Broncos bear down on Titans heartland

[Steve]

Luke Turgeon

September 19th, 2008

THE Brisbane Broncos are planning a brazen move into the heart of Titans territory, with the powerhouse club on the verge of establishing a feeder arrangement with the Burleigh Bears.

In a move set to rock Gold Coast rugby league, the Bears -- which boasts the second biggest junior base in Queensland -- are tipped to finalise the new Broncos deal next week.

Bears chief executive Adrian Vowles yesterday denied rumours it was already a done deal.

He admitted the club was in negotiations with Brisbane, as well as Newcastle and St George Illawarra.

"At the end of the day we are a Gold Coast club and proud of it," said Vowles. "We have got to do what is best for us as a club.

"We've got the second biggest junior base in Queensland and we run six senior sides, which no other club has.

"Next year we are just looking to be successful."

The move is set to heighten tensions between the Broncos and the Titans, especially considering it comes just weeks after Brisbane poached the Titans' under-18 player of the year Kurtis Lingwoodock.

The new deal would mean the Broncos have first pick at some of the hottest junior talent on the Gold Coast.

The Titans and Bears had a feeder club arrangement in 2007 but that ended because Burleigh were unhappy with certain aspects.

Vowles said he was definitely not 'anti-Titans' and only sounded out the Broncos last month after a new Gold Coast agreement could not be reached during a recent meeting with Titans coach John Cartwright and football manager Scott Clark.

But Titans managing director Michael Searle yesterday hit back at Vowles, saying the Bears never made a formal approach to the Titans to re-establish the feeder club relationship.

"I never got an email or an approach from Burleigh, so if it couldn't make its way past the football staff then there wasn't a real lot of intent to do a deal," said Searle.

"What this will mean, is that as soon as they make a formal decision and go with a feeder club, we will have to withdraw any of our players out of the Burleigh system and any pathway to the Titans that was there for Burleigh juniors will be blocked.

"It's bitterly disappointing an institution like the Burleigh Bears would abandon a pathway for their juniors to enter the Titans.

"Burleigh originally left us because they wanted to maintain their own identity, that was the reason we were given originally."

Linking with the Broncos is just part of an aggressive off-season campaign by Burleigh to transform the club back into a Queensland Cup powerhouse.

Former Bears assistant coach Mark Gee, older brother of Broncos sponsorship manager and former club great Andrew, is back at the club after several years in the Broncos feeder system.

The Bears have also been targeting players from rival Gold Coast outfit and Titans feeder club Tweed Heads, already signing forwards Chris Enahoro and Matt Pow for next year while making a play at several other of the club's senior players, including Titans-contracted skipper Brad Davis.

The Broncos already have five feeder clubs. They are Central, Wynnum-Manly, Easts, Norths and Redcliffe.

"It is certainly an audacious move by the Broncos," said Searle.

"It is not like the Broncos need to add a sixth feeder club."

Vowles said he was not nervous about linking with Brisbane in the wake of the club's sex scandal.

"You have got to wait until the whole story comes out," he said.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/...st-titans.html

[Steve]

Looks like the Broncos are trying to make the whole Qld Cup theirs.

I think they're just edging ahead of the roosters as my most hated team.

[Jaye001]

If this happens Burleigh leagues club won't see another cent from me. Won't be supporting them poaching Donkey scum. No wonder they are a team everybody loves to hate!!!!!!

[GCT_89]

i remember an old drunk bloke telling me a story about the burliegh bears........
(it was at a bar which makes it credible)
everyone remember when the bears were our feeder club too, well we let it go.......we shot ourselves in the foot which left them with no choice really to look to the broncos as they do have a good number of players that, will sneak into first grade in no time...........

[titanstattman]

i remember an old drunk bloke telling me a story about the burliegh bears........
(it was at a bar which makes it credible)
everyone remember when the bears were our feeder club too, well we let it go.......we shot ourselves in the foot which left them with no choice really to look to the broncos as they do have a good number of players that, will sneak into first grade in no time...........

I'll hate to say we didnt shot ourselfs in the foot as the BEARS wanted to be the only feeder for the TITANS IMO i think that was rude and wrong so if they didnt want to be the ONLY feeder club they woulnt have took any way else....

[daveyk]

i remember an old drunk bloke telling me a story about the burliegh bears........
(it was at a bar which makes it credible)
everyone remember when the bears were our feeder club too, well we let it go.......we shot ourselves in the foot which left them with no choice really to look to the broncos as they do have a good number of players that, will sneak into first grade in no time...........

yep... i remember the convo...

it was a lovely establishment too.... safe to say i wasnt goin to argue with him

[DIEHARD]

What a terrible situation... I agree with michael how if word of a proposed partnership hadn't crossed his desk, there can't have been much intent.

I mean when you intend to make a deail with the devil and rattle the gold coast rugby league world, you should at least properly cover your bases by properly sounding out the Gold Coast Titans.

How many feeder clubs does the Broncos need? Are they running scared? Didn't Burleigh withdraw from our arrangement because they didn't want to share the feeder club role with two other clubs?

I'm pretty sure when the Titans were recruiting feeder clubs we respected the Brisbane Broncos sphere of influence... But now it seems the gloves are off.

My suggestion is..... ALLY WITH NORTHS DEVILS!

[daveyk]

i heard that it was because wen the bears needed their players back for the finals, we didnt release them back.

how much truth there is too it, who knows

[titanstattman]

Didn't Burleigh withdraw from our arrangement because they didn't want to share the feeder club role with two other clubs?


My suggestion is..... ALLY WITH NORTHS DEVILS!

That is the number 1 reason why they are no longer a feeder club...

[DIEHARD]

That is the number 1 reason why they are no longer a feeder club...

Another arguement others clubs use is that being the sole feeder club is very distablising to the club, considering the amount of traffic to and from the NRL club.

I think the best situation is to be a feeder club with a couple other clubs. In my opinion the Titans original triumvirate of feeder clubs was ideal.

But Brisbane have....

Wynnum Manly Seagulls
Central Comest
Redcliffe Dolphins
Norths Devils
Easts Tigers

To me trying to add Burleigh is over kill and smacks of territorialism. Trying to choke other club's supply lines.

Also the track record of clubs involved with the Broncos isn't fantastic, it's commonly known amoungst Leaguies as the "Broncos touch of death".

Toowoomba
Aspley
Brothers
Wests Panthers

Of course the Broncos can't be held accountable for their demise...the problems of those clubs ran very deep, but it doesn't look that great on a resume.

[titanstattman]

This is wen the other feeder clubs should be getting the sh1ts with them and make it know that they not happy....

[Steve]

Also the track record of clubs involved with the Broncos isn't fantastic, it's commonly known amoungst Leaguies as the "Broncos touch of death".

Toowoomba
Aspley
Brothers
Wests Panthers

Aren't the Devils being killed off soon too?

[GCT_89]

Also the track record of clubs involved with the Broncos isn't fantastic, it's commonly known amoungst Leaguies as the "Broncos touch of death".

Toowoomba
Aspley
Brothers
Wests Panthers
(

Aren't the Devils being killed off soon too?

holy crap........lol i guess it just makes things easier for the seagulls.......lol

but yea i think our original situation of the two coast teams and the next closest (ipswich) was a good one, no too many not too little and not all over the place......

having 3 works better than just one.......what happens when the titan's 1, 6, 7, 9 get injured? with only one feeder club, that team is bacically destroyed for that round, whereas with a few feeder clubs you can take a couple from each........just spreads it out a bit more....

but yea as stated above, in the convo i was told that it was a dead rubber for the titans and finals for the bears, yet the titans didnt release the player or something like that........but yea, not sure how credible it is..............

[DIEHARD]

Aren't the Devils being killed off soon too?

They aren't in the best position. But they should and need to survive.

I'll chain myself to a bulldozer for Norths Devils!

[titanstattman]

They aren't in the best position. But they should and need to survive.

I'll chain myself to a bulldozer for Norths Devils!

That would be funny to see......