Is the NRL headed for a new British Bulldogs team?

[Total Rugby League]

<p>In case you missed the huge developments yesterday, Salford Red Devils owner Marwan Koukash has confirmed he’s keen to enter a British-based team in the NRL, dubbed the “British Bulldogs”.</p><p>The Devils owner believes that with a major airline already keen to support the idea, it has a realistic chance of happening – and is keen to appoint a top coach to take the reins and run affairs on the field if the plan goes ahead.</p><p>‘‘I already have a great deal of support for my plan and I feel it is viable,” Koukash told the MEN.</p><p>‘‘I have a major airline backing me and a hotel group.</p><p>‘‘I honestly think it could work and am keen and determined to see it happen.</p><p>‘‘Sometimes you need to think outside the box and this is what I am doing because the biggest threat to rugby league is not coming from the NRL.</p><p>‘‘It is coming from rugby union and we therefore have to come up with plans and projects to strengthen our own game.</p><p>“I feel the British Bulldogs playing in Australia would do just that.”</p>

View the full article on TotalRL.com

[Trojan]

An interview with Koukash was the main item on The Today sports slot at 7-30 this morning.  Ostensibly about the start of SL but mainly about British Bulldogs.  There was a sneering reference from the interviewer about the failure in London "after decades of trying."  Proof if proof were needed of how misguided our game has been to persevere with the London experiment, when it's been clear to anyone with eyes for the last ten years that it had failed,

[bbfaz]

When they say "decades of trying" what they mean is decades of half-assing it.  They're still half-assing it now!

[stewpot01]

<p>In case you missed the huge developments yesterday, Salford Red Devils owner Marwan Koukash has confirmed he’s keen to enter a British-based team in the NRL, dubbed the “British Bulldogs”.</p><p>The Devils owner believes that with a major airline already keen to support the idea, it has a realistic chance of happening – and is keen to appoint a top coach to take the reins and run affairs on the field if the plan goes ahead.</p><p>‘‘I already have a great deal of support for my plan and I feel it is viable,” Koukash told the MEN.</p><p>‘‘I have a major airline backing me and a hotel group.</p><p>‘‘I honestly think it could work and am keen and determined to see it happen.</p><p>‘‘Sometimes you need to think outside the box and this is what I am doing because the biggest threat to rugby league is not coming from the NRL.</p><p>‘‘It is coming from rugby union and we therefore have to come up with plans and projects to strengthen our own game.</p><p>“I feel the British Bulldogs playing in Australia would do just that.”</p>

View the full article on TotalRL.com

 

TBH I am sick of listening to the rubbish this clown is constantly spouting. First he wants the wage structure altering and now this. If he wants to pack up and move to Australia then I hope it'ss onner rather than later. This is RL is is dealing with not some PL football club, he's seriously deluded.

[westlondonfan]

An interview with Koukash was the main item on The Today sports slot at 7-30 this morning.  Ostensibly about the start of SL but mainly about British Bulldogs.  There was a sneering reference from the interviewer about the failure in London "after decades of trying."  Proof if proof were needed of how misguided our game has been to persevere with the London experiment, when it's been clear to anyone with eyes for the last ten years that it had failed,

It is not necasrrily proof of misguidednes but possibly more a criticism of the execution? Contrast London with Melbourne or the Warriors.

[Farmduck]

There are 2 questions here:

 

1. Could the British Bulldogs ever happen?

2. Would the NRL want them?

 

1. Yes. Anything can be done if you throw enough money at it, but...

 

2. The NRL already has bids on the table from Perth, Central Coast, Brisbane, PNG, Central Q and Wellington. Some of these are "plug'n'play" options: Central Coast, Perth, Wellington and Central Qld are already up and running as financial structures via their clubs and as sporting organisations, already fielding teams and district leagues in OZ comps. It would take a massive selling point from an English bidder to overtake these bids. I can't see what that selling point would be

[bbfaz]

It is not necasrrily proof of misguidednes but possibly more a criticism of the execution? Contrast London with Melbourne or the Warriors.

 

Exactly this.

[Futtocks]

An interview with Koukash was the main item on The Today sports slot at 7-30 this morning.  Ostensibly about the start of SL but mainly about British Bulldogs.  There was a sneering reference from the interviewer about the failure in London "after decades of trying."  Proof if proof were needed of how misguided our game has been to persevere with the London experiment, when it's been clear to anyone with eyes for the last ten years that it had failed,

If a sneering comment from a BBC sports presenter counted as definitive proof of anything, then the entire sport of RL would have folded decades ago.

[Guest]

It all sounds very exciting to have a British based RL team playing in the NRL with the backing of a multi-millionaire/billionaire, major airline and hotel group with the aim of keeping the best RL players in league and maybe even attracting some union players but the cold hard facts tell you it could never work. Where would the British bulldogs play their home games? Who would attend the fixtures when say the "bulldogs are struggling in the bottom half of the league with nothing to play for and when the novelty wears off? Would the bulldogs taking all the best british players devalue super league?

Why can't this major airline and hotel group invest in super league as it is now or the expanded WCC series? Maybe invest in potential French teams like Paris, Toulouse, Marseille etc?