Brisbane Bombers thread - 2nd BNE NRL

[DIEHARD]

Brisbane's second team upbeat despite poll

Brisbane Bombers expansion bid co-pilot Craig Davison says being ranked behind PNG in a rugby league magazine poll on expansion sides is hardly a hit for his consortium's chances.

Rugby League Week's 2011 "Fans' Poll" asked readers which teams should be included if the new NRL commission agrees to expand in 2013 or beyond.

Central Coast polled best with a decisive 46 per cent followed by Perth (23 per cent), Central Queensland (10 per cent) PNG (seven per cent), Brisbane Bombers (six per cent).

Wellington and Queensland western corridor each pulled four per cent of the vote.

"Like some other consortiums, we didn't go out and tell our million friends to vote on the poll," Davison told AAP.

"I was forwarded some e-mails from friends on the Central Queensland data base urging fans to vote on these things.

"We've got to worry about our business plan, and our business model and impress the people that matter most which are (NRL boss) David Gallop and (newly-appointed Commission chairman) John Grant.

"That (magazine) poll doesn't reflect where we feel we are positioned in the battle for expansion at all.

"It's a poll done by a good publication, which I read, but which can be orchestrated or manipulated by numbers.

"You have to respect the rugby league fans out there but you've also got to put into perspective that the rugby league fans voting in this instance are a minuscule percentage of the total fan base."

Davison said the only poll the Bombers wanted to win was the one when the Commission made its final decision on expansion.

"We're really excited about how things are shaping up," he said.

"We're just finishing off our bid documentation and it looks fantastic.

"We have to wait and see what criteria the NRL have got but we're really excited about putting our business plan in front of everybody once the Commission calls for tenders."

Despite the RLW Poll results, the general feeling is the Brisbane Bombers and Perth remain the favourites to be added to the competition either in 2013 or later.

http://www.nrl.com

[DIEHARD]

I wouldnt place too much stock in a dodgy poll, with a heavy Sydney readership. The Central Coast Bears have been running a sustained campaign to skew these results, going as far as instructing their supporters exactly what responses to input for each question.

[Steelers]

"We've got to worry about our business plan, and our business model and impress the people that matter most which are (NRL boss) David Gallop and (newly-appointed Commission chairman) John Grant.

Theit attitude stinks. Sure, spend all your time and efforts impressing the NRL, but don't be confused when noone turns up to your first game because the fans felt that you dodn't care about them.

Perth and CQ for 2014

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I really don't like those Broncos wannabies.

I was on their facebook and have been ever since they existed, promoting good convo and debate.

But in the last week they have seen fit to start beating up on the Western bid.

They have such an arrogant attitude.

Anyway so I posted "I fear you guys will be Broncos Mark 2. And people do find the community ownership model of Western appealing."

They DELETED IT! Instead of using it as an opportunity to give me peace of mind, they deleted it. Amatuers. You cant run from this type of criticism.

Then last night, I asked if they had been deleting posts and that post was in turn DELETED.

I have asked again.

Honestly Im the sort of RL support who you want to win over and I can offer up many useful pieces of advice. But burn me and..... we.....

GO WESTERN HORNETS!!!!

[DIEHARD]

TV figures back second Brisbane NRL team

Not having an NRL game in Brisbane every week is handing rivals AFL and Super Rugby a free kick, according to the Brisbane Bombers expansion consortium.

Brisbane Broncos fans had just one home game at Suncorp Stadium in the first month of the premiership and will only be able to watch their team at home twice in seven weeks between rounds nine and 15.

"It will be easier to see an AFL game or a Super 15 (Rugby) match at times throughout the year than it will be to see Brisbane's No.1 code," said Bombers consortium chairman Craig Davison.

The Bombers are one of several consortiums bidding for an NRL expansion licence if the new ARL Commission gives the green light to more teams.

"It's a no-brainer. You have to have a rugby league game on in Brisbane every weekend."

Davison said the big television audience tuning in to watch the Broncos play every Friday night was irresistible proof Brisbane rugby league followers wanted more.

The ARL Commission is currently locked in negotiations with host broadcasters Channel Nine and other interested parties for a new 10-year TV rights deal tipped to bring a one billion dollar revenue windfall to the game.

Channel Nine and Fox Sports are both known to like the idea of a game being played in Brisbane every weekend to cash in on rugby league's enormous popularity in Queensland.

As it stands, Sydney rugby league fans get more than 100 NRL games a season, while Brisbane fans get just 12 live home games to attend, the same as Townsville, Melbourne and Canberra.

Another Brisbane team would also go some way towards breaking the Broncos' Friday night monopoly which rival clubs believe gives them an unfair advantage with seven days between games.

"Sydney have 108 games and Brisbane have 12. Fans need more games and we need another side in Brisbane," Davison told AAP.

"This is not about the Bombers, this is about the need for another team because quite simply, 12 games in a city whose population is heading towards three million by 2030 is not enough."

Davison said he'd received an expansion update from ARL Commission chief executive David Gallop a few weeks ago.

"Right now we're in a holding pattern," he said.

"We've got our financial model done, our bid documentation virtually complete based on any other criteria coming through from the Commission.

"We're sitting here waiting.

"If we're asked to submit for a new team the Bombers are ready for take off."

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[DIEHARD]

Brisbane Bombers go racing for NRL start

The circling Brisbane Bombers have upped the ante in their battle to win an NRL licence after revealing plans on Thursday to build a state of the art training facility at Doomben Racecourse.

The Bombers, who could be ready to take off as early as 2015 if the newly cashed-up Australian Rugby League Commission approves expansion, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Brisbane Racing Club to have their home base included as part of a massive development application before the Brisbane City Council.

The complex would house the club's football department and an up-to-the-minute training facility featuring an altitude chamber to speed up players' injury recovery.

The Bombers released details of a partnership deal with the BRC on the same day ARC Commissioner John Grant was quoted as saying expansion would not happen within the next five years.

The Bombers and seven other franchises bidding to be the 17th team invited to play in the NRL have been in a holding pattern since the Commission landed a record billion dollar TV rights deal in August.

However they are hoping for some positive news when the Commission reveals its strategic plan for the game's future - expected before the end of the year.

BRC chief executive Stephen Ferguson said a lot of hard work had gone into developing a vision for the racecourse as a world class racing and mixed-use urban precinct.

"We would welcome the Brisbane Bombers to Doomben Parklands to help us create a great facility for sport and recreation," said Ferguson, who has impressed as a progressive administrator.

Bid boss Craig Davison said a partnership with the BRC would create an outcome that would be highly beneficial to the Brisbane Bombers and the local community.

"Doomben Parklands will provide us with an opportunity to use existing infrastructure and space that would make our transition into the NRL streamlined and at the same time affordable," said Davidson on Thursday.

Commissioner Grant told the Queensland Times this week that there had been very little work done on expansion.

"It is a strategic consideration for the game and one that will be considered as part of the commission's strategic planning process," he said.

"We've talked about the fact that plan will be released later in the year and that remains the case."

A decision on expansion will come down to whether host broadcasters Channel Nine believe they can increase revenue and boost ratings.

The Bombers remain very confident they can achieve both by playing out of Suncorp Stadium providing Nine with a game in Brisbane every weekend which they believe will boost both the the network's income and ratings.

http://www.nrl.com/brisbane-bombers-...9/default.aspx

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Shame to not see them based at my ancestral home of Albion Park. But Doomben Racecourse is an ideal location and still in the neighbourhood. And should be great facilities.

Still we need expansion and they need a better name than Bombers!

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Bombers claiming WE (Titans) have the western corridor locked down. That's news to me. Bombers are such white ants to the Western bid.

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I just cant get my head around their elblem. A bomber. A war machine of mass destruction in the 2nd World War which killed hundreds of thousands perhaps millions. Most civilians.

It fills me with dread.