Cardiff Blue Dragons

[headtackle]

Any expansion needs to be at a decent level

With £ tight there is only so much you can spend on entertainment. Watching low level RL is probably not high on the list to your average Welshman. Top games at SL level probably a different matter. Am sure they would attract more home support than some existing SL clubs and Cardiff would attract plenty of travelling support as a great away venue. Franchising and funding the major barrier

Think a lot has changed since previous expansion attempts

- Union now pro so exposure to league no longer that much of a threat

-  Summer game so less competition

- Economics. Generating an income from a stadium more appealing these days than back in the day

- Mergers of Union clubs have reduced opportunities for fringe players. trying league gives another chance of the big time

- Even Union diehards recognise the skills of league. Shaun Edwards etc so now more likely to give it a go

Times have changed and think it could work

Re someone with deep pockets, only one contender ......................... Marwan Koukash. We haven't heard from him for ages

 

[MustardBoy]

On 30/11/2019 at 12:23, Eddie said:

North Wales might be the area to target, well if the RFL had any sort of strategy to grow the game or money to do it). Less of a Union stronghold and closer to the heartlands. 

Obviously Wrexham is the biggest town and they already have a team but there could potentially be one in the Bangor / Caenarvon area, with a link up with Bangor University - there should be more link ups with Universities imho. 

Terrible idea, a total non-starter. Another team that'll garner feeble support with little to no chance of ever providing a significant impact.

[MustardBoy]

On 04/12/2019 at 00:29, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

They won't take to second rate RL. It needs a top class team with some high profile (preferably Welsh) players to capture the public's imagination. Do that and Cardiff would be able to generate interest to support a SL team. But it would need to be backed by somebody with very, very deep pockets.

I don't think they would, no evidence that it happened in the past, and even Cardiff Blues RU have abysmal support, why would they support RL? Again, Wales is a waste of time. People seem desperate to try and create something theres, but seem indifferent to West Cumbria who've given so much more and have as much potential, even if that is small.

[Eddie]

32 minutes ago, MustardBoy said:

I don't think they would, no evidence that it happened in the past, and even Cardiff Blues RU have abysmal support, why would they support RL? Again, Wales is a waste of time. People seem desperate to try and create something theres, but seem indifferent to West Cumbria who've given so much more and have as much potential, even if that is small.

On the contrary, I think most contributors to this forum would want a lot more RFL resource put into Cumbria. I’d love to see a SL team there but unless Whitehaven and Workington merged (impossible of course) I can’t see how it could ever happen, without a sugar daddy. 

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

1 hour ago, MustardBoy said:

I don't think they would, no evidence that it happened in the past

When in the past have we ever had a Welsh team playing in the top division with a load of high profile star players? As I said, underfunded Welsh teams in the lower tiers are not going to engage the wider public. And the same can be said for Cumbria, with Whitehaven's and Workington's crowds not being overly impressive.

1 hour ago, MustardBoy said:

Again, Wales is a waste of time. People seem desperate to try and create something theres, but seem indifferent to West Cumbria who've given so much more and have as much potential, even if that is small.

I don't think people are indifferent to West Cumbria - I'd love to see a Super League team up there. But it's probably going to need a sugar daddy with very deep pockets - same as any prospective Welsh team. However, the big thing that Wales offers that Cumbria doesn't is potential for developing players from a different country, and consequently strengthening the Welsh national team and helping to give England a meaningful opponent. But again, it's all pie in the sky stuff unless a multi-millionaire with spare cash offers to bankroll it.

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

When in the past have we ever had a Welsh team playing in the top division with a load of high profile star players? As I said, underfunded Welsh teams in the lower tiers are not going to engage the wider public. And the same can be said for Cumbria, with Whitehaven's and Workington's crowds not being overly impressive.

I don't think people are indifferent to West Cumbria - I'd love to see a Super League team up there. But it's probably going to need a sugar daddy with very deep pockets - same as any prospective Welsh team. However, the big thing that Wales offers that Cumbria doesn't is potential for developing players from a different country, and consequently strengthening the Welsh national team and helping to give England a meaningful opponent. But again, it's all pie in the sky stuff unless a multi-millionaire with spare cash offers to bankroll it.

The issue there is the same as with Marwan Koukash's proposed Liverpool club: how can they overcome the lack of awareness/disinterest/negative views about the game in their target market?  What high profile star players are there in the game now who could help with that, and what opponents are available for them to play who could help with it?

[Gooleboy]

10 hours ago, headtackle said:

Any expansion needs to be at a decent level

With £ tight there is only so much you can spend on entertainment. Watching low level RL is probably not high on the list to your average Welshman. Top games at SL level probably a different matter. Am sure they would attract more home support than some existing SL clubs and Cardiff would attract plenty of travelling support as a great away venue. Franchising and funding the major barrier

Think a lot has changed since previous expansion attempts

- Union now pro so exposure to league no longer that much of a threat

-  Summer game so less competition

- Economics. Generating an income from a stadium more appealing these days than back in the day

- Mergers of Union clubs have reduced opportunities for fringe players. trying league gives another chance of the big time

- Even Union diehards recognise the skills of league. Shaun Edwards etc so now more likely to give it a go

Times have changed and think it could work

Re someone with deep pockets, only one contender ......................... Marwan Koukash. We haven't heard from him for ages

 

I wonder if he is putting a few bob in at Leigh? He is big mates with DB. 

[Mumby Magic]

Probably right about a missed opportunity. A welsh Club with say Ellis, Davies and Deveroux signing would have turned heads and generated interest.

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

7 hours ago, Big Picture said:

The issue there is the same as with Marwan Koukash's proposed Liverpool club: how can they overcome the lack of awareness/disinterest/negative views about the game in their target market?  What high profile star players are there in the game now who could help with that, and what opponents are available for them to play who could help with it?

In terms of Wales, my guess is it would need some massive union signings. I don't know enough about RU to know who the star players are these days, but names like Leigh Halfpenny and George North spring to mind (although I expect they're both a bit old now), and also the likes of Sonny Bill or other All Blacks. If the 3 top Welsh RU players all switched codes to join a new Cardiff club playing out of the soccer stadium, then that would undoubtedly grab attention and make headlines. The reality is that it's never going to happen unless a David Argyle-esque individual comes and bankrolls it.

In terms of Cumbria, I suspect that the bigger issue is the size of the population in that part of the world. I doubt any Super League club would achieve anything more than modest crowds, as there just aren't the same numbers of people up there. E.g. less than half a million in Cumbria compared to over 2 million in West Yorkshire.

It was interesting listening to the By the Balls podcast with Mick Hogan from Newcastle Thunder, where he described a simultaneous top down & bottom up approach to help grow the game and grow their audience. So it would be important to simultaneously develop the community game in any fledgling areas.