NRL expansion (Merged Threads)

[marklaspalmas]

11 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

I notorious for being behind the fashion, what are we talking about, I want a go

There used to be a fairly regular procession of trolls who were particularly keen to get involved in"debates" on the crosscode forum. Mr. Moderator introduced a system whereby you needed 100 posts to be allowed into the crosscode section. Hence, newbies would appear here, race to 100 posts with any old nonsense posts and then get access to where they really wanted to be, trolling on behalf of RU.

[John bird]

11 hours ago, Damien said:

I suppose tax breaks to incentivise players to go there doesn't sound as exciting as 'danger money'.

I guess not but it still doesn’t hide the fact that players will need to be bribed to play/live in Port Moresby.

[John bird]

10 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I think the PNG option is definitely one the game should explore, its very rare that RL receives such significant government support and we should take advantage of these opportunities where they arise.

And what happens when the handouts dry up?

[John bird]

9 hours ago, NRLandSL said:

V’landys never said “Danger Money” that’s just a load of dribble from the article. All he said was players would make more in PNG because of lower tax rates.

I’m not sure why you think this idea is “ridiculous”. If rugby league want’s to grow, tapping into our biggest player and audience base in the world is probably a smart idea.

And I genuinely believe rugby league will do big things for the saftey of Port Moresby. It would bring a lot of tourism and money which would improve the city drastically.

It’s ridiculous because of the reality of the on the ground situation such a team creates.

RL can still tap into the player market in PNG through the hunters.

[Damien]

8 minutes ago, John bird said:

I guess not but it still doesn’t hide the fact that players will need to be bribed to play/live in Port Moresby.

Players in being persuaded to play somewhere by money shocker

[Worzel]

9 minutes ago, John bird said:

I guess not but it still doesn’t hide the fact that players will need to be bribed to play/live in Port Moresby.

I think the plan is to base the players in Queensland and just be in Port Moresby for the 4 or 5 days before a home game. 

[John bird]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

Players in being persuaded to play somewhere by money shocker

I don’t think many people will be shocked at the prospect of the NRL having to pay players more to play/live in a dangerous city like Port Moresby.

[John bird]

3 minutes ago, Worzel said:

I think the plan is to base the players in Queensland and just be in Port Moresby for the 4 or 5 days before a home game. 

Logistical nightmare.

[John bird]

Not a done deal.

 

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2024-papua-new-guinea-team-wont-be-based-in-australia-peter-vlandys-meeting-with-australian-government-what-will-happen-nrl-expansion-who-will-be-18th-team/news-story/d20680fa08728b56df91ef6651784ed5

 

let’s hope common sense prevails and team #18 is awarded to Perth or NZ2.

[Anita Bath]

13 hours ago, Damien said:

I suppose tax breaks to incentivise players to go there doesn't sound as exciting as 'danger money'.

Tax breaks for the rich paid for by the poor. 

[John bird]

11 minutes ago, Anita Bath said:

Tax breaks for the rich paid for by the poor. 

Exactly.

hardly a vote winner for the Australian electorate.

Edited May 17 by John bird

[Tommygilf]

2 hours ago, John bird said:

And what happens when the handouts dry up?

Will they? 

And if they do and its not commercially viable go somewhere else

[Balmainboy]

The money on offer from the Aus gov is broadly equivalent to the Sky funding for the entire Super league. Saying no to this opportunity would be one of the dumbest things our sport could do. Arguably more potential to develop NRL players in PNG in the next 5-10 years than the rest of the world combined. 

And for what? Perth two years quicker than what they will likely come in anyways? Sorry, thats bonkers. 

Edited May 17 by Balmainboy

[John bird]

7 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Will they? 

And if they do and its not commercially viable go somewhere else

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about politics it’s to never trust politicians and their policy promises.

As for just going elsewhere when the handouts dry up that would be a huge waste of an NRL franchise and time&momentum that may not be gotten back.

[John bird]

5 hours ago, Balmainboy said:

The money on offer from the Aus gov is broadly equivalent to the Sky funding for the entire Super league. Saying no to this opportunity would be one of the dumbest things our sport could do. Arguably more potential to develop NRL players in PNG in the next 5-10 years than the rest of the world combined. 

And for what? Perth two years quicker than what they will likely come in anyways? Sorry, thats bonkers. 

You’ve got to look past the short term and money on offer and look at the long term and the reality on the ground.

[Anita Bath]

NRL meeting with Aus gov on Friday. Vlandys threatening to walk away if demands not met.  NRL plan is to house players and training facilities in a deluxe compound and of course provide tax breaks for players.

Interesting to see what happens since Australia has a housing crisis with resedential build not keeping pace with immigration so homeless numbers increasing. Albo likely to face a backlash if he prioritises PNG based footy players over Australians at home.

 

[John bird]

4 minutes ago, Anita Bath said:

NRL meeting with Aus gov on Friday. Vlandys threatening to walk away if demands not met.  NRL plan is to house players and training facilities in a deluxe compound and of course provide tax breaks for players.

Interesting to see what happens since Australia has a housing crisis with resedential build not keeping pace with immigration so homeless numbers increasing. Albo likely to face a backlash if he prioritises PNG based footy players over Australians at home.

 

You get the feeling that PVL is playing the bids off against each other and trying to get as much out of them as possible.

[Sports Prophet]

9 hours ago, Balmainboy said:

The money on offer from the Aus gov is broadly equivalent to the Sky funding for the entire Super league. Saying no to this opportunity would be one of the dumbest things our sport could do. Arguably more potential to develop NRL players in PNG in the next 5-10 years than the rest of the world combined. 

And for what? Perth two years quicker than what they will likely come in anyways? Sorry, thats bonkers. 

I think we’ve seen the results of starting unsustainable clubs at all of professional, semi-pro and grassroots levels.

We have certainly seen before how unsustainable sport is when it is primarily relying on government/quango funding.

A third world country like PNG, regarded as the second most dangerous in the world, will not be immune from that trend.

[lucky 7]

3 hours ago, John bird said:

You get the feeling that PVL is playing the bids off against each other and trying to get as much out of them as possible.

He is an accountant by profession.

[Balmainboy]

1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

I think we’ve seen the results of starting unsustainable clubs at all of professional, semi-pro and grassroots levels.

We have certainly seen before how unsustainable sport is when it is primarily relying on government/quango funding.

A third world country like PNG, regarded as the second most dangerous in the world, will not be immune from that trend.

Appreciate all of this but the NRL, unlike the Super League for instance, is completely able to underwrite a single club that can't fund itself (they currently give every club the salary cap + AUD2mil already) even if the government walks away after ten years. 

And again, I think even the most ardent critiques would recognise there is 0% chance the club wont be supported, unlike many failed ventures in England/UK. 

 

[JonNgog]

37 minutes ago, Balmainboy said:

Appreciate all of this but the NRL, unlike the Super League for instance, is completely able to underwrite a single club that can't fund itself (they currently give every club the salary cap + AUD2mil already) even if the government walks away after ten years. 

And again, I think even the most ardent critiques would recognise there is 0% chance the club wont be supported, unlike many failed ventures in England/UK. 

 

It won’t be supported if they charge similar ticket prices to the rest of the league. They will have to make it very cheap. Every match will lose money especially given the amount of security that will be required.

Overall the challenges are way too large at this stage, even for the NRL. Perth and NZ have successfully hosted one off games, strategically make sense and everything is already in place. 

[Sports Prophet]

2 hours ago, lucky 7 said:

He is an accountant by profession.

I thought that was Abdo

[Sports Prophet]

47 minutes ago, Balmainboy said:

Appreciate all of this but the NRL, unlike the Super League for instance, is completely able to underwrite a single club that can't fund itself (they currently give every club the salary cap + AUD2mil already) even if the government walks away after ten years. 

And again, I think even the most ardent critiques would recognise there is 0% chance the club wont be supported, unlike many failed ventures in England/UK. 

 

If you think funding a salary cap + $2m will underwrite an NRL club, then you are in for a big surprise. 

[Anita Bath]

9 hours ago, John bird said:

You get the feeling that PVL is playing the bids off against each other and trying to get as much out of them as possible.

Its certainly not a fair competition if he is negotiating with the Federal government on behalf of one bid.

[John bird]

7 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

I think we’ve seen the results of starting unsustainable clubs at all of professional, semi-pro and grassroots levels.

We have certainly seen before how unsustainable sport is when it is primarily relying on government/quango funding.

A third world country like PNG, regarded as the second most dangerous in the world, will not be immune from that trend.

I think PNG being the only country on the planet that has RL as its national game is unfortunately clouding the judgement of many .