[iHemson said rather than trying to fight with the AFL in Perth or Adelaide, the NRL wanted to shore up its strongholds of Australia's east coast and New Zealand. [/i

Bloody flat cappers.

there was an article in april this year, which i posted a summary of on here saying perth would get a team.

its common knowledge the nrl will be expanding to central coast and perth in 12 months

yes.

well get some back from SL, with the higher salary cap well get many back from rugby union, well sign 20 union players from the S14 including all blacks and wallabies and probably 20 english players as well.

we need around 50 more players so its not a lot.

the correct term is cork cappers/

Good one dally.

After NZ won the world cup, all we heard is how league is going to overtake union there. Nothing happened. Now they have won the tri nations we are hearing the same thing again. Id love it to happen, but it just wont.

For me, Central Coast, Perth and PNG are much more deserving of a franchise than a second NZ team

League will never overtake union in NZ, the gap is just too large. Union and the All Blacks is ingrained in NZ heritage (we are a young country with very little heritage lol).
But the profile of league has certainly lifted since winning the world cup. While union has probably gone down hill a little with the game having a bad couple of years as a specticle, although rule changes have certainly made it more fun to watch this year.

The fact that league is now played in our schools I think is a huge step forward and I honestly believe the Toyota Cup coverage has played a big part in young guys seeing it as a real career option. They are seeing seniors from previous years running round for Melbourne, Newcastle etc in the Under 20's level and even from my home town point of view big Sika Manu for the Storm.

Don't believe the hype some people drivel, but believe that it is on the way up in NZ. A winning Warriors side would be the next major hurdle to really give the game some impetus. And i'm not talking a few games, but a premiership or two and a Broncos type reputation. With all the local talent coming through it could be possible in years to come, but we have to look locally as it's very hard to get top quality players to cross the ditch for a decent price. If we could just discover a local star halfback or 2 and tie him into the Warriors it would be achievable. We have talented forwards and outside backs all over the place, just need some smart talented little men to steer them around.

Gotta agree with you there K Kev. A winning Warriors side would be the biggest impetus for the growth of RL here. Everyone's already forgotten about the Tri-nations over here. The Warriors play week in week out.

Also, to an earlier poster, I reckon 50 extra players in the nrl in one season does pose a risk of diluting and reducing the standard.

back in 2002 when the warriors were making their grand final surge their TV ratings were on par with the best All blacks test matches and they often led the sports news over all blacks tests results.

a strong club competition ie the nrl will take RL to dominance in nz

kiwis will always love their all blacks but with more nrl teams theyll prefer the nrl clubs to S15 clubs whose crowds are falling

and the kiwis doing well in int. rl will only help

beating the wallabies doesnt mean much, its the roos which have all the best players

Really......I will take your word for that. Where in NZ were you living at the time? Which paper did you read on a regular basis while you were here? The Dom Post? The Hearald? was

gutterfax has beaten me to most of the points you mention but you are simply wrong with the comment above. There was a major inquisition after the All Blacks loss in Hong Kong to the Wallabies that is still going on. The poor kid, Donald, who failed to kick the ball into touch in the last minute can thank his lucky stars that the team were heading for the UK after the match.

It is a dream of all Kiwi kids to be an All Black when they are older.

Gotta give it to you though - you are definitely a glass half full person.

Just for a matter of interest, when, where and for how long did you live in New Zealand?

the figures speak for themselves.

when the warriors made their grand final run they got the same tv ratings as all blacks test matches

all of nz was talking about league first, union second

also S14 crowds are falling for most nz clubs.

the nail in the coffin will be the rise in the nrl salary cap to $6.5 - $7 million, a level which NZ S14 clubs cant compete with

this will see a steady stream of players from union to league.

will the nz public continue watching S14 clubs without any good players?

What figures...links please.


Links....come on dally....you know all about links
I repeat...I am a league fan first....other sports second.......but you do set yourself up for a spanking .
You have been asked where you lived in NZ to give you this insight.......please enlighten us

www.backpagelead.com.au/afl/3101 ... fl-rights- an article on the nrl tv rights ive assumed well get $800 million over 5 years but some people speculate it could be $1 billion ie an extra $40 million pa should the nrl get $1 billion a salary cap of $8 - $10 million is possible for the nrl, seeing the top players on $3 - $5 million including 3rd party deals. in 12 months time well know how much extra money well be getting.

www.backpagelead.com.au/afl/3101 ... fl-rights- an article on the nrl tv rights ive assumed well get $800 million over 5 years but some people speculate it could be $1 billion ie an extra $40 million pa should the nrl get $1 billion a salary cap of $8 - $10 million is possible for the nrl, seeing the top players on $3 - $5 million including 3rd party deals. in 12 months time well know how much extra money well be getting.