The head of Brisbane Bombers’ bid to join the National Rugby League competition has called on the ARLC to give clear direction on where the next team will be based, even if they intend delaying expansion talks until 2015.

Craig Davison said he expected a clarification statement from the ARLC soon, which reports suggest will put off expansion until the 2017 or 2018 season with talks to begin in three years.

Seven bids are operating at different levels of intensity and Davison said the ARLC should narrow the focus to save unnecessary costs for bids he believes don’t stand a chance.

“I hope they come out immediately and at least give some direction to areas,” Davison told SBI on Friday. “It’s fanciful to think that any small town can get an expansion team. It needs to go to a metropolis, and Brisbane is the obvious choice.

“So do they make a statement now and say what areas expansion is going to be in or do they just let Central Coast and Central Queensland just keep spending money?

“I think it’s insane to have all these different bidding areas spending money when only one area seems to make sense from a commercial perspective.

“They should come out now and say if we expand when we expand it will be in this area and all the other guys pack your bags away.”

Davison said Brisbane was the obvious choice if the ARLC goes to one extra team, with Perth next in line after that. He said he accepted that further bids might come into Brisbane to challenge the Bombers but believed the bid had strong footholds.

“I’d expect various other teams to put their hands out,” he said. “But the clarification needs to be simply if they do it, where. They already must know what areas, they’re smart people, they’ve had some advice, and it’s obvious, when you talk to the Channel Nines, where a team is going to be. It’s going to be Brisbane.”

John Sackson, chief of the West Coast Pirates, told SBI: “We remain extremely optimistic that Perth will be the home of a sustainable and successful NRL franchise.”

Sackson said the bid had been prepared for the projected timetable.

“The writing was on the wall when the TV deal was announced and the broadcasters seemingly placed no additional value on an extra weekly game,” Sackson said. “But on a a positive note,we can now plan accordingly for the future. It has been very frustrating working with all the uncertainty and misleading speculation.

“I am assured that WA has been identified as a top priority development market and that extra focus, resources and supportive initiatives will be injected into the state to help the WARL continue to grow the game in what is an extremely fertile location for future expansion.”

He said the ARLC showed its commitment to the region by scheduling three NRL fixtures for Perth in 2013.

Sackson said the West Coast Pirates brand has been passionately embraced by stakeholders of the game, “based on impressive membership numbers, merchandise sales and positive social media activity, all of which have far outstripped the performance of our previous WA Reds brand.”


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The head of Brisbane Bombers’ bid to join the National Rugby League competition has called on the ARLC to give clear direction on where the next team will be based, even if they intend delaying expansion talks until 2015.

Craig Davison said he expected a clarification statement from the ARLC soon, which reports suggest will put off expansion until the 2017 or 2018 season with talks to begin in three years.

Seven bids are operating at different levels of intensity and Davison said the ARLC should narrow the focus to save unnecessary costs for bids he believes don’t stand a chance.

“I hope they come out immediately and at least give some direction to areas,” Davison told SBI on Friday. “It’s fanciful to think that any small town can get an expansion team. It needs to go to a metropolis, and Brisbane is the obvious choice.

“So do they make a statement now and say what areas expansion is going to be in or do they just let Central Coast and Central Queensland just keep spending money?

“I think it’s insane to have all these different bidding areas spending money when only one area seems to make sense from a commercial perspective.

“They should come out now and say if we expand when we expand it will be in this area and all the other guys pack your bags away.”

Davison said Brisbane was the obvious choice if the ARLC goes to one extra team, with Perth next in line after that. He said he accepted that further bids might come into Brisbane to challenge the Bombers but believed the bid had strong footholds.

“I’d expect various other teams to put their hands out,” he said. “But the clarification needs to be simply if they do it, where. They already must know what areas, they’re smart people, they’ve had some advice, and it’s obvious, when you talk to the Channel Nines, where a team is going to be. It’s going to be Brisbane.”

John Sackson, chief of the West Coast Pirates, told SBI: “We remain extremely optimistic that Perth will be the home of a sustainable and successful NRL franchise.”

Sackson said the bid had been prepared for the projected timetable.

“The writing was on the wall when the TV deal was announced and the broadcasters seemingly placed no additional value on an extra weekly game,” Sackson said. “But on a a positive note,we can now plan accordingly for the future. It has been very frustrating working with all the uncertainty and misleading speculation.

“I am assured that WA has been identified as a top priority development market and that extra focus, resources and supportive initiatives will be injected into the state to help the WARL continue to grow the game in what is an extremely fertile location for future expansion.”

He said the ARLC showed its commitment to the region by scheduling three NRL fixtures for Perth in 2013.

Sackson said the West Coast Pirates brand has been passionately embraced by stakeholders of the game, “based on impressive membership numbers, merchandise sales and positive social media activity, all of which have far outstripped the performance of our previous WA Reds brand.”


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