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    Good to see a pic of Titans on the AMNRL homepage!

  3. #18

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  5. #20
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    I just have so much love for the JAXAXE crew. They do a fantastic job at promoting rugby league. When the NRLUS gets up and running they will be like our own Green Bay Packers.
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER

  6. #21
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    I think I will have to get Jacksonville Axeman international membership.

    $35
    International & Remote Fan Supporter Pack (includes shipping to anywhere)

    This pack is designed for those fans that wish to support the Jacksonville Axemen but are not able to attend games.
    - Jacksonville Axemen T-Shirt (Flaming Ball Logo)
    - Jacksonville Axemen Hat
    - Photograph of the 2009 Axemen team
    - Photograph of the 2009 Axe Maiden Cheerleaders
    - Copy of the 2009 Season Program
    PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!

    Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"
    TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER

  7. #22
    Rep Player GCT_89's Avatar
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    im gonna wait to see how this NRLUS goes.....it'll be interesting to see which towns they go with, i would say jacksonville is a shoe-in......

    once teams are named, ill pick my team from there....hopefully it'll be around for a long time, and i want to pick the right team.....lol

    NEW! SOUTH! WALES!

  8. #23

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    Rugby League World Profiles NRL USA
    Sunday, 19 April 2009 16:42


    The leading rugby league publication in Europe, Rugby League World Magazine, features an in depth story on the NRL USA plans to launch the professional league in 2010.




    RICHARD DE LA RIVIERE talks to David Niu, the man behind the inauguration of an exciting eight-city professional Rugby League competition in America.



    If you thought the 2008 World Cup was hard to stomach because England failed to reach the final and are now ranked as the third-best Rugby League nation in the world, then imagine a competition that sees us ranked fourth. Behind America. In the current state of affairs that would be impossible - the Americans didn't even qualify for the World Cup, and didn't look like winning the qualification tournament that took place in the UK in 2007.




    In fact, when England last played them, in the build-up to the 2000 World Cup, they won 110-0 with Kris Radlinski scoring five tries at the Disneyworld Sports Complex.




    But next spring professional Rugby League lands in the States and who knows how fast the game could grow. Millions of dollars are about to be invested into the League and franchises are soon to be announced in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Jacksonville and Boston, with two more to be named.




    The competition will be called the National Rugby League, not to be confused, of course, with the Australian version. And behind the proposal is David Niu, who has driven American Rugby League forward for more than a decade. Before that he played halfback for St George in Australia's Winfield Cup in 1990 and 1991 and it was then that he met his future wife on an end-of-season tour of the States with the Dragons. Having kicked off in 1998, the AMNRL will shortly begin its 12th season, with 11 participating teams.




    Initially there will be eight teams in next year's NRL US - four on the east coast, where Rugby League is already strong, and four on the west coast. The regular season will last for 14 weeks with three weeks of play-offs, including a Championship Final on Independence Day, at the end.




    In a structure similar to that of Major League Soccer, the NRL will own all of the teams and will sign up the players and coaches after a series of tryouts and drafts later this year. Each squad will have 22 players so the League will seek out the best 176 players who put themselves forward. Such a structure allows each franchise to share equally in the success of the competition.




    So, the obvious question. How will this be funded?




    The NRL will be financed principally in two ways - through the sale of interests to 'Investor Operators' (those who choose to run one of the franchises) and to 'Preferred Supplier Investors' (sponsors and suppliers) and also with the NRL Founders group investing around $10m.




    Those Investor Operators will buy 'interests' for a price of $1-2m, raising between $8-16m throughout the whole competition. This is the right to operate a team on the League's behalf and the investor would be entitled to retain all local revenue and enjoy a pro-rata share of all of the NRL's income.




    Sponsors and suppliers have the opportunity to become partners of the NRL, known as Preferred Supplier Investors at a further cost of $2.5m. The NRL, however, has decided to limit the number of PSIs to around five, in order to give each a greater incentive to promote the League's growth.




    Potential PSIs could include TV broadcasters, equipment and clothes suppliers, food companies or transport businesses, among others. They will also be entitled to a pro-rata share of the League's income and will have the same voting rights as Investor Operators.




    And possibly most exciting of all, a television deal that will potentially introduce the code to over 100 million homes is on the verge of being agreed. "We're just about to finish the deal and it's with the lawyers at the moment," said Niu. "It will be a national network which has a sports channel so it will be anyone who has a TV with a basic cable package. "Right from the start, this network will hit around 120 million homes by the end of this year. "If we can just tap into one per cent, or half a per cent, then we'll be hitting a huge number of people."




    In terms of players, national tryouts - open to all - will begin this year in various locations around the country. Players will be subsequently selected to attend an NRL Pre-Draft Camp for a final assessment before entering the inaugural NRL Draft. Three Pre-Draft Camps will take place in October. By that time the 2009 AMNRL season will have finished. The inaugural NRL Draft will take place on Friday 7 November and the competition will get underway on 12 March 2010. the regular season will end on 11 June, the play-offs will take place on 18 and 25 June with the Championship Final booked in for 4 July - American Independence Day - in Philadelphia.




    "We wanted to set up layers that we could work through to find some kind of pathway," said Niu. "We have programmes for all ages, including EAGLETAG - Flag Rugby League - which has given us a solid youth base and we want players to come out of the woodwork."




    According to the nrlus.com website, interest in the competition has already been significant: "As the NRL USA develops - plans to launch professional Rugby League in the USA in 2010 - the interest from athletes and coaches both local and abroad, has been tremendous," it says. "Players ranging from collegiate All Americans from a wide cross section of sports - local rugby players, former and current internationals from both rugby codes, and coaches from professional rugby all over the world have been expressing interest through the NRL US website."




    "We're looking at eight teams who will play 14 games, seven home and seven away each, before play-offs," said Niu. "We're asking the teams to work at numbers of between 5,000 and 10,000 fans. "A short season means they can go out and market it to the best of their abilities and we feel comfortable that we can pull off good games with big crowds. "We've not just plucked these figures out of the air. We've studied other sports like soccer, lacrosse and women's basketball and football.




    "Our model is built so that the eight teams all function as one unit. If two teams make the Grand Final then all teams have an interest to promote it because all of the League's revenues are shared out among the group."




    The Australian press have already reported that high-profile international players coming towards the end of their careers could be tempted to the States by salaries of around $130,000. Brett Kimmorley, the former Kangaroos halfback, said: "A lot of blokes would jump at the chance to play in America."




    "England isn't as great as it was with the dollar coming down and I'd rather live in New York."




    "It would be a great working holiday where you could travel the US."




    Niu, however, played down the prospects of stars like Kimmorley being signed up in the short term. "It's exciting to be linked with people like Brett Kimmorley but the reality is that we can't compete with the Super League and the NRL but what we can do is create opportunities for people on the outside of those organisations to be part of a professional set up and to add to what we're doing. So it's not like we're going to go out and recruit players actively."




    League in the States received a huge boost when Leeds Rhinos and South Sydney Rabbitohs travelled to Jacksonville, in Florida, to play an exhibition match in front of a 12,000-strong crowd. In attendance were celebrities such as the Souths co-owner, Russell Crowe, the golfer Greg Norman and the former tennis champion Chris Evert.




    The local papers, radio and television supported the event and Rugby League was the talk of the town while the two clubs were there.




    Earlier this year, the Rhinos returned, this time to play newly promoted Salford in front of a crowd of 6,000. "You can't understate how important how important the Jacksonville events were. We've had some big crowds there to watch Leeds play firstly Souths with Russell Crowe in attendance, and then Salford.




    "It's helped Spinner a lot and it's brought a lot of good publicity and a good feel to the game."




    Internationally, Niu also sees potential development as a result of the new professional league and revealed to us the details of a new international tournament. "We've been talking with Romeo Monteith at the Jamaican Rugby League and also with the Japanese Rugby League. In October we'd like to have an Atlantic Challenge with the USA, Japan and Jamaica.




    "Jamaica is a great opportunity and if we can do some things with them to help them grow and us grow, based on what we're trying to achieve with this professional league then we'll have a real opportunity to develop our international programme."


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