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2nd NZ NRL franchise


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Not able to post the link but an article on NRL.com suggests that Brisbane2 as the 17th NRL team will lead to an 18th team based in NZ.

The only downside is that it could be 10 years from now but potentially exciting news for NZRL. I’d personally go with a Christchurch franchise over a Wellington or bizarrely Auckland 2 bid.

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1 hour ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Not able to post the link but an article on NRL.com suggests that Brisbane2 as the 17th NRL team will lead to an 18th team based in NZ.

The only downside is that it could be 10 years from now but potentially exciting news for NZRL. I’d personally go with a Christchurch franchise over a Wellington or bizarrely Auckland 2 bid.

Auckland has a population of about 1,500,000 they could easily have 2 clubs in the city. We have 2 Super League clubs in each of the towns of Wakefield and Wigan remember.

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7 minutes ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Auckland has a population of about 1,500,000 they could easily have 2 clubs in the city. We have 2 Super League clubs in each of the towns of Wakefield and Wigan remember.

Yeah but it’s not really expansion if you place another franchise in a city that already has one.

Best to award it to either Christchurch or Wellington that are at opposite ends of the country to Auckland.

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1 hour ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Because of player depth/pool?

Every single NRL team has numerous Kiwis in their squad, so there must be at least 100 top class kiwis in the NRL before we even look at the NZ Warriors and the UK super league 

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1 hour ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Yeah but it’s not really expansion if you place another franchise in a city that already has one.

Best to award it to either Christchurch or Wellington that are at opposite ends of the country to Auckland.

Pins in a map, eh? Auckland is by far the biggest league city in New Zealand and by far the biggest city in New Zealand, so I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand.

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5 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Pins in a map, eh? Auckland is by far the biggest league city in New Zealand and by far the biggest city in New Zealand, so I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand.

RL is played in both Wellington and Christchurch so it’s Not exactly pins in a map is it. All be it at a smaller rate.

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1 hour ago, The storm said:

Every single NRL team has numerous Kiwis in their squad, so there must be at least 100 top class kiwis in the NRL before we even look at the NZ Warriors and the UK super league 

Over 30% Kiwis in the NRL. 

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2 hours ago, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Auckland has a population of about 1,500,000 they could easily have 2 clubs in the city. We have 2 Super League clubs in each of the towns of Wakefield and Wigan remember.

They also have professional teams in other sports, and the NRL isn’t comparable to SL in terms of money required. 

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1 hour ago, Man of Kent said:

Pins in a map, eh? Auckland is by far the biggest league city in New Zealand and by far the biggest city in New Zealand, so I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand.

I agree, though you'd assume somewhere in the Auckland periphery, probably Waikato, would be looked at. So Auckland 2 but not Auckland 2.

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3 hours ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Not able to post the link but an article on NRL.com suggests that Brisbane2 as the 17th NRL team will lead to an 18th team based in NZ.

The only downside is that it could be 10 years from now but potentially exciting news for NZRL. I’d personally go with a Christchurch franchise over a Wellington or bizarrely Auckland 2 bid.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/03/01/nrls-growth-mindset-points-to-18th-team-in-new-zealand/

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5 hours ago, Eddie said:

Would that bring much sponsorship though? The NRL is about big money, and PNG doesn’t have it. 

Not only that but a ridiculous crime rate and the worst violence against women in the entire world.

new rise.jpg

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“Moving to 17 teams wouldn’t be an end point. It gets you closer to 18 teams and obviously 18 teams gives you a few different options.

“An 18th team allows you to think about what we might want to do about expanding in New Zealand. Having two teams in New Zealand creates a tribalism and a new rivalry in New Zealand.

“It also gives you options around pools because you can have two pools of nine teams. As you see with some of the big US sports, as you grow your competition and the scale of the number of teams, you can create a dynamic around who plays who and ultimately create more rivalries in regional areas and have competitions within competitions.

I do like that the quotes from Abdo also infers that 18 is not necessarily the 'cap' either for the NRL, that once the NRL is in a position to create pools, it opens up new opportunities for the game to scale.

It means, whilst NZ is currently earmarked for spot 18,  there are still opportunities for WA, PNG, etc to join beyond that, especially if pools / conferences are introduced.

As for where a second NZ franchise could be based, after Auckland, the next biggest areas are Canterbury (656K), Wellington (542K) and Waikato (497K).  Arguably basing the team out of somewhere like Hamilton means you can maximise the rivalry as the two cities are only a bit over an hour apart, and also makes it easier to get access to the Auckland player pool. 

On the flip side, Christchurch has the larger immediate population, plus any team there can arguably become a South Island side.  Any clash between the North Island based Warriors and a South Island side is likely to get solid media coverage as well, whilst also being far away apart enough not to eat into the same commercial dollars. 

PACIFIQUE TREIZE: Join the team by registering as a fan today at pacifique13.com

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As a New Zealander, I think a second NRL team in the country would be madness. There isn't the corporate money for the team to be competitive. Perth would be a much better option I reckon. Outside of Auckland, Rugby League has nothing more than a moderate following and certainly has little money behind it.

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12 hours ago, Eddie said:

There’s also a country next door with 25 million people with companies that love the exposure an NRL team can bring. So they don’t have to rely purely on local money.

The Warriors are regularly on Australian TV and their highlights are shown on prime time television news broadcasts here in Australia. 

Their jerseys, complete with sponsorships, are in photographs in the largest selling newspapers and online media too.

Radio programs also talk about them.

They probably get more exposure in Australia than any other sporting team from NZ. The All Blacks get sporadic peaks but the Warriors are there during preseason and during the season.

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