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NRL: Teams 18, 19 and 20?

Exciting times and you're right, I still think of our club as new even though we'll be twenty years old soon... Would be nice to have a sustained period of success and dare I say, a prem or two before we hit a quarter-century.

I'm also glad we have our own identity & while I've never been a fan of the Titans moniker I'm not sure how I'd feel as a GC Bears or GC Jets fan :)
 
Florimo’s floozies. It’s a complete travesty that a small group of fanatics can disrupt a clear path of expansion. Not a fan at all.

I also have a very hollow feeling about the Ozzie Kumuls or whatever they’ll be called. It seems to have slipped through to the keeper but I doubt PNG will be masters of their own destiny. Some will argue that they need guidance and I can understand that but what does that look like? A puppet franchise … colonialism lives!
 
Especially when it seemed the WA bid was happy and quite capable to go it alone, it was purely the NRL pressuring them to combine with the Bears.

I could maybe understand forcing a partnership with Adelaide as it's a less popular sport there, but WA is consistently the strongest local comp outside of QLD/NSW and WA had full state government backing for the bid.
 
kioli said:
Exciting times and you're right, I still think of our club as new even though we'll be twenty years old soon... Would be nice to have a sustained period of success and dare I say, a prem or two before we hit a quarter-century.

I'm also glad we have our own identity & while I've never been a fan of the Titans moniker I'm not sure how I'd feel as a GC Bears or GC Jets fan :)
Click to expand...
Remember the other options? Stingers, Pirates. I was a fan of Titans cause I love mythology and also Valleys Diehards are also a "gladiatorial" entity.

I also still view our club as new.
 
Newtown and Ipswich form historic partnership to revive the Jets moniker in the NRL

The NRL’s expansion hopes have been given a major boost with Newtown and Ipswich forming a mega partnership. Find out how the agreement will work including team name, colours and home grounds.

Ipswich and Newtown have joined forces in a $20 million super bid to form a historic partnership in the hope of being part of the NRL’s expanded competition.

Queensland could have a fifth franchise in the NRL, with the two famous clubs - both known as the Jets - combining to lodge a formal submission on Wednesday with a view to being part of a 20-team league.

Iconic millionaire advertising tycoon John Singleton is among the key backers who have promised about $20 million to help launch the club.

KEY DETAILS OF JETS REVIVAL
  • The team name will simply be called the Jets. Newtown and Ipswich share the same moniker which they will keep in the name, mirroring that of the Dolphins' decision to not have a region attached to it;
  • Ipswich and Newtown would be joint owners of the NRL franchise;
  • The team will be permanently based in Ipswich. They will train at Ipswich and aim to play at least six homes at Suncorp Stadium;
  • They will wear Ipswich’s traditional green jersey whenever they play in Queensland but outside of Queensland they will have a Newtown Jets-inspired blue kit;
  • The potential to play one home game at either Henson Park or Leichhardt Oval;

A plan to have an NRL trial at Henson Park where the Jets team will take on a fellow NRL side. The curtain-raiser would be a match between Newtown and Ipswich.

Ipswich are a feeder club to Gold Coast while the Sharks and Newtown have a formal relationship.

The NRL sought expressions of interest last month and Jets chairman Steve Johnson confirmed the western-corridor bid has been re-launched again in their quest to be the code’s 18th team.

“Yes, we have put in a bid,” Johnson said.

“I think Queensland has room for another team.

“Without talking about the specific merits of any particular bid, the game can easily support another team in Queensland without affecting the existing four clubs.

“The western corridor of Brisbane has a great nursery, it’s the Penrith of Queensland, so we’ve expressed interest and we look forward to the bid process.”

While the Jets are pushing ahead with plans to be part of the NRL’s expansion race, they face an uphill battle to be the next team included.

The Western Bears are expected to be the NRL’s 18th team in 2027 followed by PNG a season later.

However, the 20th franchise is uncertain.

The NRL are expected to choose between another team in Queensland or a second team in New Zealand. Former NRL boss David Moffett is heading up South Island Kea after submitting a bid which would make Christchurch their home.

The Brisbane Tigers, backed by the rich Easts Leagues Club, shape as a major threat to the Jets in the battle to be the NRL’s 20th team by the 2032 Olympics.

Ipswich lost out to the Dolphins three years ago in the battle for the NRL’s 17th licence and there is a view the code cannot ignore the benefits of having the Jets playing in the big league in Brisbane’s western corridor.

The AFL have identified that area as Queensland’s next major sporting growth market and a Newtown-Ipswich joint venture could give the NRL a potent strategic alliance.

“It’s a great partnership between both Jets brands,” a source close to negotiations said.

“The Jets would love to be the NRL’s 18th team but if the NRL is going with the Bears, then they have a lot to offer in a 20-team league.

“The bid is financially robust, the Jets could be operational in the NRL by 2027.”

The NRL’s expansion plans are expected to reach a crescendo at the end of September with plans to make a formal announcement either immediately before or after the grand final.

It is understood that after receiving interest from 11 potential consortiums , the NRL received formal applications from up to nine parties when the bid process was cut off earlier this week.

Head office is expected to spend coming weeks sifting through the bids and conducting further talks with their preferred candidates, before holding talks with their existing clubs and broadcasters to gauge their view on the future.

The ARL Commission will then likely hold a meeting in September to finalise the 18th, 19th and potentially 20th teams. It is believed the south island of New Zealand is viewed as the logical 20th side, although any decision to add another team across the Tasman will depend on the quality of the bids.

This will be Newtown’s second attempt at returning to top flight rugby league for the first time since 1983. They had advanced talks with Western Australia consortium before they partnered with the Bears.

Singleton has publicly backed Newtown’s bid to return.

“I have a commitment to try and get Newtown back into the competition,” Singleton told this masthead in June. “Sometimes you do things in life because you said you would. This is not for any financial benefit to me. I don’t see it as an investment.”
 
This is amazing madness. It really bothers me that expansion must now be seen through a Sydney lens. The Dolphins at least represent a connected geography.

What SEQLD needs is a team that represents South Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Toowoomba and out west.

But I think they will miss out to a 2nd NZ team for #20.

Hey at least there isn't a dull moment.

(I think royal blue and bottle green would go well together.)
 
May as well call them GPS rugby in blue and green DH but I totally agree that bringing in Newtown alongside the failed Bears is just ridiculous … let’s have Wellington/Glebe too … the Sydney-centric shift is horrifying. I have no love for another Qld franchise but in the face of this crap maybe we need another one to balance these mothers.
 
NRL stands for National Rugby League, how PNG and NZ help expand and fight the AFL threat is beyond me. Yes Perth is the right move but the next team is a puzzle. I don’t buy the PNG bid and can see a second NZ team really struggling.
As mentioned above, 18 teams for now, solidify our footprint and then look at expansion again in a decade.
 
Pity about bringing back the Bears and please no Jets but I reckon we need to get to 20 teams eventually, with some tough decisions about what to do with the Sydney clubs. If the number of games being played by the players is a problem then beefing-up the content for broadcasting money needs to be considered. Lower grades or more teams but there is no bottomless pit of cash.
 
Well I guess a NZ team helps Rugby League because it appeals to all the Kiwis and Pacific Islanders in Oz which don't find AFL appealing. I think we will see a strong Kiwi support for the Perth team. And Storm look like they are finally taking junior rugby league seriously in Victoria and it is helped by strong participation of Kiwis and Pacific Islanders.

I know what you mean by NATIONAL. We haven't even been national since 1997 and even then the game was divided. I can stomach NZ and I support a second NZ team. But a 5th NRL team for QLD is a really attractive prospect.

On the Jets. I agree with @Titanic. Bears can use the Swans/Lions model because they were moved to non-AFL areas. Like Perth for us. I think it would be a tremendous insult to have half a club represent Newtown. I'm sure it'll make the NSWRL... Sydney comp crew happy. I don't know how the Easts/Ipswich dynamic or partnership can or could eventuate.
 
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