wollongong wolves must be a-league club #11

would have either ipswich, canberra or another victorian team introduced alongside them.

wollongong wolves must be a-league club #11

would have either ipswich, canberra or another victorian team introduced alongside them.

Canberra 11. Wollongong 12.

Canberra 11. Wollongong 12.

Anybody who doesn't think that Canberra and Tasmania should be the next two is nuts.

We're in a race with the AFL to put down teams in those areas before they do.

Canberra would be my next Australian club especially if the new stadium goes ahead however for potenial none come close to Auckland, contary to belief Auckland football is very strong but at an ameteur level with by far the biggest participation levels in the country, 1.5million people (1.8million by 2023), 2.3 million within 2 hours drive(half the country), merchandise, TV viewers, sponsors, rivalry with the Nix etc. as I said no other option comes close in potenial. Unfortunately the Knights/Kingz brands really hurt the perception of football in Auckland (combined with Auckland's fickle sports supporters and few other factors it was a recipe for failure).
A stronger NZ football can only help the A League long term with more players sponsorship, viewers etc. and right now NZ desperately needs a 2nd club as since the 2010 world cup we have gone backwards (or forward very slowly), 2nd team means more media coverage (TV, radio, print etc.), more money into the game and more people chatting about it.
Would love to see a Christchurch team in 2018-20 when the new covered stadium is built (hopefully) as they are very passionate and would easily get 10k per game minimum (20k plus with new team and new stadium in the first few years).

Anybody who doesn't think that Canberra and Tasmania should be the next two is nuts.

We're in a race with the AFL to put down teams in those areas before they do.

But there's no AFL team in Wollongong. ;)

We could just do an AFL and call a side Greater Wollongong which could cover Canberra anyway :lol:

I know you're joking, but that's a profoundly bad idea. The AFL is using GWS to compete in both WS and Canberra, and failing at both. We should put down a Canberra side before they wise up.

Anybody who doesn't think that Canberra and Tasmania should be the next two is nuts.

We're in a race with the AFL to put down teams in those areas before they do.

The only issue with this is it starts to look more and more like a NSW dominated comp (yes, I count NSW and ACT as effectively the same thing), but I agree both have merit.

IF these 2 teams were to be added to the comp, that would make it 6 teams in NSW/ACT out of a comp of 12. Thats a heavy weighting.

I would go with one or the other, and attempt a NQ team if the Fury can show that they now have the backing to make a team work there. It would give the comp:

NSW/ACT 5 (Canberra would be favoured as the next team IMHO)
Vic 2
Qld 2
WA 1
SA 1
NZ 1

Total 12

Would be abit more balanced.

Anybody who doesn't think that Canberra and Tasmania should be the next two is nuts.

We're in a race with the AFL to put down teams in those areas before they do.

so overall, i feel that the a-league needs clubs in these 3 regions asap because of the following reasons:
wollongong (footballing heartland, will build strong rivalries with nsw clubs and former nsl clubs and will provide good away support)
ipswich (in order to give brisbane roar a local derby, though their current viability may be a current concern)
auckland (in order to provide wellington phoenix a big lift in crowd numbers and also to rejuvenate football in wellington which has been struggling for a while, though their current viability may be a concern)

though other regions such as canberra, tasmania may be seen as safer options and more deserving, i believe that ipswich and auckland, for the above reasons need to come in beforehand.

so overall, i feel that the a-league needs clubs in these 3 regions asap because of the following reasons:
wollongong (footballing heartland, will build strong rivalries with nsw clubs and former nsl clubs and will provide good away support)
ipswich (in order to give brisbane roar a local derby, though their current viability may be a current concern)
auckland (in order to provide wellington phoenix a big lift in crowd numbers and also to rejuvenate football in wellington which has been struggling for a while, though their current viability may be a concern)

though other regions such as canberra, tasmania may be seen as safer options and more deserving, i believe that ipswich and auckland, for the above reasons need to come in beforehand.

South Coast A-League trial declared winner
By MITCH JENNINGS Sept. 16, 2013, 4:08 a.m.

Newcastle Jets captain Ruben Zadkovich is adamant Football South Coasts deserved to be the next team admitted into the A-League competition, in a glowing endorsement of Saturday’s trial game at WIN Stadium.

A Bulli junior, Zadkovich was impressed by the crowd and the playing surface, declaring the Illawarra was the future of the national competition following the previous failures of the Gold Coast and North Queensland Fury.

The Jets won the A League friendly 1-0 in front of 6540 fans and Zadkovich was quick to heap praise on Wollongong’s football community.

‘‘It was brilliant,’’ Zadkovich said.

‘‘This place should be facilitating an A League side it’s as simple as that. They can get 6000 people out here to a pre-season friendly game.

‘‘I just can’t see how with this facility, with the amount of local talent and the amount of people that are playing the game down in this region how they don’t have an A League team.

‘‘I understand that its probably about funding but I really think that the FFA and the A League in general have to do more to support this area because there’s definitely room for them to facilitate an A League side,’’ he said.

The match also won over Jets coach Gary van Egmond.

‘‘It’s magnificent,’’ van Egmond said.

‘‘We’d love to have a pitch like this, the field is just absolutely terrific. It’s a nice stadium with a really good atmosphere and with all the people coming out to support the game, there’s a lot of merit for an A League team here.’’

Zadkovich also lent some high-profile support to his home club Bulli, who sprang a 1-0 upset over Port Kembla in the Illawarra Premier League major semi-final that was the curtain-raiser to the A League clash. It appears that Jets marquee man Emile Heskey is a convert to the Bulli cause as he accompanied Zadkovich into the Bulli sheds to wish the boys luck.

‘‘I was so stoked I couldn’t stop yelling ‘come on the I’,’’ Zadkovich said.

‘‘They missed so many chances in that second half, they should’ve been up by two or three goals, so they thoroughly deserved the win.’’

Bulli’s victory certainly seemed to inspire Zadkovich, who had three shots on goal in the opening 25 minutes, including a free kick from just outside the box, though he was denied on all three occasions by Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetovic.

‘‘It would’ve been nice to score against Sydney, he said.

‘‘But it’s only pre-season, so hopefully I can nail a few goals early on (in the season).’’

‘‘We’ve got a couple more quality games against Melbourne and one against Central Coast but we got a lot out of tonight for sure.

‘‘There’s still so much we need to improve on.’’

NEWCASTLE 1 (James Virgili 52’) d SYDNEY FC 0 at WIN Stadium on Saturday. Crowd: 6540

we were also in a race to replicate the success of the nrl (north queensland, gold coast), look how that turned out