Join the WA Reds : Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:32 pm  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Support RL expansion and join the WA Reds facebook group For all the latest join up to the Reds facebook group inc photos Already over 300 members and plenty of current and ex players on there http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/g...gid=6833492366 We will be back! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fGpo31XNmPk

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Support RL expansion and join the WA Reds facebook group For all the latest join up to the Reds facebook group inc photos Already over 300 members and plenty of current and ex players on there http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/g...gid=6833492366 We will be back! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fGpo31XNmPk

: Sat Jan 24, 2009 2:51 pm  

------------------------------------------------------------ NRL IN PERTH -- Support these matches!!! ------------------------------------------------------------ Sydney Roosters -vs- St George Illawarra Dragons (Trial Match) February 14th - Members Equity Stadium TICKETS AVAILABLE:- http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/event/13 ... rcatid=695 South Sydney Rabbitohs -vs- Melbourne Storm (Premiership Competition Match) Details - TBA.

------------------------------------------------------------ NRL IN PERTH -- Support these matches!!! ------------------------------------------------------------ Sydney Roosters -vs- St George Illawarra Dragons (Trial Match) February 14th - Members Equity Stadium TICKETS AVAILABLE:- http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/event/13 ... rcatid=695 South Sydney Rabbitohs -vs- Melbourne Storm (Premiership Competition Match) Details - TBA.

: Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:57 am  

Gosh abit pricey for a trial match?

: Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:12 pm  

Perth has NRL future: Bennett
Mike Driscoll, Illawarra Mercury | February 3, 2009 - 9:58AM

DRAGONS coach Wayne Bennett has named a 23-man squad to head to Western Australia next week for a pre-season camp and trial against the Sydney Roosters on Saturday week.

New signings Darius Boyd, Neville Costigan, Luke Priddis, Jeremy Smith and Michael Weyman, plus the returning Mathew Head, have been included in the squad for the first match under Bennett.

The Dragons head to Perth next Monday and will spend the week training and conducting coaching clinics before the Roosters' clash.

Bennett is excited about taking league back to Western Australia, saying the NRL must consider a Perth bid in any expanded competition.

"It will be good to take the game across to Perth and I think it is somewhere that the NRL should consider when looking at expanding the game in the future," Bennett said.

"I've taken other teams to play against the Western Reds in the past and it is a very vibrant city with a lot of people that are sports mad.

" I won't be looking for anything spectacular from the guys, but it will be good to get back into the mindset of playing football and what we are going to need to do week in, week out when the season starts."

Dragons winger Wendell Sailor is backing the club's 8000km round trip west to play a trial game.

"It would've been a while since Perth has seen top-flight rugby league but with the Dragons and Roosters coming over it will be a good opportunity for everyone to come out and see a great game," Sailor said.

"I've been over there a few times to play previously but to be able to spread the word around town and get out in the community will be a great experience that all the boys are really looking forward to."

: Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:26 pm  

Gallop thinks so too. As I suggested before, he can't come right out and say it as there may be invitations to bid for an expansion spot later in a few months.

And as the ARL and quietly the NRL have done things to help you in the last couple of years I reckon you'd be right up there for one.

Is there any way we could find an interview I did for this website with Gallop in about early 04? I do recall him mentioning Perth, but don't have it anymore.

: Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:50 am  

Can't find that one but here was our response to Gallops interview last year

Geoff Baldwin, Chairman of the WA Rugby League and the WA Reds, today called for Perth’s Rugby League supporters to stand up and be counted following David Gallop’s write off of Perth on the NRL Footy Show last night.



In his interview David Gallop discounted Perth as a possible contender for an NRL team by 2012 and this flies in the face of logic and is typical of the apparent ignorance to what is happening on the ground in Perth, Mr Baldwin said.


“I have a lot of respect for David Gallop and don’t envy his job managing the day to day demands of the National Rugby League but with respect, he seems to demonstrate little empathy with Rugby League anywhere outside the “heartland” of NSW, QLD and to a lesser degree Victoria.

“His negative comments regarding the chances of Perth having its own team in the National Rugby League, although they took no more than a few seconds, have the capacity to severely undermine years of work by a team of passionate, dedicated people, totally savage our credibility as the State Rugby League body and destroy the confidence of our fan base.


“To herald that Perth won’t be ready for an NRL team by 2012 based on the fact that we only had 4 to 5,000 people to our local grand final is about as relevant as the Central Coast having half that number to it’s grand final, keeping in mind that David is openly touting a team in that location.

“Surely if we attract that number to the WA Rugby League grand final, a level of competition that they do not even rate in the eastern states, then it stands to reason that we would attract at least twice or three times that to NRL games.


“Anyway, the argument is redundant as we have always averaged in excess of 9,000 people to NRL games, our record is around 30,000 people and we collectively attracted over 23,000 people to the trial and competition games we hosted as recently as 2005. In fact our demonstrated average crowds are better than many established NRL sides.

“The harsh reality is, like anywhere in Australia, significant crowds will not eventuate unless they have access to the top level of competition so, instead of dismantling years of hard work and planning with a few flippant comments I would encourage the NRL to take a more open minded and inclusive attitude to the game nationally.


“The wise men from the east said the Reds would not win a game in its first year however with 5 games still to play we have won 6 to this point which is twice as many as the Eagles, 2 more than the Dockers and one short of the Force.


“I expect the WA Reds, in its debut season, to finish as the most successful top level Perth football club on a win loss comparison and I believe this needs to be recognised and acknowledged by our governing bodies and a lot of other observers including the media.

: Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:58 am  

Here's a few of Gallop's quotes from last year, not very helpful to the Reds who are trying to drum up media, fans and corporate support!

People should remember that we brought forward new revenue to the game before the previous contracts expired and this allowed us to bring the Gold Coast Titans into the competition. The AFL has teams in more states and draws crowds more than twice the size of ours.

"Television is sold on the basis of five capital city audiences and we do not have that footprint. It also isn't a solution for us to simply throw a team in those areas where we have limited interest in our code.

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.

We appreciate the work the WARL is doing in Western Australia and realise the potential this market may have in the future.
At this stage, however, we have just expanded the game into the Gold Coast and are still building the strength of the Storm in Melbourne.
Further expansion is on the horizon but it must be done at a time when the game can be sustained.
We continue to build the base of the game in markets such as WA and Adelaide, as was done in the Gold Coast, so that when the time comes for expansion it will be viable for the game.

The interview he did on the Footy show was alot more negative basically saying he couldn't see a Perth team within the next 10 years!

: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:02 am  

Rooster Booster wrote:

Gallop thinks so too. As I suggested before, he can't come right out and say it as there may be invitations to bid for an expansion spot later in a few months.

And as the ARL and quietly the NRL have done things to help you in the last couple of years I reckon you'd be right up there for one.

Is there any way we could find an interview I did for this website with Gallop in about early 04? I do recall him mentioning Perth, but don't have it anymore.

if we are expanding again then thats fantastic and gallop is a brilliant leader.

it has to be 2 clubs

: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:14 am  

gallops recent comments have been :

the storm lose millions each yaer, only propped up by news ltd.

so if we expand to perth who will cover the losses there.

i dont believe it would be the same amout of losses but the end of the mining boom is going to mean that businesses in perth wont have as much money to spend on expansion.

queensland wont be getting another team soon as the titans just came in so if we expand in the next 5 years perth and central coast would be the only realisitic possibilities.

PNG will take a while to develop their bid. they will need to go into the Queensland cup and i dont think theyd be ready by 2012.

NZ as well dont seem to be making a bid.

the idea that the Central Coast should be left for a sydney club that fails is dumb. if no team fails, does that mean they dont get a team. let the Central Coast have a team now and if a sydney team fails, they can move to queensland or NZ.

i think a perth team could work provided the finances were OK.

my dream though is PNG in the nrl. that would be massive for the game and their WC performances showed their potential. and NZ needs another team and queensland at least one more.

we need at least 20 teams

: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:27 pm  

He also came out with the gem that AFL get better TV and sponsorship deals as they have a greater national coverage and cover all capital cities, then in the next breath said the NRL wasn't looking to expand for some time and wouldn't just be sticking pins in the map!

Considering Perth has a bigger population than any other place without a NRL team and is the strongest state by far outside NSW and Q'land for RL and has the stadium, junior development and committed local businessmen its a no brainer!

Frustrating thing is it is alot easier for NRL to become Australias only truly National code as they only need two more teams, Adeliade and Perth and they can legitemly lay claim to it as they will have teams in 8 out of the top 10 population centres in the country.