NRL bid

NRL 2013

The WA Reds Are Bidding for a 2013 NRL License

In 2013 the NRL is anticipated to call for an extra two teams to join the National Rugby League, the WA Rugby League through the WA Reds intend to bid for one of these positions.
WA is the strongest of the Rugby League playing states outside of the heartlands and also represents one of the best opportunities for expansion, because of the vibrant business community and WA offers a large untapped exposure for the game through potential game attendance, media support and television audience.
Currently, the organisation has the planning under way and will be ready early in 2011 to present their credentials.
The management of the WA Rugby League is gearing up for a strong case for Western Australia.

http://www.waredsrugbyleague.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122&Itemid=215


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The WA Rugby League is ready to take the next step in its campaign to become part of an expanded national competition.
It will open talks with the State Government next month, hoping to secure a $300,000 fighting fund loan to finance its bid for a side in the National Rugby League that is set to grow from 16 to 18 clubs in 2013 under a new television deal.
Perth has not had a professional rugby league team since the Super League Western Reds folded in 1997, but the WARL is armed with a business case study it believes presents solid arguments for a new NRL side.
It commissioned market researchers Synovate to prepare the report and WARL Bid project manager Ralph McManis said the WARL pleased with the outcome.
“There were certainly no surprises and many positives,” McManis said.
“We’ve done financial modelling on what we believe is needed for a national team and we are on course.”
The WARL bid has gathered strong support from within NRL ranks including chief executive David Gallop, who said earlier this year that Perth was a frontrunner in the race.
He said a new franchise would have to produce a $15-20 million a year turnover but McManis is confident they can achieve that target.
“We’ve punched the numbers and we believe we can jump through all the financial hoops,” McManis said.
“We believe it would be more than feasible otherwise we would not be proceeding.”
The report, that said a new side would pump $22 million a year into the WA economy, found:
- 38 per cent of the public support the NRL expansion into Perth
- 6 per cent of the public state they are likely to become members
- 31 per cent of 18-34 year-olds would attend a home game.
- 15 per cent of those surveyed follow the NRL
- 8 per cent were strong and passionate rugby league supporters.
But the report said that if the WARL was successful it would need to ignite an interest and passion in the game and build momentum and support among the public and business community.
McManis said he was encouraged by the number of 18-34 year-olds who would go to a game.
“That’s the next generation. Had the report come back and said the great bulk of support was over 50 then we’d have a problem.
“But when you know the next generation wants to come your way then that’s really good news,” he said.
“It’s also encouraging to see how many people would take up membership. One would think the possibility of 20,000 plus members down the track is not unrealistic.”
The three seasons of the Western Reds was clouded in controversy but McManis said lessons had been learnt.
“As far as the Western Reds are concerned they are history. They are confined to history. There’s nothing we can take from them,” he said.
The report says that rugby league trails rugby union by just 3 per cent in terms of interest, support and appeal in the metro area.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/other/8228990/full-steam-ahead-for-wa-league-campaign/

WA Reds Home Ground (Nib Stadium): http://forums.rleague.com/posts/attachment.php?attachmentid=1133&d=1289184357

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West Australia needs an NRL team by 2013

After hearing of the crowd figure in Perth for last weekend’s trial match (around 9,000), I decided to express my opinion about the topic which is constantly debated amongst all Rugby League supporters: expansion.
This figure, along with 16,000 for a regular season game last year, reinforces the need for an expansion licence to be granted to Western Australia for admission into the NRL in 2013.
The other main bids – Central Queensland, Central Coast (NSW) and a second team in New Zealand – are all viable options. However, they do not solve the problem which has been plaguing the game since the Super League war: the money generated from the television deal.
There is no doubt that the price for the rights to the NRL competition will increase substantially should a team in Perth be granted a licence.
Furthermore, apart from the obvious financial benefits for the game, the current situation in Western Austraian Rugby League is solid. A Western Australian side, comprised of only local playing talent, participates in the NSWRL Jim Beam Cup competition. And this year, a Western Australian SG Ball side, again made up of local juniors, has been entered into the NSWRL u18′s competition.
Apart from the obvious fan support and playing talent, the Members Equity Stadium is a perfect base for the side.
Perth has the infrastructure and fan support for an NRL side; increasing revenue, most notably through the TV deal, should be the main priority for David Gallop and the NRL and the expansion of the game into the West would certainly appeal to broadcasters.

http://www.theroar.com.au/2010/02/24/west-australia-needs-an-nrl-team-by-2013/

Rugby league great Gorden Tallis and South Sydney prop Ben Ross have urged the NRL to include a Perth-based side in the competition by 2013 if the planned expansion goes ahead.
The WA Rugby League’s campaign for a local NRL side has been boosted by a pledge of more than $80 million by the Western Australia state government to upgrade ME Bank Stadium.
Tallis, who notched 17 State of Origin games for Queensland and 214 NRL matches over 13 seasons for the Dragons and Broncos, said rugby league needed a Perth team to become a truly national competition.
The WA Reds played two seasons in the NRL in the mid-90s but were shut down in 1997 after defecting to the rival Super League.
"(League boss) Dave Gallop did talk about expanding our game in 2013 (when the new TV rights start) and I think Perth, in my opinion, is the No.1 place to come. I just think it makes sense," Tallis said.
"We know there’s a market here for it, they just need their own team."
Tallis, now a forwards coach with South Sydney, and Ross were in Perth this week to promote the June 26 clash between the Rabbitohs and Melbourne Storm at ME Bank Stadium.
Ross believed quality players would jump at the chance to play for a Perth side.
"I’ve talked to a few boys and they’d all love to be over here playing football," Ross said.
"It’s a perfect environment. We are in the middle of winter now and it’s nice and warm.That’s something you dream about as a player to have a good environment.
"The boys, no matter what, would come over here to play.
"Hopefully we can get up a Perth team in 2013. That would be exciting for me, because I’m coming off contract around then."
The redevelopment of ME Bank Stadium, home of Super 14 side Western Force and A-League outfit Perth Glory, is expected to begin in 2012, with improvements made to corporate facilities, player change rooms and toilet facilities.
WA Minister for Sport and Recreation Terry Waldron hoped the venue would ultimately become a state-of-the-art facility capable of hosting up to 25,000 spectators.
Meanwhile, Ross revealed he was on track to make his comeback from a broken neck for the Rabbitohs’ round 13 clash with the Cowboys on June 7.
Ross, who hasn’t played since suffering the horror injury in round one last year when with Cronulla, has had a frustrating wait for the all clear after signing a cut-rate one-year deal with the Rabbitohs.
He’s yet to turn out for the myrtle and green prompting speculation he may not play again at all but Ross was confident a scan on June 1 would give him the all clear to resume his career.
"I think it’s been 66 weeks now so I’m a bit over training and I’m a bit over hanging out with Gorden Tallis," he said with a smile.
"Just getting back on the field will be great.
"If there was any danger, I wouldn’t come back. That’s why it (the rehab) has been so long."


http://www.watoday.com.au/rugby-league/perth-must-get-their-own-nrl-side-tallis-20100521-w0zr.html

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The fact that Gallop has identified Perth and the Central Coast specifically speaks volumes for their chances and spells doom for other hopefuls like central Queensland or a second team in Brisbane. The game learned valuable lessons during the 1990s when franchises were established in the game's outposts like Perth and Adelaide with little regard to infrastructure and financial viability.
It is one of the reasons the code took so long to include another team and Gold Coast was made to jump through several hoops before it was admitted in 2007.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/nrl-chiefs-poised-to-strike-back/story-e6frg7mf-1225884478498

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Perth has support from the clubs as an area for expansion for three reasons: because the time difference between there and the eastern states would allow it to fit in nicely with live television programming; nib Stadium is already available as a venue and the economy there is seen to be booming.
It is understood there are influential figures in Perth who would be prepared to get behind a bid there.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/nrl-clubs-dont-want-bears-in-their-backyard-20101130-18fga.html

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Get your membership to the WA Reds here: http://www.warugbyleague.com.au/content/news/?page=3&nid=5621&oid

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West would still go wild for elite league, says Geyer

Daniel Lane

December 5, 2010 FORMER Western Reds enforcer Mark Geyer has urged for Perth to be resurrected as a rugby league centre by insisting it was on the verge of ''great things'' before being disbanded in the aftermath of the Super League war.

The Reds were one of four expansionary teams to join the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before they defected to Super League. The outpost became a casualty of the war when it was shut down as part of the peace deal brokered between the ARL and News Ltd but they are in the mix to re-enter in 2013.

''We have to give Perth another go,'' said Geyer, who was one of the team's big-name recruits.

''I'm going to be accused of being biased because I played there, but I know the potential the place offers.

''We only dipped our toe in the water over there. When I was there 15 years ago the junior competition was good. While there were only five teams in the competition there was a lot of quality there, and from what I understand that is still the case.''

League has continued to thrive at a junior level, with 3000 registered players, and seven of them have been signed to NRL teams.

Geyer said the so-called tyranny of distance was not an excuse to ignore Western Australia.

''If two AFL teams can thrive there so far away from Melbourne and the [Super rugby team] the Western Force is based there along with the Perth Wildcats NBL team and the WA cricket team, I can't see why league can't have a WA team in the national competition.

''The 4½-hour flight from Sydney to there is nothing. It is a great market, a growing population and rich in potential.''

Geyer, who also favoured the Central Coast bid, said he would welcome the day when the elite rugby league competition boasted 20 teams.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/west-would-still-go-wild-for-elite-league-says-geyer-20101204-18knd.html

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Lion Nathan - Multinational brewer, Tooheys, XXXX, are the obvious Australian beers
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