Gold Coast executive chairman Dennis Watt has warned a transplanted Sydney club would not work in Brisbane as relocation once again landed on the NRL’s agenda.
While no decision will be made on the game’s footprint until December, when the NRL is due to hand down a report on expansion, the Nine Network has begun the push for one Sydney team to make way for a second Brisbane franchise.
The broadcaster’s director of sport Tom Malone said the network wanted to see a second side to rival the Broncos to be introduced in time for the next broadcasting deal which will begin in 2023.
He put the existing clubs under pressure when he said that his preference was for one side to be cut in order to make way, but didn’t rule out relocation as an option.
It places uncertainty on the crowded Sydney market and the likes of Cronulla, Manly and the Wests Tigers, as well as the Titans, who have struggled for success since entering the competition.
NSW coach Brad Fittler urged the NRL to consider the case of the AFL who successfully relocated South Melbourne to Sydney and merged Fitzroy with the Brisbane Bears to create successful franchises in expansion areas.
But Watt, a former Broncos chairman who spent 14 years at the Queensland glamour club, predicted that a relocated side would not work in the Queensland capital market.
“I think it’s very difficult to relocate a club,” Watt told AAP.
“It’s unlikely if one of the Sydney clubs did fall over, I can’t see it happening that the NRL would relocate.
“I don’t think a transplanted team would work particularly well in Brisbane. I think if a position was available a club like Redcliffe would (be admitted). They’re great community champions, they have a good junior base, financially they’re very strong.
“They’ve got a good brand and a good heritage and they’re much more likely to be successful than any transplanted model.”
Watt also bristled at the suggestion his club were on the chopping block, arguing they’d taken great strides under new owners Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly.
ARLC chairman Peter Beattie attempted to allay fears that a Sydney side was on the chopping block, saying they would have a chance to have their say during a meeting with club chairs on September 12.
“No club will be forced to move,” Beattie said.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian weighed into the debate, dismissing the prospect of Manly being axed or moved interstate.
“Leave the Sea Eagles alone,” Berejiklian said.
“Most Sydneysiders will be distraught if we lose one of our teams and I’ll certainly make my views known publicly and I’ll say it today, hands off the Sea Eagles.”
