NRL threatens raid on AFL heartland
Dean Ritchie, Sydney | February 23, 2008 12:00am

NRL chief executive David Gallop has vowed to fight fire with fire and warned the AFL that rugby league is drawing up its own expansion plans and may even attack an Australian rules heartland. Gallop revealed yesterday the NRL was looking to expand into the Central Coast, Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Wellington, New Zealand, west of Brisbane, and possibly even the AFL stronghold of Perth.

"We're not scared of them," Gallop said. "Frankly, it's time to take the AFL's threats with a grain of salt."

The AFL plans to launch a second Sydney team in 2012, earmarking league's power-base of western Sydney as the new team's home.

After describing the AFL's expansion in the New South Wales capital as "arrogant", Gallop said: "Sydney loves rugby league. It's part of family life and that kind of generational support shouldn't be underestimated.

"Rugby league people are real people and won't easily have the wool pulled over their eyes by something that's essentially foreign to them.

"Our game is part of the fabric of this city. It is in the bones of millions of Sydney families and I have faith in their passion for our game.

Aware the AFL is in a powerful financial position not enjoyed by the NRL, Gallop said he hoped western Sydney sports fans would put passion before cash.

"We'll be backing our fans to want to watch the local kids who become local western Sydney heroes like Jarryd Hayne, Krisnan Inu, Hazem El Masri, Luke Lewis, Brett Hodgson and Liam Fulton over drafted imports," he said.

"Rugby league itself is a brilliant spectacle and the fact local kids can make it to the top in their district is unique and entrenches the game in people's lives.

"But first and foremost we must continue to increase investment in our junior development program and never rest on our laurels.

"There's no doubt the AFL are ahead of us on a range of fronts, but we are confident in how our game is travelling."

The NRL appears comfortable with 16 clubs but Gallop is searching for expansion.

There is little chance that four new franchises will be added to create a 20-team competition, but Gallop said an 18-team premiership was a "possibility".

"Our growth plans are well under way," he said.

"The Gold Coast Titans have been an overnight success. Calling what we achieved with the Gold Coast 'lucky' (as claimed by AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick) is frankly arrogant and under-estimates our efforts up there.

"While the other codes chase areas we are already in, we have the Central Coast, an area west of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and New Zealand in our sights as possible future NRL franchises. There's Perth too. It's an area we could explore.

"The pace of population growth in these areas will create pressure on all the codes to take their claims for inclusion seriously."


http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23262109-19742,00.html

I agree. I think Gallop’s “fighting fire with fire” idea is a bit silly. The AFL have made inroads in QLD and NSW, but they are not threatening the dominance of NRL in those states in any overall sense. The NRL has no reason to wax lyrical about expansion just for the sake of expansion, or for the sake of trying to show it can compete with AFL in terms of growing nationally. The NRL needs to draw its own gameplan with its eyes on what works best for it, rather than be looking over its shoulder at the AFL.

I can’t see any reason why they’d want another team in NZ. I can’t see how that would benefit the code or the comp. A fourth team in QLD is, in my opinion, a good idea, but considering Gold Coast Titans only entered the comp last year, I think they should give it a good 5 to 10 years before they look at broadening the base in QLD.

Putting a team in Perth is fraught with danger. With the Western Force in Super 14’s, Perth in A-League, and Freo and West Coast in the AFL, an NRL side would find themselves sitting on the 5th rung of a rather small ladder with very little opportunity to climb that ladder for a long time. The fifth rung, I’d suggest, would be a long way below the fourth rung. A long-term view of eventually having a side in Perth is a reasonable idea at best, but there isn’t room in Perth currently for an NRL side. They’d barely get noticed behind the other four sides mentioned, and the NRL have no reason to want to prop up an ailing and ignored club on the far side of the country when there are stronger markets (Central Coast NSW, Sunshine Coast QLD) that make more sense to explore first. Even a second side in Melbourne makes more sense to me than lumping a side in Perth now simply to be able to stand and say they “oh yes, we’re growing our game nationally, just like AFL”. Expansion for expansion’s sake, or a well-executed strategy for making the game stronger in the long term? What would be the better option?

The Central Coast is one area I think they should definitely put a team, and ASAP, but not in the sense of offering a 17th franchise licence. A Sydney based club should probably look at moving to this area, as there is huge potential for growth and development in this area. Other than the Central Coast of NSW now, and the Sunshine Coast in QLD in around ten years, I can’t see any value to the NRL to want enter into an Expansion showdown with the AFL.