‘I’d boycott the NRL’: Fans react to plan for second Brisbane team
With news that one of Sydney’s nine NRL clubs could make way for a second Brisbane team, angry rugby league supporters have let their feelings be known.
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Buzz Rothfield comment: Don’t touch my Cronulla Sharks
A sold-out Shark Park was baying for blood — not that of the Canberra Raiders but the NRL’s if they ever thought about dissolving the Cronulla club.
“I would barrack for the Swans (AFL team),” fan since 1967 Jack Medcalf said.
“We couldn’t support St George. The NRL would just lose a huge percentage of fans.”
His wife Rose said she thought the club will be fine because they have “God” on their side.
“We will be right, we have Scomo now,” she said of Prime Minister and noted Sharks supporter Scott Morrison.
Rothfield wrote the likely option was one of Cronulla, Manly or Gold Coast.
Family members, the Motts said they would turn their back on NRL if the Sharks were scrapped.
“I’d boycott the NRL,” Nikki said.
Daniel Mott said the Sharks meant more to the Shire than the money it created for the NRL.
“It would be disgusting to get rid of our team to create another one in Brisbane,” he said.
“We bring down the kids to every home game and so do a lot of other families.”
Jens and Libby Sorensen drove from Queanbeyan to watch stalwart Paul Gallen’s final game.
Mr Sorensen has two Sharks tattoos, a Sharks watch, a shark glued on to his shower screen, blue, white and black tiles, a Sharks fence, a Sharks-coloured Kombi van and a Sharks theme fire pit.
“I couldn’t support any other team when I have these tattoos,” he said.
“Why does Queensland need another team when they have the Gold Coast that nobody supports?”
Ryan Ilett said the Shire would give up on NRL if the Sharks were dissolved or relocated.
“It would be a stake in the heart of the Shire,” he said.
“We go to every home game.”
Ethan Tudjman said the NRL should have learned its lesson from the North Sydney Bears
“They got rid of North Sydney and people just stopped supporting the NRL,” he said.
“If you go back to the 2016 Grand Final, 80,000 Cronulla fans packed out ANZ Stadium and if they try and merge us they will lose all of them and more.”
Meanwhile, NSW coach Brad Fittler said he supported a Sydney team being moved to Brisbane but still retaining part of its identity, pointing to the success the AFL had in moving South Melbourne to Sydney and Fitzroy merging with Brisbane.
“There’s a lot of narrow-mindedness about how it should be done and who it should be,” Fittler told the Sunday Footy Show.
“If we look at the AFL model and how that’s worked with the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions.
“The Swans came up from South Melbourne so their history doesn’t start in (1982), it goes back to South Melbourne.
“Every time we have this discussion there’s an adamant view we have to start a new club.
“I’m thinking the Cronulla Sharks could go to Perth and have this history and play some games at Cronulla and some in Perth.”