Titans V's Sharks (Southport)

[Kingytek]

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0...-23211,00.html
Sharks keen to go solo
By Jon Pierik
April 7, 2006

SOUTHPORT Sharks Football Club prefers to begin as a new stand-alone AFL entity on the Gold Coast, but is ready to embrace a relocated Victorian team.

Sharks boss Paul Wyatt, who is spearheading the cashed-up club's quest for an AFL licence, wants a team based in South-East Queensland as soon as possible.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou has said he wants a club based there or in the western suburbs of Sydney within the next decade, but Wyatt has warned of the dangers of waiting too long.

"If it's 10 years, they might find the horse has bolted," Wyatt said.

"We want it in the shortest possible time. It's an area that has the growth and development to host a national licence.

"In 10 years, a lot can happen in the development of a rival code's position in any area in Australia."

Momentum is building for the Kangaroos to shift north.

Wyatt said he hadn't spoken to the Roos recently but, if the club made the move, the Sharks would look after its Melbourne members and protect its history.

He said the 1996 merger between Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions would be the ideal model to follow.

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The Sharks are also offering the Kangaroos at least $400,000 a game to play home matches at Carrara from next year and end their experiment with Canberra's Manuka Oval.

The AFL is keen to have six to eight matches at Carrara from next year.

The Sharks have underwritten five AFL games at Carrara this season for $1.2 million, including two home-and-away matches, starting next week when Melbourne plays Adelaide.

While happy to embrace a Melbourne club, Wyatt said the preferred option was for the creation of a new club to be known as the Southport Sharks.

"It would be a much cleaner approach from our point of view, even though in that consideration a time frame would be needed (to set the club up), like the licences in the past."

The Sharks have applied for an AFL licence since 1996, with Wyatt revealing he had approached half a dozen clubs about a possible merger.

"In the early days there was interest," he said.

"But a relocation has been viewed as a last resort, especially in the emotional area."

A new rugby league club, the Gold Coast Titans, will join the NRL competition next year, but Wyatt said AFL was the preferred code in the area.

Preferred???? Says FREAKIN who?
Wyatt has just made this personal.... What a stupid thing to say GC preferred AFL over NRL

[The Original Idiot]

GayFL will make up whatever they want to impress the media. I wonder if Mr Wyatt remembers the crowd AFL got at Carrara this year compared to NRL at carrara this year. But 400 grand a game? If only we had access to that kind of money!

[[BroncosGirl]]

Eeeww another afl team in qld, no thanks ! I don't think alf is preffered in the GC, only because they've had previous RL teams and not alf teams.

[Titan John]

Mr. Wyatt - zero credibility and quite typical of the AFL psyche.

It's too late for them now, they missed the boat and they'll pay for it.

[Queenslander]

I wonder if Mr Wyatt remembers the crowd AFL got at Carrara this year compared to NRL at carrara this year.

Im not defending AFL here but.....the AFL game (Lions vs whoever ) had a higher attendance than the Warriors vs Bulldgos game earlier this year :fyi:

EDIT: Just found the figures:

NRL trial got only 12,130 compared to the AFL's 13,269

Not a huge difference but still a "victory" for the aerial ping ponger's

[TITAN PETE]

Preffered code maybe he's thinking of another GoldCoast :!: Has this bloke even been here & Can someone please tell the Stillbournian that we speak english here as well .

[Titan John]

Im not defending AFL here but.....the AFL game (Lions vs whoever ) had a higher attendance than the Warriors vs Bulldgos game earlier this year :fyi:

EDIT: Just found the figures:

NRL trial got only 12,130 compared to the AFL's 13,269

Not a huge difference but still a "victory" for the aerial ping ponger's

That's got to be one of the smallest NRL trial crowds on the coast in recent times.

Not too bad considering Cararra was acting as a nuetral venue for the NRL trial, whereas the local club was hosting the AFL game.

There were other games held there by the AFL this year which drew as low as 6,000 though, not involving the Lions.

[Roolander]

I would say its close to 50-50 on the coast , in the coming years there will be more support for AFL , its just logical from the masses that come up here from Melbourne.

[Budda]

Hi,

Just thought I'd mention when Cowboys played Doggies last year at Carrara they had 21,000 attendance. I was at both games. The Last game there lacked atmosphere. Just shows people will go to watch good teams they can back... Who want's to back the Kiwi's.... Let alone the Dogs.

Budda

[Steelers]

Yeah with those crowd attendance figures... the AFL game had a 'home' team (Lions) whereas the NRL game had 2 away teams.

[Brycey]

top 25 Shows of 2005 in SE QLD

1 NRL GF 778,490
2 SOO Game 1 726,125
3 SOO Game 2 651,566
4 SOO Game 3 592,639
5 NRL GF Entertainment 570,584
6 NRL Prelin final 2 444,758
7 Lost: The Finale 406,490
8 NRL GF presentation 399,783
9 Big Brother: Winner 399,414
10 2005 Riverfire;Fireworks 389,465
11Desperate Housewives 383,745
13 Soccer WC Qualifier 379,135
14 Desperate housewives 365,526
15 Lost 358,405
16 Eveybody loves Raymond Final 355,519
17 NRL Semi-Final 2 354,921
18 Big Brother Intruders 352,999
19 50 years of 50 Shows 348,581
20 CSI Crime 346,040
21 Dancing with the stars GF 343,220
22 AFL GF 341,282
23 Desperate Housewives Finale 338,655
24 Big Brother 336,547
25 Happy Days 30th anniversary 333,336

[Dakink]

top 25 Shows of 2005 in SE QLD

1 NRL GF 778,490
2 SOO Game 1 726,125
3 SOO Game 2 651,566
4 SOO Game 3 592,639
5 NRL GF Entertainment 570,584
6 NRL Prelin final 2 444,758
7 Lost: The Finale 406,490
8 NRL GF presentation 399,783
9 Big Brother: Winner 399,414
10 2005 Riverfire;Fireworks 389,465
11Desperate Housewives 383,745
13 Soccer WC Qualifier 379,135
14 Desperate housewives 365,526
15 Lost 358,405
16 Eveybody loves Raymond Final 355,519
17 NRL Semi-Final 2 354,921
18 Big Brother Intruders 352,999
19 50 years of 50 Shows 348,581
20 CSI Crime 346,040
21 Dancing with the stars GF 343,220
22 AFL GF 341,282
23 Desperate Housewives Finale 338,655
24 Big Brother 336,547
25 Happy Days 30th anniversary 333,336

Well that pretty much sums up what people were watching...

[The Original Idiot]

The WC qualifier was only no. 13? Well, the real thing will be right at the top for this year's ratings.

[DIEHARD]

The WC qualifier was only no. 13? Well, the real thing will be right at the top for this year's ratings.

It may depend on what time it is played. It'll rate HUGE either way though.

[Queenslander]

And the AFL GF rated alright considering it didnt contain the Brisbane Lions; If the Lions did make the final im sure the above figures would be different. Ratings are a poor way to determine popularity; they can be easily mis-judged.