Free West Paupa - the PNG Hunters can be the bridgehead!
NRL NRL Expansion
- Thread starter rugged
- Start date
NZWarriors.com
Perhaps this thread could re named the NRL expansion thread?
I couldn't find where else the Christchurch bid has been discussed?
Weren't they going to be making their big announcement during the Vegas week?
I couldn't find where else the Christchurch bid has been discussed?
Weren't they going to be making their big announcement during the Vegas week?
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On the Marty Johns show they showed Peter vlandys all dressed up at the White House meeting Joe Biden, with I think Anthony Albanese. I kid you not. He was talking to Biden about PNG and said the Americans were fully behind the soft diplomacy!
Few extra million chucked in for security detail…
But yeah a Christchurch/ Canterbury team would make sense with the new stadium.
Few extra million chucked in for security detail…
But yeah a Christchurch/ Canterbury team would make sense with the new stadium.
Second Auckland team?
A cashed up NRL and its ambitious leader represents a dangerous challenge for New Zealand Rugby; could Auckland boast two league franchises by 2030?; And how Wayne Bennett ‘blew’ the Kiwi coaching job.
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has a reputation for calling it bluntly.
And, last year, at the height of the public debate over rugby’s growing challenges as a spectator spectacle, Hansen did exactly that. He told TVNZ that Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) was superior viewing to his increasingly micro-managed code.
Then he cautioned his former employers at New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to under-estimate the NRL’s Sydney-based powerbroker Peter V’Landys at their peril.
I was reminded of Hansen’s warning last week when the NRL posted the biggest financial result in the Australian league’s 116-year history.
Revenue alone topped A$700 million for the last financial year.
To give that some perspective in terms of financial grunt, it means the Australian (plus the Warriors) franchise competition generates more than three times the annual revenue the All Blacks create for NZR.
Let that sink in for a moment ... more than three times.
For the first time, the NRL has also eclipsed bitter rivals, the Australian Football League (AFL), as the most-watched television sport across the Ditch.
Name me another southern hemisphere league or sport which has so emphatically bounced back from Covid-19.
It is a remarkable result for a competition (still) largely restricted to two eastern seaboard states of Australia, Canberra and a single team in New Zealand.
It also begs the question of what the NRL might do over the next few years with its increasingly bulging war-chest of money as it targets expansion franchises to further inflate its broadcasting and other commercial riches.
So back to Hansen’s warning about V’Landys …
As many of us know, Sir Steve dabbles a bit in the horses. He’s a thoroughbred owner, knows the industry and has witnessed firsthand the transformation that V’Landys has brought to New South Wales Racing in his role as CEO, including the introduction of new events like the Everest.
Under the helm of a self-made son of Greek immigrants, Sydney is now challenging Melbourne’s long-held grip on major money-spinning racing carnivals.
More importantly, the sport itself is booming. Across the Ditch, racing is winning.
You would think that looking after the gee-gees would be more than enough to keep 62-year-old V’Landys busy.
But he also chairs the Australian Rugby League Commission which owns the National Rugby League (NRL).
“It’s the same guy … Peter V’Landys has been instrumental in making both these sports very popular,” Hansen told OneNews.
Hansen said the Australian’s formula was “very simple”: “Find out what the fans want, find out what the participants want – and give it to them.”
The Sin City double-header, featuring Sydney clubs the Roosters and Rabbitohs plus Manly Sea Eagles and last season’s beaten grand finalists the Brisbane Broncos, has V’Landys ambition stamped all over it.
V’Landys is often ridiculed for an unfortunate lisp which sees him pronounce rugby league as “rugbah league”. He shrugs the criticism off with a “is that the best they can do?” response and keeps making money.
For league fans, the annual Vegas excursion (the NRL plans to open the season there for the following two years as well) represents a slice of glamour added to the razzle-dazzle and thrills and spills of the game.
They’ve lapped up footage of the likes of Broncos star Reece Walsh and other players rubbing shoulders with NBA stars at lead-in events.
For the other key group Hansen identified as driving V’Landys’ mantra, the participants (players and club owners), that’s about more money and influence.
V’Landys is delivering there too.
On the one hand, the Great Las Vegas Experiment looks to be a glaring example of the hubris and attention-seeking that V’Landys’ critics regularly accuse him of.
The reality is the NRL will be lucky to half-fill the 65,000-capacity state-of-the-art Allegiant Stadium.
But that won’t worry V’Landys and his able CEO Andrew Abdo. The Vegas experiment is a play for American betting money.
It’s audacious and if it comes off, will be another victory in the NRL’s determination to swallow its rivals.
After all, consider where the NRL is at compared to Rugby Australia, which just took out an A$80m debt line to keep its head above water.
It also represents the biggest existential threat to New Zealand Rugby since Super League thought about plundering the All Blacks ranks in 1995.
The bulging cash chest alone is a concern.
If the NRL was to target the New Zealand market for two of its expansion franchises – one in Christchurch and a second one in Auckland – for a 20-team league by 2030, league could deliver serious pain to rugby.
I am reliably informed the NRL recognises the vulnerable position of rugby in Auckland and the prospect of a second team in the City of Sails is gathering increased interest, particularly in light of the waterfront stadium debate.
At the moment, V’Landys is trying to get others to pay for his dreams. Favourites for an 18th franchise to be announced at the end of this year is a Papua New Guinea-based team off the back of the Australian government paying to keep the Chinese at bay.
A far smarter long-term plan would be to add Perth and two NZ teams to get to V’Landys’ goal of two 10-team conferences.
A second Auckland team would allow the league code to finally “take” New Zealand’s biggest city. A weekly dose of content from two competitive NRL franchises is an appetising prospect in a waterfront stadium.
Scoff if you like, but the populations of Brisbane and Auckland are not that far apart and the Queensland capital’s new franchise entry, the Dolphins, is already averaging 25,000 for home crowds, while the Broncos are the biggest drawcard in the NRL with regular attendances topping 50,000.
What’s more, the Dolphins are dominated by Kiwi-born Māori and Polynesian heritage players – just as 40 per of every NRL club roster is.
The player-production machine is here.
What could be the fortuitous maverick element is the downtown stadium.
I doubt V’Landys would invest but the lure of being cut in on a precinct deal within a new sports and entertainment complex in downtown Auckland offers him something he doesn’t yet have in Australia and something very alluring.
The NRL bought two hotels last year as revenue-producing assets – an 81-room Mercure on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and an inner city Quest Hotel in Sydney.
Would an NRL-themed Auckland downtown sports precinct that he could be cut into the right deal on interest V’Landys? His track record suggests so.
Weekly NRL matches, potential to host the Magic Round in Auckland (at last!), merchandising, and virtual and augmented-reality entertainment opportunities, TV studios … it all could be compelling enough for him to consider a second Auckland team.
But maybe not.
With its swelling commercial success, the NRL is delivering record distributions of A$447m clubs including players receiving a record A$216m.
The more the distributions go up, the more the Warriors make.
As an anchor tenant in a waterfront stadium, those numbers look even more attractive. Enough to remove likely resistance to a second Auckland team.
www.nzherald.co.nz
A cashed up NRL and its ambitious leader represents a dangerous challenge for New Zealand Rugby; could Auckland boast two league franchises by 2030?; And how Wayne Bennett ‘blew’ the Kiwi coaching job.
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has a reputation for calling it bluntly.
And, last year, at the height of the public debate over rugby’s growing challenges as a spectator spectacle, Hansen did exactly that. He told TVNZ that Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) was superior viewing to his increasingly micro-managed code.
Then he cautioned his former employers at New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to under-estimate the NRL’s Sydney-based powerbroker Peter V’Landys at their peril.
I was reminded of Hansen’s warning last week when the NRL posted the biggest financial result in the Australian league’s 116-year history.
Revenue alone topped A$700 million for the last financial year.
To give that some perspective in terms of financial grunt, it means the Australian (plus the Warriors) franchise competition generates more than three times the annual revenue the All Blacks create for NZR.
Let that sink in for a moment ... more than three times.
For the first time, the NRL has also eclipsed bitter rivals, the Australian Football League (AFL), as the most-watched television sport across the Ditch.
Name me another southern hemisphere league or sport which has so emphatically bounced back from Covid-19.
It is a remarkable result for a competition (still) largely restricted to two eastern seaboard states of Australia, Canberra and a single team in New Zealand.
It also begs the question of what the NRL might do over the next few years with its increasingly bulging war-chest of money as it targets expansion franchises to further inflate its broadcasting and other commercial riches.
So back to Hansen’s warning about V’Landys …
As many of us know, Sir Steve dabbles a bit in the horses. He’s a thoroughbred owner, knows the industry and has witnessed firsthand the transformation that V’Landys has brought to New South Wales Racing in his role as CEO, including the introduction of new events like the Everest.
Under the helm of a self-made son of Greek immigrants, Sydney is now challenging Melbourne’s long-held grip on major money-spinning racing carnivals.
More importantly, the sport itself is booming. Across the Ditch, racing is winning.
You would think that looking after the gee-gees would be more than enough to keep 62-year-old V’Landys busy.
But he also chairs the Australian Rugby League Commission which owns the National Rugby League (NRL).
“It’s the same guy … Peter V’Landys has been instrumental in making both these sports very popular,” Hansen told OneNews.
Hansen said the Australian’s formula was “very simple”: “Find out what the fans want, find out what the participants want – and give it to them.”
‘Rugbah league’ and the Great Las Vegas Experiment
Fast forward now to this coming weekend where the 2024 NRL season will kick off in, of all places, Las Vegas at the same venue where Taylor Swift cheered home beau Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl 58.The Sin City double-header, featuring Sydney clubs the Roosters and Rabbitohs plus Manly Sea Eagles and last season’s beaten grand finalists the Brisbane Broncos, has V’Landys ambition stamped all over it.
V’Landys is often ridiculed for an unfortunate lisp which sees him pronounce rugby league as “rugbah league”. He shrugs the criticism off with a “is that the best they can do?” response and keeps making money.
For league fans, the annual Vegas excursion (the NRL plans to open the season there for the following two years as well) represents a slice of glamour added to the razzle-dazzle and thrills and spills of the game.
They’ve lapped up footage of the likes of Broncos star Reece Walsh and other players rubbing shoulders with NBA stars at lead-in events.
For the other key group Hansen identified as driving V’Landys’ mantra, the participants (players and club owners), that’s about more money and influence.
V’Landys is delivering there too.
On the one hand, the Great Las Vegas Experiment looks to be a glaring example of the hubris and attention-seeking that V’Landys’ critics regularly accuse him of.
The reality is the NRL will be lucky to half-fill the 65,000-capacity state-of-the-art Allegiant Stadium.
But that won’t worry V’Landys and his able CEO Andrew Abdo. The Vegas experiment is a play for American betting money.
It’s audacious and if it comes off, will be another victory in the NRL’s determination to swallow its rivals.
After all, consider where the NRL is at compared to Rugby Australia, which just took out an A$80m debt line to keep its head above water.
Why NZ Rugby needs to fear V’Landys and the NRL
A cashed-up NRL isn’t just a dangerous beast for Australian rugby administrators.It also represents the biggest existential threat to New Zealand Rugby since Super League thought about plundering the All Blacks ranks in 1995.
The bulging cash chest alone is a concern.
If the NRL was to target the New Zealand market for two of its expansion franchises – one in Christchurch and a second one in Auckland – for a 20-team league by 2030, league could deliver serious pain to rugby.
I am reliably informed the NRL recognises the vulnerable position of rugby in Auckland and the prospect of a second team in the City of Sails is gathering increased interest, particularly in light of the waterfront stadium debate.
At the moment, V’Landys is trying to get others to pay for his dreams. Favourites for an 18th franchise to be announced at the end of this year is a Papua New Guinea-based team off the back of the Australian government paying to keep the Chinese at bay.
A far smarter long-term plan would be to add Perth and two NZ teams to get to V’Landys’ goal of two 10-team conferences.
A second Auckland team would allow the league code to finally “take” New Zealand’s biggest city. A weekly dose of content from two competitive NRL franchises is an appetising prospect in a waterfront stadium.
Scoff if you like, but the populations of Brisbane and Auckland are not that far apart and the Queensland capital’s new franchise entry, the Dolphins, is already averaging 25,000 for home crowds, while the Broncos are the biggest drawcard in the NRL with regular attendances topping 50,000.
What’s more, the Dolphins are dominated by Kiwi-born Māori and Polynesian heritage players – just as 40 per of every NRL club roster is.
The player-production machine is here.
What could be the fortuitous maverick element is the downtown stadium.
I doubt V’Landys would invest but the lure of being cut in on a precinct deal within a new sports and entertainment complex in downtown Auckland offers him something he doesn’t yet have in Australia and something very alluring.
The NRL bought two hotels last year as revenue-producing assets – an 81-room Mercure on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and an inner city Quest Hotel in Sydney.
Would an NRL-themed Auckland downtown sports precinct that he could be cut into the right deal on interest V’Landys? His track record suggests so.
Weekly NRL matches, potential to host the Magic Round in Auckland (at last!), merchandising, and virtual and augmented-reality entertainment opportunities, TV studios … it all could be compelling enough for him to consider a second Auckland team.
The economics stack up
Warriors owner Mark Robinson could be reasonably expected to push back against another franchise in Auckland – especially as it’s taken more than 25 years to turn the only one to date into a consistent performer.But maybe not.
With its swelling commercial success, the NRL is delivering record distributions of A$447m clubs including players receiving a record A$216m.
The more the distributions go up, the more the Warriors make.
As an anchor tenant in a waterfront stadium, those numbers look even more attractive. Enough to remove likely resistance to a second Auckland team.
Sports Insider: A second NRL team for Auckland?
NZ Rugby should be wary of the NRL's ambitions for growth.
Really good article.Second Auckland team?
A cashed up NRL and its ambitious leader represents a dangerous challenge for New Zealand Rugby; could Auckland boast two league franchises by 2030?; And how Wayne Bennett ‘blew’ the Kiwi coaching job.
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has a reputation for calling it bluntly.
And, last year, at the height of the public debate over rugby’s growing challenges as a spectator spectacle, Hansen did exactly that. He told TVNZ that Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) was superior viewing to his increasingly micro-managed code.
Then he cautioned his former employers at New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to under-estimate the NRL’s Sydney-based powerbroker Peter V’Landys at their peril.
I was reminded of Hansen’s warning last week when the NRL posted the biggest financial result in the Australian league’s 116-year history.
Revenue alone topped A$700 million for the last financial year.
To give that some perspective in terms of financial grunt, it means the Australian (plus the Warriors) franchise competition generates more than three times the annual revenue the All Blacks create for NZR.
Let that sink in for a moment ... more than three times.
For the first time, the NRL has also eclipsed bitter rivals, the Australian Football League (AFL), as the most-watched television sport across the Ditch.
Name me another southern hemisphere league or sport which has so emphatically bounced back from Covid-19.
It is a remarkable result for a competition (still) largely restricted to two eastern seaboard states of Australia, Canberra and a single team in New Zealand.
It also begs the question of what the NRL might do over the next few years with its increasingly bulging war-chest of money as it targets expansion franchises to further inflate its broadcasting and other commercial riches.
So back to Hansen’s warning about V’Landys …
As many of us know, Sir Steve dabbles a bit in the horses. He’s a thoroughbred owner, knows the industry and has witnessed firsthand the transformation that V’Landys has brought to New South Wales Racing in his role as CEO, including the introduction of new events like the Everest.
Under the helm of a self-made son of Greek immigrants, Sydney is now challenging Melbourne’s long-held grip on major money-spinning racing carnivals.
More importantly, the sport itself is booming. Across the Ditch, racing is winning.
You would think that looking after the gee-gees would be more than enough to keep 62-year-old V’Landys busy.
But he also chairs the Australian Rugby League Commission which owns the National Rugby League (NRL).
“It’s the same guy … Peter V’Landys has been instrumental in making both these sports very popular,” Hansen told OneNews.
Hansen said the Australian’s formula was “very simple”: “Find out what the fans want, find out what the participants want – and give it to them.”
‘Rugbah league’ and the Great Las Vegas Experiment
Fast forward now to this coming weekend where the 2024 NRL season will kick off in, of all places, Las Vegas at the same venue where Taylor Swift cheered home beau Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs at Super Bowl 58.
The Sin City double-header, featuring Sydney clubs the Roosters and Rabbitohs plus Manly Sea Eagles and last season’s beaten grand finalists the Brisbane Broncos, has V’Landys ambition stamped all over it.
V’Landys is often ridiculed for an unfortunate lisp which sees him pronounce rugby league as “rugbah league”. He shrugs the criticism off with a “is that the best they can do?” response and keeps making money.
For league fans, the annual Vegas excursion (the NRL plans to open the season there for the following two years as well) represents a slice of glamour added to the razzle-dazzle and thrills and spills of the game.
They’ve lapped up footage of the likes of Broncos star Reece Walsh and other players rubbing shoulders with NBA stars at lead-in events.
For the other key group Hansen identified as driving V’Landys’ mantra, the participants (players and club owners), that’s about more money and influence.
V’Landys is delivering there too.
On the one hand, the Great Las Vegas Experiment looks to be a glaring example of the hubris and attention-seeking that V’Landys’ critics regularly accuse him of.
The reality is the NRL will be lucky to half-fill the 65,000-capacity state-of-the-art Allegiant Stadium.
But that won’t worry V’Landys and his able CEO Andrew Abdo. The Vegas experiment is a play for American betting money.
It’s audacious and if it comes off, will be another victory in the NRL’s determination to swallow its rivals.
After all, consider where the NRL is at compared to Rugby Australia, which just took out an A$80m debt line to keep its head above water.
Why NZ Rugby needs to fear V’Landys and the NRL
A cashed-up NRL isn’t just a dangerous beast for Australian rugby administrators.
It also represents the biggest existential threat to New Zealand Rugby since Super League thought about plundering the All Blacks ranks in 1995.
The bulging cash chest alone is a concern.
If the NRL was to target the New Zealand market for two of its expansion franchises – one in Christchurch and a second one in Auckland – for a 20-team league by 2030, league could deliver serious pain to rugby.
I am reliably informed the NRL recognises the vulnerable position of rugby in Auckland and the prospect of a second team in the City of Sails is gathering increased interest, particularly in light of the waterfront stadium debate.
At the moment, V’Landys is trying to get others to pay for his dreams. Favourites for an 18th franchise to be announced at the end of this year is a Papua New Guinea-based team off the back of the Australian government paying to keep the Chinese at bay.
A far smarter long-term plan would be to add Perth and two NZ teams to get to V’Landys’ goal of two 10-team conferences.
A second Auckland team would allow the league code to finally “take” New Zealand’s biggest city. A weekly dose of content from two competitive NRL franchises is an appetising prospect in a waterfront stadium.
Scoff if you like, but the populations of Brisbane and Auckland are not that far apart and the Queensland capital’s new franchise entry, the Dolphins, is already averaging 25,000 for home crowds, while the Broncos are the biggest drawcard in the NRL with regular attendances topping 50,000.
What’s more, the Dolphins are dominated by Kiwi-born Māori and Polynesian heritage players – just as 40 per of every NRL club roster is.
The player-production machine is here.
What could be the fortuitous maverick element is the downtown stadium.
I doubt V’Landys would invest but the lure of being cut in on a precinct deal within a new sports and entertainment complex in downtown Auckland offers him something he doesn’t yet have in Australia and something very alluring.
The NRL bought two hotels last year as revenue-producing assets – an 81-room Mercure on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and an inner city Quest Hotel in Sydney.
Would an NRL-themed Auckland downtown sports precinct that he could be cut into the right deal on interest V’Landys? His track record suggests so.
Weekly NRL matches, potential to host the Magic Round in Auckland (at last!), merchandising, and virtual and augmented-reality entertainment opportunities, TV studios … it all could be compelling enough for him to consider a second Auckland team.
The economics stack up
Warriors owner Mark Robinson could be reasonably expected to push back against another franchise in Auckland – especially as it’s taken more than 25 years to turn the only one to date into a consistent performer.
But maybe not.
With its swelling commercial success, the NRL is delivering record distributions of A$447m clubs including players receiving a record A$216m.
The more the distributions go up, the more the Warriors make.
As an anchor tenant in a waterfront stadium, those numbers look even more attractive. Enough to remove likely resistance to a second Auckland team.
Sports Insider: A second NRL team for Auckland?
NZ Rugby should be wary of the NRL's ambitions for growth.
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I still have doubts about a South Island team.
Where is the Hollywood backer?
I read an article from Sydney today and they talked about ChCh being a great base for their local Pi / Māori population … more Māori and PI in Sydney than the South Island.
Where is the Hollywood backer?
I read an article from Sydney today and they talked about ChCh being a great base for their local Pi / Māori population … more Māori and PI in Sydney than the South Island.
The demographics of the South Island have changed since I was there in the 90s. Much bigger PI and Māori populations. Check out any of the club rugby teams in rural Canterbury, they’re keeping the sport alive down there. I read that Oamaru has the highest per Capita PI population for a town in NZ - something like 25%.
If the team was successful there’d be a market for sure. Maybe Dolphins scale. There is a pretty strong league presence in Christchurch and used to be the West Coast. If they could draw on that history maybe it’d work…..
Red and Black, maybe the Bears?
There's 7 or 8 clubs in Sydney to absorb them all though. Plenty of Maori and PI in the half a million southern population, the racial demographics in league and union are a bit more diverse down here than Auckland anyway in the top grades, future Griff Neames and Mannerings in both codes might see a career path here in a pro nrl team.
Southern Shakers could be brand name the locals embrace. Haven't heard anything about the Holllywood celebrity, could be Michael J Fox for all I know.
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tajhay
💙💚❤️
Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz
Agree with him. We just had one decent season after a long time. Too soon.
I personally would refer the png team or a combined PI team/Fiji silvertails perhaps based in nz before a second nz team. Those just feel too soon too though.
Relegation/promotion two tier comp would be awesome one day. But probably fanciful thinking right now.
I am a bit nervous about the jump to 20 teams that is being proposed. We have been there before. It didn't last.
Let's hope the execution works out better this time. Mind you last time the incoming clubs did have a few years to sort themselves out.
The main thing with jumping to 20 it would mean the current band aid for expansion is ripped off and instead of each potential site for a new club fighting out for spot 18. Then maybe spots 19 & 20 it is done in one hit and we likely won't be expanding again any time soon. After the Titans came in the NRL was pretty hesitant, now after the Dolphins it looks the NRL has the expansion bug. Having the odd number teams and the bye can't last so getting to at least 18 is understandable.
It seems reducing the Sydney teams that was an issue for the Commission is no longer on the table. I always thought it would be in the too hard basket. At the moment while the clubs are doing better financially it isn't as much of an issue.
Let's hope the execution works out better this time. Mind you last time the incoming clubs did have a few years to sort themselves out.
The main thing with jumping to 20 it would mean the current band aid for expansion is ripped off and instead of each potential site for a new club fighting out for spot 18. Then maybe spots 19 & 20 it is done in one hit and we likely won't be expanding again any time soon. After the Titans came in the NRL was pretty hesitant, now after the Dolphins it looks the NRL has the expansion bug. Having the odd number teams and the bye can't last so getting to at least 18 is understandable.
It seems reducing the Sydney teams that was an issue for the Commission is no longer on the table. I always thought it would be in the too hard basket. At the moment while the clubs are doing better financially it isn't as much of an issue.
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The owner of the 49’ers NFL team suggested he could be keen on owning an NRL side - get on the phone CHCH City Shiners bid team! ( apologies for showing my age here)
Shine on you crazy prehistoric diamond
That article post earlier was a good read. As much as additional sides in New Zealand would be good in giving the Warriors less travel and local rivalries.
They would need to do a lot of research on the logistics of another NZ side, let alone another Auckland based side and another side. The Warriors have struggled over the years, financially, on the field, crowds. Yes all of those are linked but it has shown how tough it would be.
I have seen quotes about union struggling here so the NRL see it as a chance to step in and overtake union in NZ. As much as I am a fan of league and seeing it grow here would be great. That is a ambitious statement and likely not going to happen. A change like that would be a generational thing.
The thing that should be pushed for any New Zealand bids is the number of kids that leave New Zealand for Australia. I can't recall if it was an article or an interview on the radio. It was quite an eye opening number. Not all of those kids would make it, but a lot would leave and not come back or at least for a while. It is also appealing for the parents who either go as well or follow soon as there are more opportunities.
The young players leaving would affect both league and union.
Having more stay here around their support network and be able to have an NRL career at home would be good.
They would need to do a lot of research on the logistics of another NZ side, let alone another Auckland based side and another side. The Warriors have struggled over the years, financially, on the field, crowds. Yes all of those are linked but it has shown how tough it would be.
I have seen quotes about union struggling here so the NRL see it as a chance to step in and overtake union in NZ. As much as I am a fan of league and seeing it grow here would be great. That is a ambitious statement and likely not going to happen. A change like that would be a generational thing.
The thing that should be pushed for any New Zealand bids is the number of kids that leave New Zealand for Australia. I can't recall if it was an article or an interview on the radio. It was quite an eye opening number. Not all of those kids would make it, but a lot would leave and not come back or at least for a while. It is also appealing for the parents who either go as well or follow soon as there are more opportunities.
The young players leaving would affect both league and union.
Having more stay here around their support network and be able to have an NRL career at home would be good.
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Sports Insider: Former rugby boss creates ‘South Island Kea’ in bid for NRL licence;
By
Trevor McKewen
14 Mar, 2024 08:54 AM12 mins to readSaveShare
2
Comments
Te Kaha Christchurch multi use arena Stadium Render
David Moffett to spearhead second South Island NRL bid with support from former Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos; Australian rugby’s post World Cup budget shocker; Smart mouthguard overcomes “teething problems”; Netflix goes all-in on combat sports; And introducing “Banana Ball”
A rival contender for a mooted South Island franchise in Australia’s National Rugby League has emerged, headed by former New Zealand Rugby and NRL chief executive David Moffett.
North Canterbury-based Moffett wants the “South Island Kea” to play out of Christchurch’s new Te Kaha Stadium and is targeting a 2028 debut when the NRL is tipped to expand to 18 teams.
The experienced administrator’s bid is a rival to the previously announced Christchurch-based consortium led by former Canterbury Rugby League chair Tony Kidd which has been lobbying NRL officials for admission to the competition.
Sports Insider understands Moffett was approached to be involved in the original consortium. He would not explain why he rebuffed those overtures but told this column he was confident of securing a coveted expansion license.
“I have a completely different model to what has been proposed to date and I believe it will intrigue the NRL,” he said, in also revealing key details of his bid for the first time to Sports Insider.
“We are proposing a co-operative model that will allow fans to invest and own a portion of the franchise.”
Moffett confirmed that if successful, the Kea would also include a women’s franchise competing in the NRLW competition and that a handful of home matches would be played at other South Island venues including Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The NRL is planning to add an 18th men’s franchise by 2028 with two further teams to be added two years later when it is likely that the competition will be split into two 10-team conferences ahead of the finals series.
A Papua-New Guinea franchise, bankrolled by the Australian Government to ward off Chinese ambition in the country, is heavily favoured to secure the 18th licence which will leave Perth, the North Sydney Bears and now two South Island bids chasing the other two.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/ru...-club-montpellier/KFJOFOCW7NC4XPD6JYNULG72R4/
Moffett’s track record in both rugby union and league will ensure his bid secures the attention of NRL powerbrokers Peter V’Landys and Andrew Abdo.
He has been the head of Sport England, New Zealand Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union, NSW Rugby and the NRL. He was also the first CEO of Southern Hemisphere rugby alliance Sanzar featuring the NZ, South African and Australian unions.
During his time at the NRL in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was instrumental in ensuring the Warriors franchise did not disappear.
Influential Sydney league identities were pushing for the Warriors to be dumped from the competition during the messy transition of ownership from the Waikato-based Tainui iwi to now disgraced Kiwi businessman Eric Watson.
Moffett resisted those overtures and made sure the Warriors survived.
He told Sports Insider his heart remains close to rugby league despite winding back his sports administration career to concentrate on other business interests in rural Canterbury.
“I was involved with [former Kiwi coach] Frank Endacott in considering a bid in 2012, however, there was no appetite within the NRL for a bid from the South Island at that time,” he said.
“I have always believed that Christchurch was the best city for an expansion team in the NRL and recent announcements by Peter V’Landys have confirmed that the NRL is now serious about receiving a bid from Christchurch.
“Under his astute leadership Peter has transformed the NRL into a powerhouse of Australian sport.
“The recent sell-out for the Warriors v Tigers match in Christchurch was a further indication that there is a lot of interest in teams playing in the best rugby league competition in the world.”
Aussie player in Kea team
Former Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos is also involved in the NRL Kea bid.Moffett said Marinos will be “our man on the ground in Australia supporting us”.
Zimbabwe-born Marinos has played rugby and league professionally (the latter with the Sydney Bulldogs in the mid-1990s and until last year was CEO of Rugby Australia).
He left abruptly after falling out with then-chair Hamish McLennan after the boardroom boss sacked Kiwi Dave Rennie as Wallabies coach and replaced him with Eddie Jones for the World Cup against Marinos’ wishes.
Moffett said he is working to bring other prominent personalities onboard with potential announcements in coming weeks.
‘Fans will own the team’
Another key advisor to the team is Roz Henry, formerly the CEO of Co-Operative Business New Zealand, who is working with Moffett on the team’s business model which is based off 10,000 to 15,000 home crowds.Henry is an expert in co-ops and Moffett intends an intriguing fan-based ownership concept.
“One of the major differences that we will bring is the ownership structure,” Moffett said. “We’re investigating a form of fan ownership which will ensure fans can have skin in the game.
“We will be offering fans an opportunity to own part of the team either through a co-operative structure which is a common approach taken by major European football franchises, or the opportunity to buy shares in the company.
“It will be a first for New Zealand and for rugby league and is based on a co-operative model which inherently democratises decision-making and will allow fans to govern the team’s operations from selecting management to shaping the strategic direction.
“By empowering fans as owners we will foster a strong sense of community and inclusivity.”
Sports Insider would expect Te Kaha to jump at the chance to secure another anchor tenant alongside the Crusaders whose team boss Colin Mansbridge recently tweeted his organisation would have no problem with a league franchise in the city.
Moffett has also worked as boss of Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in Wales, offering further insight successful stadia workings.
Other titbits he released were that, if successful, the Kea’s colours would be based on the iconic Kiwi bird (meaning likely colours of emerald green, red or orange and black).
“We settled on the Kea for a number of reasons,” he explained.
“We wanted an emblem that embodies agility, intelligence, and adaptability – that describes the South Island kea.
“They’re endemic to the Southern Alps of New Zealand which demonstrates an ability to adjust to harsh conditions.
“They have a curious nature and playful spirit and are among the most intelligent and social bird species in the world. They represent teamwork and resilience which will mirror the spirit of our players.
“They are all attributes a franchise will need to be successful in the NRL, so it’s an appropriate name that will add authenticity to our team identity.”
With only 7000 wild Kea remaining and the species under threat, Moffett said $1 of every admission ticket would be donated back to the Kea Conservation Fund.
The South Island has a rich heritage of producing NRL performers including teak tough props Brent Todd, Mark Broadhurst, Terry Hermansson and the late Quentin Pongia and Adrian Shelford, former Kiwi coach David Kidwell right through to current Broncos emerging star Jordan Riki and last season’s leading tryscorer in the NRL, Jamayne Isaako from the Dolphins.
That proven factory line of South Island talent over four decades will surely catch the eye of V’Landys and Abdo who both understand New Zealand is currently the richest talent nursery in the game.
Competing bids.. ffs.
It's an interesting concept - they have the stadium in place which will be better than Auckland out the gate & a decent second home in Dunedin.
Christchurch and the West Coast have always has that small but staunch league following.
With the NRL revenue growing so quickly and the club grants going up, it's likely not such a risky venture as it once ones.
I'd probably invest in the fan model while still following the Warriors tbh,
Good luck signing decent Aussies to live in Christchurch though...
Christchurch and the West Coast have always has that small but staunch league following.
With the NRL revenue growing so quickly and the club grants going up, it's likely not such a risky venture as it once ones.
I'd probably invest in the fan model while still following the Warriors tbh,
Good luck signing decent Aussies to live in Christchurch though...
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Intersesting statement...Why wouldn't they want to live in the best city in NZ?
I'm for relocation rather than expansion. But the NRL won't force the issue after losing the Souths Battle in 2001 and as they say, turkeys (ie the Sydney clubs in financial dire straits) don't vote for an early Christmas.
Personally, I only see one upside of a second NRL team in New Zealand and that's the inevitable change of the Warriors from being "the New Zealand Warriors", which I understand why the change was made from Auckland (get outside Auckland fandom etc etc marketing outreach blah blah) but I've never really warmed to. This isn't me saying I don't want a second NRL team in New Zealand, I'd love it. I just don't see it remotely working.
I think as it is the NRL isn't competitive enough to have 18 teams and make the Top 8 (which makes more sense the more teams you have, giving 50% of your competition a finals berth was always a bit rediculous, honestly) fairly unpredictable. If you're going to have a competition, you want to keep the final result of how that competition ends up in the balance for as long as possible. I don't think the NRL can really do that.
Personally, I only see one upside of a second NRL team in New Zealand and that's the inevitable change of the Warriors from being "the New Zealand Warriors", which I understand why the change was made from Auckland (get outside Auckland fandom etc etc marketing outreach blah blah) but I've never really warmed to. This isn't me saying I don't want a second NRL team in New Zealand, I'd love it. I just don't see it remotely working.
I think as it is the NRL isn't competitive enough to have 18 teams and make the Top 8 (which makes more sense the more teams you have, giving 50% of your competition a finals berth was always a bit rediculous, honestly) fairly unpredictable. If you're going to have a competition, you want to keep the final result of how that competition ends up in the balance for as long as possible. I don't think the NRL can really do that.
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