Who would fund them for a start?
Who would select?
Where would they play,train,live etc
Most Qld posters are not supportive of a Gold Coast side,given the high attrition rate of various sports that wither and die in this marketplace.
Randwick are only iconic to the 50+ age group, twenty something's have never ever seen this club club be competitive.
Funny how the better performed,better run,better resourced SS clubs all prefer to share the load and participate in JV's(syd U excepted)
Randwick,who couldn't raise enough money to continue paying players last season.and came eighth last season.
What has changed there in the off season that would suggest they will even be a force in the SS,let alone a T3 comp?