Agree that the Bears won’t have much impact on the Perth AFL teams, I imagine the NRL will try to schedule Bears home games to avoid clashes with Eagles or Dockers games, so fans can attend both. Some will not be AFL fans as well.
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I also remember a time in 2011 when both the Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane Lions played in Perth on the same weekend.
In round 16 of the NRL, the Broncos lost to the Rabbitohs at (what is now known as) HBF Park in drenching rain; I remember that match best for Chris Sandow kicking into the in-goal for Rhys Wesser to score the simplest of tries.
The next day, in round 14 of the AFL, the Lions lost to Fremantle at the since-demolished Subiaco Oval.
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Finally. They worked something out.
Shame the West Australian had to be so petty.
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Yes, I’m surprised they were so negative about it.
You’d think they’d try be a bit more parochial about having another locally based sports team, regardless what they think of the Premier or the NRL.
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I’m not. Stokesy wants to maintain the AFL’s grip, given the amount of money Seven has put into the sport via the broadcast deal. Instant sports “culture war” erupts.
Mind you, PVL’s ways of doing business reeks of Mafioso tactics, so he’s not entirely innocent…
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WA’s unhinged front page on Perth Bears sparks widespread backlash
NRL commentator Andrew Voss has unleashed at The West Australian’s front page in the wake of the Perth Bears being officially confirmed as the league’s 18th team.
“The headline is inflammatory. It’s clickbait.
“Newspapers are scrambling for attention with a clickbait headline, but does it move the needle on public opinion? It would seem not.”
Voss said NRL CEO Peter V’landys should go guns blazing and host State of Origin matches in Perth for the next three years.
But he said the headline wouldn’t have sat well with the NRL supremo and believes it could impact potential negotiations surrounding broadcast rights in the future.
Seven have previously been linked with NRL rights however the league may think twice if this is the coverage they’re going to cop relentlessly.
(At this morning’s press conference in Perth) V’landys delivered a clip to the media coverage in the state, claiming the biased reporting was out of fear that the league would be stealing the limelight.
“I think the media coverage has been a bit biased. The main newspaper here is owned by Seven West Media that has the AFL rights,” he said.
“Let’s be quite frank. They don’t want us to be here because they realise we’re going to be competitive and we’re going to take some of their lunch. We eat a lot so we’ll be taking a fair bit of their lunch.”
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I agree with the Bears branding. Don’t understand why there this insistence on it. It’d be like resurrecting the Newtown Jets by planting them somewhere. Would have been better off either bringing back the Western Reds or just startng from scratch with a brand new name colours and logo.
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Disagree?
It’s presumably done so that the NS Bears fanbase support this team when they’re in Sydney every second week.
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But could also be a mistake in Perth as well… given how long it took for the Swans to be accepted in Sydney, they nearly got killed off in the mid 90s after 12 seasons in Sydney.
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Agreed. The ‘rejects’ tag could linger.
Crazy games tonight.
The two favourites both open up big leads and get run down.
Knights were up 20-0 against the Gold Coast and lose 24-20.
Broncos were up 14-0 and lose 22-14 to the Bunnies. Latrell Mitchell kicked a 50m field goal to put them ahead 16-14 and then scored the most unusual try right on full time.
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Broncos have got to be the best club for somehow managing for exceeding expectations… for better or worse.
Well they are the biggest club in the comp (in terms of members and and crowds), and up until recently a one team town in a league mad city of over 2 million people, yet haven’t won a title for nearly 20 years.
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Probably the best reason, especially given there’s now no connection to the NS team. And the fact not many will travel across to away games means they at least have some fans.
Believe you me I am still feeling shellsocked by it. It was as if they swapped kits at half time
They nearly did that when when they were considering putting a Newcastle team into the NSWRL. They were considering moving Newtown, at least part time IIRC, to Newcastle and splitting home games between Newtown and the ISC.
With regards to be branding - Bears is alright if they’re using the North Sydney side to help that along. Gotta have some to and fro there.
Would be funny if they made the branding this - that would scare everyone. Call them the WA Ginas.
Also, the Bears can take AOB after list night.
I’m sure they won’t want any of the Knights management staff, who make boneheaded decisions like extending AOB to 2027 and signing Dylan Brown for $13 mil over 10 years.
Its the Knights management that are as much to blame for their on field predicament as much as AOB or Ponga’s average form.