[b]WA rugby league ready to make impact when called upon[/b]

[b]Western Australia has long desired a rugby league team, and if the state is given one – they will be in tremendous stead for the future, with the WARL releasing their plan, to take their team into the next decade of rugby league.[/b]

With a strategic plan in place, and a large vision to be achieve by 2020 – a team in WA will be the first, since the demise of the Western Reds during the Superleague War, in 1997.

With the WARL planning all things rugby league for their bid over the last 2 years, the plan is to not only incorporate a rugby league side, but to have a flourishing junior system at their disposal also.

Richard Campbell, who is the WARL Chairman, says that they are ready to start the new franchise – but ensures that they will not suffer the same fate as the Western Reds.

“WA Rugby league has been planning for a long time and we are on track to deliver our bid when the Australian Rugby League Commission make any announcement,” he said.

“The model we propose stacks up extremely well and looks after the code the way stakeholders want it. We must guarantee the future for all and not just the elite.”

With a good list of targets in place, some of them include:

[list]
– A successful, profitable, self-sustaining NRL team.
-An investment of $300m in facilities including a world class, state-of-the-art training facility.
– A State of Origin side.
– Hosting State of Origin and Test matches in Perth.
-10,000 senior and junior players.
– By 2020, to in the top 5 most recognised and respected sporting brands in Australia. [/list]

With former ARLC CEO David Gallop a fierce advocate for the inclusion of a team in Perth, WARL Chief Executive John Sackson said that although he was unsure as to how that would affect their bid – he was confident that Perth would get one of the two spots for expansion.

“With David leaving the scene we’re all anxiously waiting for clarification about how things are going to pan out,” Sackson said.

“David was an advocate for a Perth franchise. He was consistent in his support and belief that Perth was an attractive option.”

To develop things further, the ARLC and WARL executives will next week be holding talks.

“We want to get a handle on where things are at,” Sackson said.

“It’s not inconceivable that the commission may have a more aggressive approach to expansion than David had.”

With NRL bids putting the final touches on all things associated with their bid, an announcement is expected in August, once the five-year TV rights deal has been formalised.

“The TV deal and expansion go hand in hand,” Sackson said.

“We can’t see the TV deal going to a billion dollars plus without two more teams, without one more game a week and an extra time slot. That’s our belief.”

Despite talks of expansion, ARLC Media Manager John Brady, said that talks of further NRL expansion, were still being discussed.

“It is a strategic consideration for the game and one that needs to be considered in the light of tele- vision revenues and the Commission’s strategic planning process,” Brady said.

“With David (Gallop) leaving the scene we’re all anxiously waiting for clarification.”” WARL chief executive *John Sackson *

By ricky

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