NRL NRL Expansion

[Sixagain]

Who would win a between Perth Bears and South Island Polar Bears? Neither of us have any actual bears but never mind about that now

Yes the name Bears was one of their non negotiables.

 

[Sixagain]

South Pacific Nomads, based in Chch but games in Dunedin and Wellington every year, bring the Orcas on board and unite against the dirty Aucklanders, that's a big fan catchment area.

Still Up The Wahs tho.

Wellington came on board officially late last week.

 

[Worried2Death]

My insight comes from the South Island NRL bid. That's the one that is now being front footed by Frank Endicott. If you look them up on facebook and Google you'll find that they are now asking people to put forward ideas for names of the Southern/South Island team.

This bid still looks like the real deal, genuine knowledge of regional comps and clubs and should have suppoert of most of the local game.

 

[Sixagain]

What does Wellington throwing their weight behind the bid mean and look like. Why would Wellington throw its weight behind a south island team?

There are a number of districts basically giving moral support. Saying nothing more than they believe in the bid.

 

[Wrighty]

Don't take me seriously brother. I am in a bad mood because of office politics at work today. There is an article I read though from a Fjijian winger saying that though. I will see if chatgpt can help me find it.
Sorry for the wind up I am in a foul mood and I can't complain about it because we are going through downsizing. So have to just suck it up. I will have a dig for that fiji winger quote though I didn't make that up.

Hi again Riz

I had a search

The first article below sounds similar to the one I remember and some other articles are linked


https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby.../crusaders-star-nemani-nadolo-racially-abused

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby...r-sake-aca-speaks-of-anguish-at-racial-taunts



https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/n...ub-rugby-players-in-tears-after-racial-taunts



https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby...b-rugby-players-racially-abused-by-spectators



https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby...eni-manumanuniliwa-racially-abused-every-game

 

[Sixagain]

I dont quite understand this.

Melbourne have produced 1 NRL player if I'm not mistaken.

Young Tonumaipea is the only Victorian junior to play NRL. There may be more but we are talking a small handful.

A second NZ team before Perth is surely not an option.

Young Tonumaipea and Mahe Fonua are the only two from Victoria I believe.

 

[hornbybrown]

The elephant in the room with the CHCH bid no one wants to mention is racism. League is equally played by Pasifika Maoris and Pakehas and the Pasifikas and Maori guys won't be physically safe in CHCH.

Exhibit A: Jesse Ryder got beaten up in CHCH and that wouldn't have happened in any other New Zealand city to an international sports star. Even if he was lipping off that he was the man and the locals thought he needed to be put into his place.
Exhibit B: Fijian flyer wingers who play for the Crusaders report frequently being targeted by racism in CHCH restaurants and won't go out to eat without their team mates unless it is a restaurant they know very well.

The bid is not happening due to a large number of reasons including the above. CHCH did itself no favours the day Ryder (a Maori) got beaten up.

Lol this is just so blatantly wrong! I’m from Christchurch, there are heaps on pacific island and Māori people in Christchurch. Played with and against a lot in my rugby days. Crusaders have and have had heaps.

Either you are stupid or being a troll

 

[Wrighty]

Lol this is just so blatantly wrong! I’m from Christchurch, there are heaps on pacific island and Māori people in Christchurch. Played with and against a lot in my rugby days. Crusaders have and have had heaps.

Either you are stupid or being a troll

Probably both stupid and a troll.

Like I said I shouldn't have posted tonight. I had some ghastly office politics at work. My apologies.

 

[Riz]

Probably both stupid and a troll.

Like I said I shouldn't have posted tonight. I had some ghastly office politics at work. My apologies.

All good Wrighty, we forgive you.

 

[Wrighty]

All good Wrighty, we forgive you.

Thank you!!!!

 

[Matiunz]

Agree with you on the grass roots system in New Zealand currently not being up to scratch. With that said NRL scouts are attending all junior representative tournaments in the South Island. As of march of 2024 NRL clubs actively recruiting in the South and spending money in so doing were the Tigers, Bulldogs, Warriors. Tigers have since withdrawn due to internal issues. The Perth team is being talked up by the NRL and NRL media as a must as an expansion team but you need to take into account that they have only produced a handful of NRL players in the last 30 years so despite the South Islands current junior pathways not being up to the Australian stand it is still a long way ahead of Perth.

Depending on how Perth go at it, if it’s stand alone entity then yeah they’d be in a tough spot but I believe WA is the next strongest league state outside of NSW/QLD- linking up with either Bears or Jets will get them in a good spot too. Whilst they’d be a tough place to recruit I’d say they’d still be a preferable location for Aus players to relocate to
Even with NZ2 those same scouts will be there much as they are in Auckland- the current make up of the Kiwis side and it’s lack of Warriors players tends to show the best NZ prospects aren’t staying in NZ sadly.

 

[Matiunz]

Yes but you are saying PNG is categorically the next team.

6 weeks ago it seemed that way.

It now seems they will be given time to build infrastructure. Perth will be entered as early as 2027.

Do you have a different read on it?

The media seem to be slowly backing away from pushing PNG and have moved onto Perth.
Once a few more details came forward it started to be a bit of a shaky sell. Tax payers can understand PNG team as an aid device but when you start hearing noise if a chunk of that money going to already rich NRL clubs to try and essentially bribe them to let PNG in coupled with salary cap exemptions to pay massive overs to convince Australians to move there and tax payers start seeing it in a different light

 

[Matiunz]

The elephant in the room with the CHCH bid no one wants to mention is racism. League is equally played by Pasifika Maoris and Pakehas and the Pasifikas and Maori guys won't be physically safe in CHCH.

Exhibit A: Jesse Ryder got beaten up in CHCH and that wouldn't have happened in any other New Zealand city to an international sports star. Even if he was lipping off that he was the man and the locals thought he needed to be put into his place.
Exhibit B: Fijian flyer wingers who play for the Crusaders report frequently being targeted by racism in CHCH restaurants and won't go out to eat without their team mates unless it is a restaurant they know very well.

The bid is not happening due to a large number of reasons including the above. CHCH did itself no favours the day Ryder (a Maori) got beaten up.

CHCH had a bit of a rep with skinheads in the 90s but I’d say that’s more of an outdated stereotype these days?

 

[Makasene]

The media seem to be slowly backing away from pushing PNG and have moved onto Perth.
Once a few more details came forward it started to be a bit of a shaky sell. Tax payers can understand PNG team as an aid device but when you start hearing noise if a chunk of that money going to already rich NRL clubs to try and essentially bribe them to let PNG in coupled with salary cap exemptions to pay massive overs to convince Australians to move there and tax payers start seeing it in a different light

I'm not one to praise the media lol but in this case I feel they have been getting their chops straight from the NRL.

V'Landys publicly calling for Perth to align with the Bears as well as the Perth consortium being vocal that their preference is to go it alone but will explore all options - feels to me they have been rubber stamped.

Basically for Perth, get your shit in order, it's yours to lose!

 

[Sixagain]

CHCH had a bit of a rep with skinheads in the 90s but I’d say that’s more of an outdated stereotype these days?

Equally bad rap with the mongrel mob and black power. Every party of society has it's undesirables weather they be blue or white collar.

 

[Sixagain]

I'm not one to praise the media lol but in this case I feel they have been getting their chops straight from the NRL.

V'Landys publicly calling for Perth to align with the Bears as well as the Perth consortium being vocal that their preference is to go it alone but will explore all options - feels to me they have been rubber stamped.

Basically for Perth, get your shit in order, it's yours to lose!

What a lot of people don't realize is that when the Western Reds folded they did so with a healthy bank balance. Where that money ended up is a guess at this stage 25+ years on.

 

[Sixagain]

The media seem to be slowly backing away from pushing PNG and have moved onto Perth.
Once a few more details came forward it started to be a bit of a shaky sell. Tax payers can understand PNG team as an aid device but when you start hearing noise if a chunk of that money going to already rich NRL clubs to try and essentially bribe them to let PNG in coupled with salary cap exemptions to pay massive overs to convince Australians to move there and tax payers start seeing it in a different light

The WTF moment for me is when V'landys said that the NRL may have to look at payments outside the for players to play for the PNG side. When you looked a little deeper he actually referring to pay players danger money so it was a double WTF moment. There is no way he will get the other clubs to agree to extra payments outside the cap for the PNG side.

 

[Makasene]

What a lot of people don't realize is that when the Western Reds folded they did so with a healthy bank balance. Where that money ended up is a guess at this stage 25+ years on.

As did the original Gold Coast team

 

[Worried2Death]

CHCH had a bit of a rep with skinheads in the 90s but I’d say that’s more of an outdated stereotype these days?

There was a small subculture in the 80's, maybe 100 teenagers. They're old men now when I see some of them around, bald for a different reason and looking pretty sheepish.

 

[RuckInfringement]

What a lot of people don't realize is that when the Western Reds folded they did so with a healthy bank balance. Where that money ended up is a guess at this stage 25+ years on.

Can you elaborate on that? The History of Rugby League Clubs book says (repeated by Wikipedia):
'the crushing $10 million debt that hung over the club (from having to pay the airfares for all visiting teams) at the end of the season led to Super League axing the Perth Reds on 1 October 1997.'