www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... -lud5.html i believe the ARL stuffed up not awarding the original license to the newcastle wests club who have a rich Leagues club and their own ground but thats history as a massive area for the game, the club are very important for the nrl newcastle is one of the strongest RL areas in australia.

www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... -lud5.html i believe the ARL stuffed up not awarding the original license to the newcastle wests club who have a rich Leagues club and their own ground but thats history as a massive area for the game, the club are very important for the nrl newcastle is one of the strongest RL areas in australia.

They need to get a better stadium deal. Some financial backing wouldnt go amiss and with the new stand finishes hopefully their crowds will pretty much sustain them, especially now they are targetting Gosford as theirs

They are indeed. Which begs the question "why they are in so much financial difficulty?"

every nrl clubs bar the broncos and titans lose a lot of money

some have LC behind them, others rich owners.

its because our TV deals are poor

I know, but if they are one of the strongest RL areas in the country, isn't that cause for concern?

ive been concerned about their situation for years

tehe problem is as ive stated

the license shouldve gone to newcastle wests with their strong LC behind it

but the CRL doesnt like to weaken its own competitions by taking strong clubs out so they made a new franchise instead

every nrl club faces a massive revenue shortfall

thats why i bang on about tv ratings etc

clubs should have more money from the tv ratings they deliver

when looking at expanding the game with new clubs the nrl is aware that to have a competitive team, a club needs around $2 million a year from outside sources on average

perth, wellington or png would all have at least these losses if not more

queensland teams will go closer to breaking even as their finances are generally better, especially if the club is in an area with a strong population

it seems clubs need at least crowds of 20,000 to break even under the current tv deal.

It still amazes me it costs $15-20mill to run a NRL club and only $5-8mill to run a SL club, with basically the same salary cap.

Or improve the attendances, sponsorship revenue and merchandising take? a better bet than having all your eggs in one basket TV which can be pretty fickle.

Actually it was decided that a new team not aligned with any of the factionalism in the CRL would have a better chance of success and garner support from the entire community rather than one (albeit wealthy) single club.

hopefully not, i expect my future home to have its own NRL franchise in the form of the central coast bears by 2013. but ill still be a roosters member when i arrive in July!