I wonder if some of these club officials are starting to get a bit more info about the NRC. For example if amalgamation teams are happening there may be a rule where each club gets minimum X amount of players in the side. Could influence some of these borderline players at strong clubs to look elsewhere with a chance of getting selected and i'm sure coaches will using that to their advantage.
Big Dog at the end of the day there aren't going to be many spots in the Bne North & South sides after you put the Reds squad players in for example if the South side consists of Sunnybank, Easts, South & Gold Coast there certainly is not going to be many Breakers in the side unless you enforce an apartheid like quota system which they just won't/can't implement.
Reds that will make up the core of the South Brisbane side:
1 Greg Holmes (SNB)
2 Albert Anae (SNB)
3 Phil Daley (GC)
4 Blake Enever (E)
5 ??
6 Ed Quirk(E)
7 Beau Robinson (S)
8 Jake Schatz (SNB)
9 Ben Lucas (SNB)
10 UJ Sueteni (E)
11
12 Ben Tapuai (SNB)
13 Chris F-Sautia (S)
14 Jonah Placid (E)
15 Aidan Toua (E)
If Lachlan Turner turns out for one of the southside clubs then he would be at 14/15, and Shannon Walker (E) could take the 11.
This just demonstrates that there just isn't going to be a hell of a lot of starting opportunities for the Premier grade players.
And the North Bne side will equally be dominated by reds squad players:
1
2 James Hanson - U
3 Jono Owen - U
4 Ed O'Donoghue - W
5 David McDurling - U
6 Curtis Browning - U
7
8
9 Nick Frisby - GPS
10 Mike Harris - U
11 Dom Shipperley - Bros
12
13 Samuela Kerevi - GPS
14 Kris Kuridrani - GPS
15 JJ Taulagi - U
Also in this team would need to be Rod Davies(Uni) & Lachlan Turner (GPS ??)
As you will note that means of the 2013 grand final sides only Enever, Placid & Sueteni from Easts make the South side (Toua & Quirk did not play in the GF) and likewise only 3 GPS players in Frisby, Kerevi & Kuridrani will make the North side, and there simply won't be representation or minimal representation from the likes of Brothers, Norths, Gold Coast, Souths & Wests, with the North side predominately Uni players and the South side - Sunnybank.
I hope NRC (aka ARC#2) works but I just can't see why the boards, players and supporters from the clubs other than Uni or Sunnybank will buy in and support the two Brisbane sides.
To me it would be better if they just ran a comp between the 5 Australian Super Rugby Franchises with what was left of their squads after the Wallabies. They could use the tournament to trial younger players.
Quite simply if you think that a Cox(E), Mullins(E), Ferguson(GPS), Zangari (GPS), Veresa Mataitini (N), Bond (Bros), Campbell (Bros), Lespierre (S), Muirhead (S), La Motta (N), Evans (GC), Ruoutledge (SNB), Ah Wong (SNB), etc will play more than a handful of NRC games then you are kidding yourself.
Why would a club like Wests, Breakers, or North be prepared to contribute financially to the joint venture sides?
I am sure that the Sydney joint venture sides will experience the same issues.
