Melbourne Rebels 2024

[Members Section]

Na all members were welcome. Was just too far to go for me

I truly thank Bells for all their support over the years, but a rugby pub without Guinness is like toast with out vegemite

 

[Rebel man]

The Vegas venture is heading for a slow moving train wreck for the NRL.

Stadium ticket sales currently at about 50%. it’s a 5 year deal to. What if first year is a fizzer and they don’t make any significant in roads? Each team is forking out about 400k to use travel/training facility week leading up to event.

rugby has a better approach to growing the game. That test match in San Diego between all blacks vs Fiji will have more reach because you are showcasing 2 of the top 8 rugby teams in the world where as NRL is sending 4 of the top 16 teams in Australia.

a Hawaiin based super rugby team that may play some games in California is a lot better strategy then the NRL season opener because it allows Americans to have their own team.

Rugby if far bigger than league in the US

 

[SouthernX]

Rugby if far bigger than league in the US

yes well aware of that.

PVD is biting off more than he can chew. Everyone knows he is a degenerate gambler. This is a risk no one in super rugby would make.

 

[Rebel man]

yes well aware of that.

PVD is biting off more than he can chew. Everyone knows he is a degenerate gambler. This is a risk no one in super rugby would make.

They are now struggling to get the big names to play as they all have criminal records

 

[SouthernX]

They are now struggling to get the big names to play as they all have criminal records

they are all cleared by my accounts now.

The visit to the consulate could have been kept under wraps but they’ll bring up their players checkered past for any NRL Vegas free publicity.

 

[hoggy]

yes well aware of that.

PVD is biting off more than he can chew. Everyone knows he is a degenerate gambler. This is a risk no one in super rugby would make.

Yeah, because having a Japanese team play there home games in Singapore against South African teams was a much smarter move.

 

[PhilClinton]

They are now struggling to get the big names to play as they all have criminal records

That’s false.

 

[SouthernX]

Yeah, because having a Japanese team play there home games in Singapore against South African teams was a much smarter move.

Some home games.

the Sunwolves I wouldn’t call a failed experiment. Crowd support was way better than any of the Aussie teams - might have my timelines mixed up but they bowed out just before Covid? (after super rugby had to do some realignment because the South Africans were joining a Timezone friendly northern hemisphere competition)

if pro rugby competition ever comes to The Pacific, the catalyst for it will be super rugby teams… but I personally think the IRB should focus on a test match pacific rugby cup. It could be the tier 2 competition that promotes & relegates a team to the biannual TRC/6 nation competition they’ll be running when it’s not RWC/lions tour years (do we have a name for that competition yet?)

 

[Adam84]

NRL’s Vegas venture is all about gambling revenue, it’s why they’re doing it in Vegas of all markets. The potential revenue from gambling markets in the US is more than they’re expecting from broadcast rights.

Crowd attendance and even viewer numbers is secondary to the value of bets placed, although there is a correlation between the two. To say it’s a slow moving wreck ignores what they’re trying to do. If it works, and they secure enough interest from gambling companies then it’s going to be a smart business move.

 

[SouthernX]

NRL’s Vegas venture is all about gambling revenue, it’s why they’re doing it in Vegas of all markets. The potential revenue from gambling markets in the US is more than they’re expecting from broadcast rights.

Crowd attendance and even viewer numbers is secondary to the value of bets placed, although there is a correlation between the two. To say it’s a slow moving wreck ignores what they’re trying to do. If it works, and they secure enough interest from gambling companies then it’s going to be a smart business move.

gambling is on the nose in this country.

I wouldn’t be suprised after next federal election if there’s a huge crackdown on pokies and sports gambling. It’s the one thing I am super proud about rugby union is that we don’t rip off our fanbase by having large pokie rooms in our clubhouse.

AFL & NRL will take a huge hit if the gambling gravy train comes to a screeching halt

 

[Adam84]

gambling is on the nose in this country.

I wouldn’t be suprised after next federal election if there’s a huge crackdown on pokies and sports gambling. It’s the one thing I am super proud about rugby union is that we don’t rip off our fanbase by having large pokie rooms in our clubhouse.

AFL & NRL will take a huge hit if the gambling gravy train comes to a screeching halt

Las Vegas isn’t in Australia

 

[SouthernX]

Las Vegas isn’t in Australia

Yeah I know that.

but I understand why he’s doing it. It’s not about growing revenue. It’s about hedging the revenue opportunity if the gambling interests here in this country suddenly dry up.

Anyways back to rebels talk .

 

[Wilson]

gambling is on the nose in this country.

I wouldn’t be suprised after next federal election if there’s a huge crackdown on pokies and sports gambling. It’s the one thing I am super proud about rugby union is that we don’t rip off our fanbase by having large pokie rooms in our clubhouse.

AFL & NRL will take a huge hit if the gambling gravy train comes to a screeching halt

Pokies absolutely, governments of all stripes are going after it. Sports betting will take longer to take that hit though.

Either way that's the point of looking to the US market for gambling - the federal ban on sports betting was only reversed ~6 years ago and most states have now legalized it, but it's a very fresh and new market that will likely take to the fairly evolved Australian sports betting 'product'. It's a huge potential upside for the NRL, they just can't say the quiet part too loudly because it's not a great look.

 

[Members Section]

gambling is on the nose in this country.

I wouldn’t be suprised after next federal election if there’s a huge crackdown on pokies and sports gambling. It’s the one thing I am super proud about rugby union is that we don’t rip off our fanbase by having large pokie rooms in our clubhouse.

AFL & NRL will take a huge hit if the gambling gravy train comes to a screeching halt

figures would suggest other wise

 

[SouthernX]

If anyone is interested that it’s not all peaches and cream over in rugby league. There was article in AFR this week about PVD leadership team quitting in droves.

NRL shuffles the deck on the eve of Vegas

Three executives are leaving, putting the spotlight back on NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and his boss, Peter V’landys (the horse racing guy).

www.afr.com

 

[Members Section]

If anyone is interested that it’s not all peaches and cream over in rugby league. There was article in AFR this week about PVD leadership team quitting in droves.

NRL shuffles the deck on the eve of Vegas

Three executives are leaving, putting the spotlight back on NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and his boss, Peter V’landys (the horse racing guy).

www.afr.com

Please move this from the rebels thread

 

[hoggy]

Some home games.

the Sunwolves I wouldn’t call a failed experiment. Crowd support was way better than any of the Aussie teams - might have my timelines mixed up but they bowed out just before Covid? (after super rugby had to do some realignment because the South Africans were joining a Timezone friendly northern hemisphere competition)

if pro rugby competition ever comes to The Pacific, the catalyst for it will be super rugby teams… but I personally think the IRB should focus on a test match pacific rugby cup. It could be the tier 2 competition that promotes & relegates a team to the biannual TRC/6 nation competition they’ll be running when it’s not RWC/lions tour years (do we have a name for that competition yet?)

Not a failed experiment, they no longer exist.

Just another Super Rugby look they have money we want some get rich quick scheme

 

[SouthernX]

Not a failed experiment, they no longer exist.

Just another Super Rugby look they have money we want some get rich quick scheme

well I never looked at the FORCE when they went belly up 1st time as a failed experiment. Sometimes it’s other factors at play.

think the point with super rugby is some of these teams are dependent on divisions and other sporting teams in a regional area to justify th travelling/scheduling… the jaguars just disappeared off the super rugby map when South Africa left.

Wouldn’t make sense that teams like Jaguars staying in our competition without the stop over in RSA to help alleviate some of the crazy travels that’s required with a competition this wide & far.

I could see Sunwolves one day returning. Unsure if there’s appetite yet for super rugby expansion when it clearly on life support here in Oz.

Rebels merging with Moana pasifika makes sense (not my preferred option) if you are looking for a pacific only pro club rugby competition… but Moana Pasifika calling Hawaii home might be a even better business case because Hawaii has the facilities to host big games and can probably pull in some USA sponsorship dollars… plus Hawaii is part of the Polynesian islands along with Tonga/Samoa so they could also call it home venue too.

 

[KOB1987]

gambling is on the nose in this country.

I wouldn’t be suprised after next federal election if there’s a huge crackdown on pokies and sports gambling. It’s the one thing I am super proud about rugby union is that we don’t rip off our fanbase by having large pokie rooms in our clubhouse.

AFL & NRL will take a huge hit if the gambling gravy train comes to a screeching halt

it wont. Animal activists have been trying to get horse racing banned for about 50 years. They get ignored en masse largely because of the revenue to government. There are negligible welfare issues with humans playing sport.

 

[hoggy]

Rebels merging with Moana pasifika makes sense (not my preferred option) if you are looking for a pacific only pro club rugby competition… but Moana Pasifika calling Hawaii home might be a even better business case because Hawaii has the facilities to host big games and can probably pull in some USA sponsorship dollars… plus Hawaii is part of the Polynesian islands along with Tonga/Samoa so they could also call it home venue too.

None of that makes sense it's just classic banging a square peg into a round hold and then wondering why it all goes belly up. After 20 years they have learnt basically nothing.

The biggest market ever available to the RA is its own domestic market, but for 20 years now they have been to fucking stupid to recognize that fact, hence the position they are now in.