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  1. #1
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    Default The Dolphins are the NRL's 17th club

    NRL dropped ball on Bombers’ bid
    http://www.couriermail.com.au

    NICK Livermore is the human face of the NRL expansion debate.

    His personal story, amid the half-baked promises and millions of dollars wasted, is why the NRL must choose its words on expansion carefully as pressure builds on the governing body to give Queensland a fourth NRL team.

    Exactly a month ago, new Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter Beattie had a simple message: The NRL must expand or die.

    Last Friday Livermore, the chief executive of the Brisbane Bombers NRL bid, conceded his faith in rugby league’s expansion dream had died.

    He informed Bombers directors he was walking away.

    After eight years of toil, having invested an estimated 8000 hours and more than $100,000 of his own money in a passionate quest to get the Bombers into the NRL, Livermore is sick of waiting.

    “I’m out,” the son of the late, great former Queensland Rugby League chief Ross Livermore said.

    “Peter Beattie says expansion could happen but I won’t be holding my breath.

    “I can’t justify any more of my own time in pursuing something that may or may not happen.

    “We keep hearing Brisbane will get a second team and it’s not a matter of if, but when.

    “But the reality is we are eight years down the track and we are still waiting.

    “It was a really tough decision to walk away. I have given nearly a decade of my life hoping to be part of a Brisbane Bombers team in the NRL ... but I can’t see it happening for a long time.”

    Livermore’s personal experience is a cautionary tale for league’s decision-makers.

    Beattie’s sentiments on expansion are understandable, and undoubtedly well-intentioned, but it is becoming increasingly pointless for the code’s heavy hitters to mention the ‘E’ word if they are not serious about doing it.

    The NRL is caught in a problematic no-man’s land on expansion.

    Geographically, the code must expand, but NRL and ARLC bosses face the difficult task of juggling the need to grow the game with placating bratty, self-absorbed Sydney clubs who continue to haemorrhage millions.

    Like dole bludgers sucking cash out of Centrelink, Sydney clubs are content to rot in a world of welfare where annual handouts from League Central are their life rafts to NRL survival.

    The code will never truly flourish unless Beattie and NRL CEO Todd Greenberg play hardball with Sydney clubs.

    The biggest loser is Queensland. And the impact is felt in good men such as Livermore, Ipswich bid chief Steve Johnson and central Queensland’s Geoff Murphy, who for too long have been fed empty rhetoric by NRL bosses who tickle and tease the expansion bids.

    Livermore claims the NRL has three times indicated the Bombers were close to being added to the big league.

    First, in 2013. Then 2015. Then 2018. Now the code is considering expansion for 2023, in line with the next TV rights deal.

    “Todd Greenberg has been the most honest of any NRL CEO,” Livermore said.

    “He had the guts to say to me that at times the NRL has misrepresented to the bid teams where the game is going on expansion.

    “I’m not bitter. I’m just disappointed in the lack of honesty.

    “We launched our bid in December 2010 and in that time, I’ve had talks with eight senior figures.

    “I’ve said to the bosses several times – just give us all an exact time frame (for expansion) and announce which teams are getting an NRL licence.

    “Unfortunately, the powerbase of Sydney clubs is holding back the game’s growth, which is a great shame.”
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    I was never a fan of this bid. It's Broncos2.0. But he really seemed to put in so much money and time.
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    Got a question for you guys as the furthest North I’ve ever lived in Australia is where I am now in Currumbin.
    If there is a 2nd “Brisbane” Team where should it be located?
    Another team playing out of Lang Park or Ipswich or Logan or even Toowoomba??? Or somewhere else altogether like Redcliffe or Sunshine Coast even.
    Just looking for opinions from people more learned than I am and understand the various areas well.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Bods View Post
    Got a question for you guys as the furthest North I’ve ever lived in Australia is where I am now in Currumbin.
    If there is a 2nd “Brisbane” Team where should it be located?
    Another team playing out of Lang Park or Ipswich or Logan or even Toowoomba??? Or somewhere else altogether like Redcliffe or Sunshine Coast even.
    Just looking for opinions from people more learned than I am and understand the various areas well.
    Should be Lang Park but I think the government will insist on it too.

    I think we need to target south west Brisbane, including Logan and Ipswich. That's the future.

    I'd also allow for some games to be relocated to other regions.

    I'd like to see Redcliffe in, but the north isn't as a big a growth area. Also they'd need to try very hard to be more than Redcliffe. They'd need to be North Brisbane and Sunshine Coast. I can't see them getting in ahead of another team that targets the south. But they do have a small stadium that they keep working on and will be upgraded in a series of stages.

    Meanwhile the Titans need to push into Logan while we still can. When we started there was so much Titans gear in Logan. And I felt that it really marked the point of demarcation between our territory and the Broncos.
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  5. #5

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    Lang Park is the only current stadium (apart from CBUS) that's big enough. I'm not sure how another team in Brisbane will grow the game though. Rugby League fans in Brisbane will already be following the NRL and already have the options of going to Brisbane or Gold Coast games.

    The NRL is stuck without good expansion models without reducing the number of NSW sides, which has shown to be extremely unpopular. Just expanding into new areas increases the comp to the point where the gulf between the top and bottom sides is huge. (ie the AFL model). Expanding into existing areas can ensure the new team has more success, but doesn't grow the game.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Canon View Post
    Lang Park is the only current stadium (apart from CBUS) that's big enough. I'm not sure how another team in Brisbane will grow the game though. Rugby League fans in Brisbane will already be following the NRL and already have the options of going to Brisbane or Gold Coast games.
    Remember there is 110 years of rugby league history in Brisbane and it is a city of 2.4million. And just one, divisive NRL club. A club that started Super League and fired Wally Lewis. It's often said that half of Brisbane hates the Broncos, I am in that camp. Early on the Titans had a lot of support in Brisbane, but sadly that has evaporated due to results and no outreach.

    The AFL know the power of a derby, they have two clubs in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and two in QLD. That's a very successful model.
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    NRL Queensland expansion could continue with Redcliffe Dolphins
    http://www.couriermail.com.au

    MORETON BAY Regional Council will back moves for the city to enter a team in the National Rugby League.

    Mayor Allan Sutherland has held confidential discussions with Australian Rugby League chairman Peter Beattie and other officials.

    He said he told Mr Beattie Sydney had too many teams and Queensland too few.

    Cr Sutherland said a new team would grow organically out of the Redcliffe Dolphins, a rugby league powerhouse formed in 1947. It now has four senior teams and more than 52 junior teams.

    Redcliffe chairman Bob Jones welcomed Cr Sutherland’s support, and Mr Beattie’s comments that the NRL had to expand or die.

    Jones, who played alongside league legend Arthur Beetson at the Dolphins, said the club had produced State of Origin and Australian stars such as Beetson, Petro Civoniceva, Brent Tate, Michael Crocker, Dane Carlaw, Chris Close, Bryan Niebling, John Robot, Greg Consecu and Greg Oliphant.

    Cr Sutherland said there were 990,000 people in northern Brisbane suburbs, Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast unrepresented in the NRL.

    His council has spent tens of millions of dollars on sports.

    “Sport builds community pride and helps keep children out of trouble,” he said.

    The council supported the Dolphins expand its grandstands, build a pool, gym, and hydrotherapy centre.

    Cr Sutherland was quick to point out that Australian football hadn’t been neglected.

    The council funded a $17m AFL precinct at Burpengary and a $9m AFL precinct at South Pine sports complex in Brendale.

    Cr Sutherland said council would pay $6 million to relocate the Redcliffe Tigers AFL club from flood-prone grounds to a site near Newport.
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    NRL expansion debate: Second Brisbane team still on table
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au

    As he prepares to hand the reins to Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys, ARL Commission chair Peter Beattie makes no apologies for igniting the expansion debate and prompting fresh speculation over the future of Sydney clubs.

    Beattie remains convinced that the game needs a second team in Brisbane, preferably as part of a 17-team competition if the numbers stack up.

    NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is currently in the midst of a review of the game’s footprint and will present his preliminary findings to the commission at a two-day retreat next week, when Beattie will officially step down from the chair role.

    Greenberg’s analysis will place Sydney clubs back under the microscope at a time when both he and Beattie concede there remain concerns over their long-term viability.

    It is understood NRL benchmarking for the 2018 season showed that only half of the game’s 16 clubs broke even or returned a profit without leagues club support.

    Several Sydney clubs continue to live a precarious existence and Beattie’s desire to see a second team in Brisbane has only heaped more pressure on them as the game prepares to enter negotiations with broadcasters as soon as next year.

    “I would love to see another team in Queensland but that has to stack up numerically, that has to be financially supported and Todd is doing more work on that,” Beattie said. “If you added another team and went to 17, that would give players a break, bearing in mind how intense the game is now.

    “It won’t happen in this media deal. It gives us time to work on our sponsors and work on people to get it up numerically. You have to have long-term objectives and strategies. You have to add value to the game and you can do that in many ways. I don’t make any apology for doing that.

    “The beauty about doing that is I knew we wouldn’t get expansion during the current media deal, which has another three years to go after this year.

    “At least you start the debate. Once you let the genie out of the bottle, you can’t put him back in. If it takes another three years to get another team in Queensland, to get the money right, to get the circumstances right, then I think that is worth it.”

    Beattie has few regrets as he prepares to leave the chair role. If there are any, it is over his inability to get constitutional change across the line. He also wants to see the game use the next media deal to grow its asset base.

    “We still don’t own anything,” Beattie said. “I would hope what we could do in the next media deal is set aside a percentage of our income for investment so there is another revenue stream.”
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    Peter V’landys believes Brisbane needs a second NRL team
    https://www.couriermail.com.au/

    Peter V’landys is laying the foundations for the future of the NRL and the new ARL Commission chairman wants to keep one foot on the throat of the AFL by ramping up plans for a second Brisbane NRL team.

    New ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys has revealed plans to launch a second NRL team in Brisbane to ensure the health of State of Origin and crush the rival AFL code in the key Queensland market.

    In his most candid interview since succeeding Peter Beattie, V’landys has laid bare his strategic blueprint, outlining his desire for a 17-team premiership and why Brisbane – not Perth – is the next region in line to receive an NRL licence.

    For the past decade, NRL bosses have dithered on expansion and failed to capitalise on the mostly pathetic performances of AFL’s Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns in the south-east Queensland sector.

    But now, as the Lions claw back to title credibility, V’landys – viewed as a visionary

    administrator not afraid to make the tough calls – will ramp up plans for a second Brisbane team to join forces with the Broncos in dominating the AFL in Queensland.

    Lauded as the man who saved horse racing with his commercial nous, V’landys is primed to bring a new corporate edge to the NRL.

    Rugby league’s next broadcast deal is due in 2023 and the new ARLC chairman concedes there is no guarantee the NRL will better its current $1.8 billion contract if it maintains the status quo with 16 teams.

    Beattie identified Redcliffe as a potential home for a new NRL team, but the city-based Brisbane Bombers have been chasing a licence since 2011 and are ready to pounce if the code decides to expand.

    Previous regimes have pushed for the NRL to expand to a new frontier in Perth, but V’landys believes Brisbane’s metropolitan market of 2.1 million people can sustain a second team to coexist with the Broncos.

    “Queensland is our market – we need a game every week in Brisbane,” V’landys told The Sunday Mail.

    “I can see 17 teams in the next broadcast deal working.

    “I am not going to pre-empt the ARL Commission’s decision, but having a second team in Brisbane is 100 per cent an option.

    “This is only my view, but Brisbane can sustain a second team, no question.

    “The NRL is a billion-dollar business and I will be doing everything possible to make Queensland even stronger.”

    V’landys’ views on Perth are compelling. There has been a concerted push for the NRL to revisit Perth as part of their expansionary footprint following the axing of the Western Reds after three seasons of operation between 1995-97.

    Two decades on, Perth is flexing its muscle. Western Australia’s new $1 billion Optus Stadium hosted State of Origin for the first time in June and rugby league will return to Perth next year with the relaunch of the NRL Nines.

    But V’landys is not convinced the NRL will take off in AFL-dominated Perth. He wants to reward generations of diehard league fans in Queensland.

    “We want to dominate the market in Queensland,” he said. “Forget wasting millions in rusted-on AFL states.

    “We must undertake a full analysis (of growth markets) but Perth does not have a huge league audience. Then there is the concern around flying NRL players five hours when we already hear criticism of player workloads and how taxing the season is on the stars of the game.

    “I am unashamedly a massive fan of Queensland because it’s our second strongest rugby league market.

    “I have great admiration for Bruce Hatcher (QRL chairman). He has been a warrior for the game of rugby league in Queensland and that must be recognised.

    “If you are running rugby league as a commercial operation, which we are, you want to be putting a lot of money and effort into Queensland.”

    While mindful of the AFL threat in Queensland, V’landys’ more pressing concern is maintaining the success of the NRL’s golden egg – State of Origin.

    Traditionally, about 15 per cent of NRL-contracted players are eligible for Queensland. But if the Blues embark on a five or six-year dynasty in the coming seasons, it would be a crushing blow for an Origin concept that thrives on Queensland punching above its weight.

    “Queensland is the state that we must grow to take rugby league to another level and continue the importance of State of Origin,” V’landys said.

    “Our elite game is State of Origin. We need Queensland as strong as possible for the sake of the Origin competition.

    “I had a good chat with Ben Ikin (QRL board member and former Queensland Origin player) about this.

    “He gave a presentation to me recently and he was spot on and so insightful. He was brilliant. He made it clear that we don’t need Queensland strong for the NRL only, we need Queensland strong for State of Origin.

    “My job is to maximise the return on the broadcast deal to keep the game profitable.

    “Like it or not, we are in the entertainment industry and we are here to entertain. The Queensland market is a key part of our success moving forward.

    “I can see many benefits to having another team in Brisbane for young Queensland kids to aspire to play for.”
    Last edited by DIEHARD; 30-11-19 at 06:19 PM.
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    I disagree with him dismissing Perth so comprehensively.

    But it makes sense to bring in a 2nd Brisbane side first. Lock down QLD as a Rugby League state and ensure more Queensland grown talent to continue the State of Origin spectacle.

    Also, the Brisbane Olympics bid is looking at converting Albion Park raceway (Trots/Greyhounds) into the Olympic Stadium and then reduce capacity to 20-30,000 post Olympics. This could come into play.
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  11. #11
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    Bring in both Brisbane and Perth at the same time
    Don’t have a team having a bye every week

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    Gold Coast Titans seek talks over plans for second Brisbane team
    https://www.theaustralian.com.au/

    Gold Coast powerbrokers are seeking urgent talks with the ARL Commission and the NRL over their plans for a second team in Brisbane and the potential ramifications for the Titans.

    The Titans are concerned about the impact of expansion on their club given a second Brisbane side would be on their doorstep, fighting for the same sponsors, players and supporters at a time when they are still finding their niche in the NRL. The Titans want to protect their turf. Importantly, they want to know how serious the commission and NRL are about expansion amid frenzied speculation that the game will look to add a 17th team as part of the next broadcasting deal.

    Consortiums are already falling over themselves to finance a second team in Brisbane. Finding someone to take the licence won’t be the issue for the commission as it weighs up interest from the Brisbane Bombers, western corridor and Redcliffe, the early favourite to win the day. The decision will ultimately be contingent on money and whether a second Brisbane team will bring in more for the game.

    The consensus at the moment seems to be yes, although the Titans want to make sure the NRL and fellow clubs have a deeper understanding of the potential ramifications of an additional side in southeast Queensland.

    The Gold Coast have struggled to make an impression in recent years and were only saved from extinction through the largesse of owners Darryl Kelly and the Frizelle family. Yet they have had relatively little time to put their stamp on the club and now they are confronted by a potential new rival on their doorstep.

    The commission and chairman Peter V’landys have spent recent months preparing the game to open broadcasting negotiations and those close to the likely bidding parties believe they would need around two years to prepare a side for entry into the premiership in 2023, when the new broadcasting agreement will start.

    That means the Titans could be under pressure from another club in southeast Queensland within 12 months.

    It makes this year one of the most important in the club’s history. They need to make an impact and make it fast. The early signs have been promising under coach Justin Holbrook, the side playing well at the Nines in Perth and star halfback Ash Taylor looking back to his best.

    If Holbrook can extract the best from Taylor, they have a fighting chance of a reasonable season. It could be a case of now or never for the club given the determination to add a second team in Brisbane.

    Perhaps the strongest factor in the Titans’ favour is their ownership and administrative staff. Kelly and the Frizelles are passionate shareholders who have put their money where their mouths are.

    Executive chairman Dennis Watt is one of the most respected officials in the game and is conscious of the need to get things right on the park, having taken huge strides off it in recent years.

    Yet the Titans want to know they also have the support of the NRL at a time when the game is weighing up expansion and the AFL continues to pump millions into the region. The Titans, on the other hand, are given no special treatment by the NRL. Despite the disparities in funding across the codes, the AFL has made little headway and the Gold Coast remains a rugby league area. That very fact owes much to Kelly and the Frizelles and they are justifiably concerned that the commission is considering putting another club in their backyard.
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    Queensland Government joins push for second Brisbane team
    https://www.couriermail.com.au/

    One of the most influential Broncos supporters in the country could hold the key to a second Brisbane team joining the NRL as Queensland’s State Government joins the expansion push.

    The Queensland government has turned up the heat on the NRL to expand in 2022 as Broncos legend Darren Lockyer backed plans for a second team in Brisbane.

    As revealed by The Courier-Mail, the NRL could expand the competition to 17 teams as early as 2022 and the Queensland government has put out the welcome mat for a new Brisbane franchise to join the Broncos.

    ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys is investigating whether the game can afford expansion and, if so, will consider adding a second Brisbane team 12 months ahead of the proposed 2023 target date.

    The NRL could seek tenders for expansion at the end of this season. Former Maroons Origin skipper Lockyer, the Broncos’ most-capped player with 355 appearances, is adamant the south-east Queensland market is ready for another team on the proviso the existing 16 clubs are viable.

    “As long as the Sydney clubs are secure financially, I’m all for another team in Brisbane,” Lockyer said.

    “Obviously we would need to look at the sport’s financials.

    “What this coronavirus pandemic has done is pull the whole game apart and made us look at bringing it back together in a more streamlined fashion.

    “For me, the key is revenue. If a 17th team won’t give us another game in the broadcast deal, how does it bring more value to the code?

    “I’m supportive of expansion but it’s important we make sure everything is rock solid first before we bring in a second Brisbane team.”

    Queensland tourism minister Kate Jones says the Sunshine State has the supporter base and infrastructure to ensure a second Brisbane team can compete with the Broncos.

    “I’d love to see a second Brisbane team join the league,” Jones said.

    “The more games played here and not Sydney, the better.

    “My heart is with the Broncos and always will be.

    “The NRL have assured us that they are committed to the Titans and ensuring we keep a Gold Coast team.

    “But more teams in Queensland means more local footy content which is great for our fans and local businesses.”

    Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, prospective franchises were hoping to receive some clarity from the NRL in July. That was the month in which V’landys planned to gauge the expansionary appetite of broadcasters Channel 9 and Fox Sports.

    V’landys is now unlikely to entertain a tender process until the 2020 season is completed, although he is committed to expansion and remains open to a 17th team in 2022.

    “There’s more pressing matters at the moment obviously, so I won’t be looking at this (expansion) until the end of the year,” he said.

    “We still believe a second team is needed in Brisbane but we have to do it responsibly.

    “It will certainly take much more scrutiny now (in the wake of the COVIA-19 saga) and a robust business case.

    “The numbers have to stack up.”

    Ipswich consortium chief Steve Johnson has declared the western-corridor bid is the best option for the NRL as the battle to become the code’s 17th team gathers steam.

    While ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys has given no guarantees expansion will happen, his preference is to grow the game and he will push for a second Brisbane team to join the NRL as early as 2022.

    The Brisbane Bombers bid is well advanced with the consortium having finalised a 200-page document ready for tender, but Johnson is adamant Ipswich is the most complete choice for the NRL.

    “We would be ready to go in 2022,” Johnson said.

    “We would create a tremendous rivalry with the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast Titans.

    “The NRL will need to be very careful not to damage its marquee club, the Broncos.

    “Of the known rival bids, only the western corridor can deliver what the game will need. We are the only bid that ticks all the boxes and will give the fans a real voice by giving the community ownership of an NRL team.”

    The population of Ipswich is around 200,000, a figure dwarfed by the 2.5 million residents in the Brisbane metropolitan region.

    There is a view Ipswich lacks the corporate support and population to ensure a successful franchise, but Johnson scoffed at suggestions the western corridor bid can’t be an NRL force.

    “The western corridor is home to some serious corporates, we have over 45,000 businesses, who for the first time will have a team to support,” he said.

    “With us, the Brisbane Broncos’ corporate base will be unaffected but at risk if another bid were to succeed.

    “We represent Queensland’s rugby league heartland with almost 30 per cent of the game’s participants in the state and the game’s biggest fan base.

    “The club will be focused on building good people first and good players second.

    “If we get the licence we have a huge fan base which will put more backsides on seats at Suncorp Stadium, playing a style of attractive football that TV viewers will want to watch.

    “We will help reconnect the NRL to the community so they have faith once again that rugby league is their game.”
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    Our Titans had better turn around soon before this new Brisbane side comes in.

    On the choice of bids, I support the Dolphins. I used to work for the Dolphins actually.

    They would need to expand their representation and include North Brisbane, Pine Rivers, Caboolture, and the Sunny Coast.

    Play games at Lang Park, Sunshine Coast and Redcliffe (If it's good enough for Belmore, Dolphin Oval is too).
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    That’s going to hurt us more than the Broncos


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    Established in 2005 as the Gold Coast Titans official Chat Forum, we are now known as the League of Titans Independent Website. A place for fans of the Gold Coast Titans to come and touch base with other diehard fans.

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