NRL expansion

THE RL1908 BLOG

News, Reviews & Opinion - Sean Fagan - RL1908.com

ADDING MORE NRL CLUBS

I've always wondered why obtaining a NRL franchise should be free - and why, as a result, we have to wait for the next TV deal to fund the entry of new clubs?

Why not offer a NRL franchise in Brisbane, Perth or Wellington (for example) to anyone who can pay the NRL $X million for their entry - that money can be divided up by the current NRL clubs as a reward for the competition (business) they have built, and that others want to buy into.

I'd go further and also say that the new club won't get any NRL money for its first say 3 seasons, and has to show it has $X million in the bank (or better still, deposited with the NRL) to carry it through that period.

Come up with the money & you're in.

I guess one of the ongoing questions is do we have enough first grade NRL players to sustain more clubs (if expansion is new clubs and not relocated clubs).

Seems to me that the following suggests the NRL could readily accommodate two more clubs today:

1. Rugby union is currently doing its best to destroy its own club/junior system - plenty would play rugby league if there were more places available. Equally, rugby league footballers who can't land a NRL club contract, try a Super 14 team or give the game away. It appears career loyalty to a business (even a sport) no longer exists, and that a lot of young footballers will play either rugby code, depending upon who gives them the opportunity/money.

2. Annual exodus of older NRL players to England due to the NRL clubs "moving them along" (ie. out the door) due to the salary cap and having to accommodate rising stars.

3. The reduction in the inter-change from 12 to 10 - I'm sure at least 1 current inter-change player at each club is thinking he won't be getting much on field time in 2008.

With the AFL stumbling in its obvious "me too" initiative on the Gold Coast, and the Wallabies and Super 14 teams at an all-time low, maybe the NRL should jump on a strategic opportunity by adding two new clubs for 2010 - paid for by those who want to buy into the action.