Gold Coast Feeder Clubs

[TITANMAN]

The feeder clubs will be, Burleigh, Tweed and Ipswich...?

[Green Machine]

RICKY BIRD for Half-Back !!!

[Queenslander]

Agreed with Ricky Bird for halfback, he is a great player for Ipswich, didnt he just get Queensland Cup player of the year?

[Lennox Titan]

The feeder clubs will be, Burleigh, Tweed and Ipswich...?

and NRRL (formerly group 1)

Lismore (Thaiday) Casino (Matty King), and plenty more talent around here as well.

[Green Machine]

Nah he cam 2nd, Greg Ingliss got it

[DIEHARD]

They have Ipswich, Burleigh and Tweed as feeder teams.

Gold Coast's feeder clubs announced

The Gold Coast NRL team won't officially get a name until tonight but their three feeder clubs were confirmed yesterday as the consortium gears up for entrance to the competition in 2007.

Queensland Cup entities Burleigh Bears, Tweed Heads Seagulls and Ipswich Jets will share the Gold Coast's second-tier players in a deal formalised this week.

The Bulletin yesterday tipped exclusively that the Coast franchise will announce their nickname will be the Titans at a public function at Robina Town Centre tonight.

But the franchise has chosen to go without a reserve grade and instead will use the three State League teams from which to draw players.

The harnessing of the three best rugby league clubs in southeast Queensland outside of Brisbane has created firm borders between the Coast and their NRL rivals up the M1, the Broncos. The Ipswich deal in particular will give the new club a pathway for junior talent from the edges of the Queensland capital.

"It probably sends a clear message as to where our borders are," said Gold Coast consortium managing director Michael Searle, who aims to draw players from Coffs Harbour north to the Gold Coast, to Ipswich and westwards.

"The kids in those regions need pathways. There has always been an affinity there. Think of the surf clubs and the car loads of people that would travel down to the Coast for the weekend."

Ipswich chief executive Brendan Hurst said he saw his club being a link to the Coast's NRL franchise for talent from the greater Brisbane area.

"When we approached the franchise we saw it as a way for the Coast to have some scope into the western corridor and north of Brisbane," he said.

"Previously the only option for kids was the Broncos, and because of the size of the production line they don't all go through. I'm not too concerned about what we receive, more that there is a pathway from our area."

It is envisioned three to five players from the Coast's full-time squad of 32 will play with the feeder clubs. The NRL team will fund a sponsorship grant for each entity as well as contribute to development and recruiting costs, coaching staff and provision of players and staff for fundraising. The exact size of the sponsorship grant has not been finalised.

Burleigh coach Rick Stone said the deal suited the three clubs because they were attached directly to a NRL club but retained their own identity.

"It's important because if there is an injury crisis in the NRL team all your players won't get sucked out with three to share the load," he said.

"History has shown that apart from a couple of years clubs like Toowoomba (Broncos), Young Guns (North Queensland) and Norths (Melbourne Storm) have struggled because of injury in their top team."

The deal with the clubs is conditional on them playing in the Queensland Cup and Brisbane Mixwell Cup comps.

Only Tweed Seagulls are yet to enter those competitions, but their application goes to the QRL on October 8 and has the Gold Coast NRL consortium's full support.

Source: http://www.gcbulletin.com.au

[Mavfan]

Got to agree. Ricky Bird and Presto in the havles. Its enough to drool over.

The GC are going to be very competitive!

[DIEHARD]

Official Gold Coast Titans press release

GOLD COAST NRL SECURES AFFILIATE CLUBS ARRANGEMENT



From left to right Brendan Hurst ? Ipswich Jets, Wayne Fitzpatrick ? Tweed Heads Seagulls, Rick Stone ? Burleigh Bears, Michael Searle ? Gold Coast Titans

The Gold Coast NRL today announced it has secured affiliate club agreements with Ipswich Jets, Burleigh Bears and Tweed Heads Seagulls.

The agreements provide a number of benefits for the Gold Coast NRL team and affiliate clubs alike. The ultimate aim is to provide sound and secure pathways into the NRL for juniors in the Northern Rivers, Gold Coast and South West Queensland growth corridors by allowing them to remain in their respective areas for as long as possible as well as ensuring that fringe Gold Coast NRL players are playing in a competitive environment while they are waiting for their step up into First Grade.

Gold Coast NRL Managing Director Michael Searle said, ?The future of our long term competitiveness in the game is what is at stake here. If we can assist in the process of these three region?s development and recruitment programs and increase participation in the game overall by supporting them in key areas then we are all going to reap the rewards of more quantity and quality in the talent pool. We have identified the key areas with the clubs in that regard and believe we have a solid plan to move forward with.?

The agreement between the Affiliate Clubs and Gold Coast NRL will include:

3-5 players from the full time squad of 32 will play in each of the three clubs in the Queensland State League competition.
GCNRL will distribute a sponsorship grant to each of the clubs through splitting trial match revenue with these clubs.
A contribution towards the costs of club scouting, recruitment and development staff will be made by GCNRL
A contribution towards training camps, coaching and ancillary staff expertise will be paid by GCNRL.
GCNRL will provide support such as players and merchandise for fundraising ventures.
GCNRL will assist with planning and co-ordination of elite players camps
The agreement with the clubs is conditional upon the clubs fielding teams in the Queensland Cup and BRL Mixwell Cup competitions.

Searle said, ?This is a very significant move for both the clubs and us - one of the most important steps we?ve taken in our short life. There is no doubt that the structure put in place will achieve a number of goals for us all and we are excited about the prospect and potential of these arrangements. ?

In relation to the profile and normal operations of each of the clubs under the new arrangement Searle said, ?Each of the clubs will retain their identities but will have an official relationship with the Gold Coast NRL club and they will have complete autonomy over their own recruitment and development programs. This will be a joint initiative to assist and promote these clubs and their foundation objectives. These clubs such as Tweed Heads Seagulls have almost 100 years in the game and we are proud to be associated with them at any level and hope we can ensure their charter in the game is fulfilled long term.?

Burleigh Bears Head Coach Rick Stone said, ?I think the biggest benefit will be the retention of our top class juniors for longer before they get a chance to go to NRL level. There is already clear evidence of how beneficial a relationship is with NRL clubs when you look at Queensland Cup clubs like Norths, Toowoomba and the Young Guns.?

Tweed Heads Seagulls director Wayne Fitzpatrick said, ?The opportunity to be involved with the new franchise is an exciting time for our club. Three years ago we entered a team into the Queensland Cup and we believe this relationship will give many of our young players a direct pathway to achieving their individual goals of playing at a higher level.?

Ipswich Jets CEO Brendan Hurst said, ?Ipswich and the Western Corridor is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. It is exciting that kids and established Queensland Cup players alike will have a direct link and therefore pathway to the NRL while remaining at home.?

If you require any further information please call Ian Buchanan on 0407242156