Cairns-based rugby league club Northern Pride considering a name change
A REVOLUTION is brewing at the Northern Pride, with a radical name change being considered.
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A REVOLUTION is brewing at the Northern Pride, with a radical name change being considered in a bid to arrest dwindling crowds and end ambiguity surrounding the club.
The Cairns Post can reveal club directors are canvassing the potential of incorporating the word Cairns in their title to cash in on previously unexplored sponsorship avenues.
While proud to represent a large region of the state, officials believe the ambiguity surrounding “Northern” has proven a tricky selling point at a corporate and community level.
It was a fact embarrassingly highlighted in last year’s inaugural State Championship match on NRL grand final day when Penrith players asked where their Intrust Super Cup (ISC) rivals were based.
“I think it’s almost essential,” Pride director John Moore said of the potential change.
“Northern can be northern anything – the name really doesn’t identify the area we are representing.
“The Northern Pride has always been a community team and we are representing the whole of Far North Queensland but Cairns is an iconic part of the world and our base.
“I’m ho-ping we are going to gain identity because we don’t have it at the moment.”
Pride CEO Rod Jensen admits it is tough to sell a homeless club.
“All other ISC teams have their location in their name but if you say ‘Northern’, people say ‘well, where’s Northern?’,” Jensen said.
CROWD CONCERNS
JENSEN admits slipping crowd numbers, including a club-worst average in 2015 of 660, has sent alarm bells ringing at Barlow Park.
“We won just about everything in 2014 but last year was our worst year for crowds,” he said. “We are providing pathways for players and coaches and CEOs but there are no bums on seats.”
Complaints about Barlow Park, and more specifically the running track surrounding the playing surface, are as common as cheers.
Yet the Pride suggest that’s a cop-out.
“It’s not a discussion about the stadium,” Jensen said.
“We get 16,000 here for an NRL game but when we get an ISC game people say they can’t see it. This is the best facility in the ISC.”
FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND FEARS
WITH an ever-growing academy and increasing number of satellite programs, the links are there.
The tough question, though, is how to navigate the tightrope between not alienating faraway fans but cashing in on Cairns’ corporate appeal.
Few ISC clubs invest as heavily in finding local talent. None run out a squad so jam-packed with those gems.
“We don’t know if we have that connection to Cairns because we’re Northern,” Jensen said.
The Pride were built to promote the kids who didn’t previously have a chance.
“Yes, we want to be successful but it was all about giving the community something,” Jensen said.
“Does the community think we’ve moved away from servicing the community?”
A lack of buy-in from CDRL clubs and players – a struggle for previous ISC franchise the Cairns Cyclones – remains a concern.
TRAILBLAZING TAIPANS
THE Pride are Cairns’ biggest team in the state’s biggest footy code, but it’s a community basketball side that owns the hearts of fans.
Rugby league at all levels has historically poor membership numbers, something that’s proven anything but a concern for the Taipans, who escaped death in 2009 via a huge community drive.
Besides corporate deals, the Pride had just 82 members in 2015.
Jensen insists his club is not yet on the brink of collapse, but also doesn’t want to edge any closer to the abyss.
MARKET MAYHEM
THE club is doing more than ever to move merchandise.
Facebook feeds are frequent; ticket prices slashed ... but the feet of the fans remain unmoved.
“We’re in a rugby league heartland and everyone says we’re so lucky – but then we get a crowd of 600 people,” organisational marketing officer Rachael Tierney said.
“We have 13,000 Facebook followers but where are they?”
The Pride have their fingers crossed on a Cowboys-delivered rugby league frenzy in 2016.
“I think from a marketing point of view to get some more focus on Cairns makes sense,” Pride director Bob Fowler said.
Originally published as Cairns-based rugby league club Northern Pride considering a name change
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