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'You could have a successful franchise here': Renewed hope for Perth-based NRL side

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

As State of Origin returns to Perth, there is growing hope that for the first time since the Super League war Western Australia could finally get its own NRL team.

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Origin II is nearing a sellout at Optus Stadium with the North Sydney Bears using the opportunity to meet with the WA government about plans to relocate one of the game’s foundation clubs to Perth.

The NRL will expand to 17 teams next year following the decision to admit the Redcliffe-based Dolphins, with the potential to go to 18 sides mooted for as early as 2025.

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A second New Zealand team looms as another serious option but a Perth side has the benefit of being able to open up a new TV time slot for the NRL as well as drawing in corporate support.

“For kids, it can be quite a powerful thing if they have the luxury of looking at their stars and watching them play and train every week,” NRL WA general manager John Sackson told AAP.

“It is quite an inspirational tool.

“Without an NRL side it can be quite challenging for talented West Australian boys and girls, who have to leave the state to get to the top of the game.”

Rugby league hasn’t had a presence at the elite level in the West since the demise of the Perth Reds in 1997 and remains the only major code without a team in WA.

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Despite that, Sackson says there are still 4000 participants, with Parramatta’s Waqa Blake and Cronulla’s Royce Hunt both recent products of WA.

“With the NRLW expanding it would be great to see more female athletes make it at the elite level,” Sackson said.

The Bears, who haven’t been a top-flight side since 1999, would play most of their home games in Perth with a few at their spiritual home of North Sydney Oval.

It is helped that as a result of Perth hosting games at the FIFA Women’s World Cup next year, the city’s primary rectangular stadium HBF Park is due for a $35 million facelift.

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“You probably need a rectangular stadium because with the Reds playing at the WACA, fans you were hoping would fall in love with the game were a long way from the action” said NSW Blues football manager Peter Parr, who previously worked for the Reds.

“Attracting players wouldn’t be an issue. Every time I’ve come here the players have always enjoyed the town.

“You would have to have the right infrastructure here before you started and I’m not privy to any of the proposals but I do know that if you did it properly you could have a successful franchise here.”

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B
BeamMeUp 3 hours ago
The Springboks have something you don't have

A few comments. Firstly, I am a Bok fan and it's been a golden period for us. I hope my fellow Bok fans appreciate this time and know that it cannot last forever, so soak it all in!


The other thing to mention (and this is targeted at Welsh, English and even Aussie supporters who might be feeling somewhat dejected) is that it's easy to forget that just before Rassie Erasmus took over in 2018, the Boks were ranked 7th in the world and I had given up hope we'd ever be world beaters again.


Sport is a fickle thing and Rassie and his team have managed to get right whatever little things it takes to make a mediocre team great. I initially worried his methods might be short-lived (how many times can you raise a person's commitment by talking about his family and his love of his country as a motivator), but he seems to have found a way. After winning in 2019 on what was a very simple game plan, he has taken things up ever year - amazing work which has to be applauded! (Dankie Rassie! Ons wardeer wat jy vir die ondersteuners en die land doen!) (Google translate if you don't understand Afrikaans! 😁)


I don't think people outside South Africa fully comprehend the enormity of the impact seeing black and white, English, Afrikaans and Xhosa and all the other hues playing together does for the country's sense of unity. It's pure joy and happiness.


This autumn tour has been a bit frustrating in that the Boks have won, but never all that convincingly. On the one hand, I'd like to have seen more decisive victories, BUT what Rassie has done is expose a huge number of players to test rugby, whilst also diversifying the way the Boks play (Tony Brown's influence).


This change of both style and personnel has resulted in a lack of cohesion at times and we've lost some of the control, whereas had we been playing our more traditional style, that wouldn't happen. This is partially attributable to the fact that you cannot play Tony Brown's expansive game whilst also having 3 players available at every contact point to clear the defence off the ball. I have enjoyed seeing the Boks play a more exciting, less attritional game, which is a boring, albeit effective spectacle. So, I am happy to be patient, because the end justifies the means (and I trust Rassie!). Hopefully all these players we are blooding will give us incredible options for substitutions come next year's Rugby Championship and of course, the big prize in 2027.


Last point! The game of rugby has never been as exciting as it is now. Any of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Argentina, Scotland, England & Australia can beat one another. South Africa may be ranked #1, but I wouldn't bet my house in them beating France or New Zealand, and we saw Argentina beating both South Africa and New Zealand this year! That's wonderful for the game and makes the victories we do get all the sweeter. Each win is 100% earned. Long may it last!


Sorry for the long post! 🏉🌍

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