NRL news: Moreton Bay mayor steps up push for region to be included in Dolphins name
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys has defended the Dolphins’ naming strategy after the mayor of Moreton Bay claimed the community were betrayed by the expansion club.
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The Dolphins have been accused of betraying Moreton Bay as ARLC boss Peter V’landys defended the NRL expansion club’s strategy during the explosive naming scandal.
The NRL granted the Redcliffe-based bid the game’s 17th licence a fortnight ago on the proviso the club carries no locality and is known simply as “The Dolphins” when it enters the league in 2023.
That ignited a fight, with influential local figures claiming they backed the bid believing the team would be named the Moreton Bay Dolphins.
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Queensland Origin legend Petero Civoniceva and federal minister Peter Dutton were among the figures supporting the name.
Now the saga has taken another twist after Moreton Bay mayor Peter Flannery took his fight for the region to the top of the game.
In a 1000-word letter to V’landys obtained by The Sunday Mail, Flannery pleads for the NRL to intervene and add Moreton Bay to the Dolphins’ club name before the end of the year or risk losing the region’s support.
“One week ago I would have said the Dolphins had an unbreakable relationship with our community and the deep respect of all levels of government,” Flannery wrote.
“So as the Mayor of Moreton Bay Region I hope you can appreciate my despair when the winner was announced, and Moreton Bay was not included in their title.
“Council strongly supports a name that reflects the club’s connection to the region, as a means of both ensuring its success at the NRL level and paying respect to its history.
“I am sure you have seen the considerable debate that followed the official announcement, with fans particularly vocal in their support for either maintaining the traditional ‘Redcliffe’ mantle, or adopting new ‘Moreton Bay’ branding, which is growing stronger daily.
“Over the past week, there has not been a single business meeting or community event I’ve attended where this issue hasn’t been raised.
“My community feels strongly about this, they feel betrayed and they worry that ‘The Dolphins’ would be an anomaly in the league as the only side without a place name in the team title.
“The people of Moreton Bay have been waiting 30 years for their chance to pull on the red and white of the mighty Moreton Bay Dolphins. It is my hope that their anxieties will be resolved by the end of 2021, so that we are all united to charge onto the field in 2023.”
The saga has been an unwanted distraction for the Dolphins immediately after they were granted the licence to become Queensland’s fourth NRL club.
Speculation has suggested the NRL played a role in the team not having a locality given the game was hesitant to alienate potential fans between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
V’landys said the NRL wanted to maximise its reach with the Dolphins and supported the team’s name.
“This is a dolphin in a teacup,” V’landys said.
“When the Dolphins made their bid it wasn’t for one area, it was for all of the north.
“Why would they confine themselves to a smaller area? They want to develop all over the Sunshine Coast.
“I think their strategy is the right one and we’re not going to involve ourselves in local politics.
“I can’t recall (the NRL banning a locality). We certainly wanted a bigger area, there’s no doubt about that. The games are being played at Suncorp Stadium so you want to get widespread tribalism and not confine it to one area.
“Their pitch was about the north and that’s what attracted us. They’re going to have all of that north area. I think their reasoning is the correct one.”
The Dolphins have been under pressure to add Moreton Bay to their name, with new club CEO Terry Reader in the crosshairs of local leaders.
But V’landys praised the Dolphins’ leadership for refusing to bow to public pressure.
“When they made the bid they made it for all the north and to the credit of the bid team, they have stuck to that and haven’t weakened,” he said.
“They’ve shown immense belief, character and leadership which is a great sign for the club. Lesser people would have capitulated.
“That augurs well for their success. If you have weak people in these positions you won’t have success. We agree with their strategy. It’s all about the north.”
Dolphins double down as naming drama erupts
The defiant Dolphins have rejected claims they misled local backers and insist they will not be adopting Moreton Bay in their NRL club name despite public pressure.
The Dolphins’ landmark announcement on Thursday morning that foundation coach Wayne Bennett had signed a four-year deal with the expansion club was hijacked following a stinging attack from local figures.
News Corp revealed Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery, Queensland Origin legend Petero Civoniceva and influential federal minister Peter Dutton were leading a chorus of voices demanding The Dolphins add Moreton Bay to their name.
In an attempt to not alienate potential supporters and create a “national brand”, the NRL’s 17th club will be known simply as “The Dolphins” despite being based in Redcliffe.
The New Zealand-based Warriors are the only other NRL club to not have a locality attached to their name.
Council figures claimed they financially supported Redcliffe and the Dolphins bid, providing $10 million over a number of years, with the understanding the team would be named the Moreton Bay Dolphins.
But Dolphins Group CEO Tony Murphy said the club would not be pressured into changing its name and The Dolphins were here to stay ahead of their NRL launch in 2023.
“We’re known as The Dolphins and that’s what we’ll be known as,” he said.
“I’m pretty good mates with Peter Flannery and all of the councillors. I’ve known Peter for 20 years and get on very well with him. Peter is very keen to push his agenda which as Mayor of Moreton Bay Regional Council, he’s got to do that.
“It’s all part of his job. I can understand they really need to have something that can solidify their council.
“We’re in Moreton Bay, that’s where our base is and where we’re operating from, but we’re a national brand and need to appeal to way more people than south east Queensland.”
Murphy denied Flannery and others were guaranteed the team would be known as the Moreton Bay Dolphins during the bidding process and said the club could survive if council pulled its funding.
BELOW: SEVEN BURNING QUESTIONS FACING THE DOLPHINS
“We have, it has been told to them,” he said. “We had lots of meetings with the council.
“The council really just came on as one of our major sponsors.
“With the amount of sponsors that have been knocking on our door, I’m sure we’ll have that covered (if they withdraw).
“We do sit right in the middle of Moreton Bay Regional Council and they’re a wonderful council. Mayor Flannery has a job to do. He’s got to make sure Moreton Bay Regional Council is out there in front of people.
“It’s been a difficult road for those guys to unite Petrie, Redcliffe and Caboolture. They saw this as an opportunity.
“We will push Moreton Bay every day of the week but we’re a national brand.
“The Redcliffe Dolphins will always survive and play in the Queensland Cup.
“The Dolphins is a national brand and we’ve got to treat it like a national brand. That’s the name we’re going to stay with.
“We will have some more discussions with council. There’s no problem. We’ll get things worked out, that’s for sure.”
The Dolphins fought to protect their name after the Gold Coast NRL expansion club tried to secure it before their launch in 2007, eventually settling for the Titans.
Murphy denied the NRL had forced the Dolphins to abandon Redcliffe and Moreton Bay and said the name had mass appeal.
“We think The Dolphins is the best name and we’re going to run with it,” he said.
“Every other team, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, is pretty much known by their moniker. The Dolphins is such a good moniker.
“Fifteen years ago the Gold Coast rang us the night before it was going to be announced and told us they were going to be the Gold Coast Dolphins.
“We didn’t know a lot about brands in those days but we knew we wanted to keep the Dolphins and play in the NRL.
“We did a lot of research and that told us the Dolphins was the most powerful IP (intellectual property) we had. It was an extremely strong brand that ran third in the state behind the Broncos and Cowboys in the best known brands.
“People love dolphins. That’s pretty much why we chose it. We had to lock it in.”
Bennett was reluctant to get involved in the naming controversy and will focus on creating a strong squad over the next year.
“It’s up to these men here, they can answer that,” he said.
“I’ve just arrived as head coach, I don’t want to get into any arguments to start with.
“That’s not my decision. You’re asking things way out of my league.”
Seven burning questions facing Dolphins
— Peter Badel
Queensland’s rugby league market will have another major player when the Redcliffe-backed Dolphins enter the NRL as Brisbane’s second team in 2023.
Chief League Writer Peter Badel analyses the seven key factors that will determine the success or failure of the NRL’s 17th team.
BRAND AWARENESS
Rugby league’s strength is its tribalism. The challenge for the Dolphins is attempting to straddle a number of geographical markets to win over a new legion of supporters.
They were founded in 1947 as Redcliffe but the decision to sever ties with a 74-year-old name, at least in the big league, is a risky move. By removing the Redcliffe name as part of their NRL birth, the Dolphins are in danger of pleasing everyone and no-one.
The Dolphins are keen to embrace the wider Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast regions, but it must be noted the Sunshine Coast is 83km north of Redcliffe.
In Sydney, Bondi is 63km from Penrith. Can you imagine Bondi glamour club, the Sydney Roosters, trying to win over the hearts and minds of league fans in the Penrith region?
Strategically, the Dolphins see value in spreading their wings to capture a wider audience. But the fact they will undertake a branding exercise with the NRL to determine a name smacks of an identity crisis.
Are they the Redcliffe Dolphins? Moreton Bay Dolphins? Sunshine State Dolphins? North Brisbane Dolphins? Who are they?
On one hand, the NRL wants a second Brisbane team. On the other, the Dolphins don’t intend to promulgate a brand that represents the budding Olympic city that is Brisbane.
Identity is everything in rugby league. The Dolphins must nail their name, brand and target audience.
CROWDED HOUSE
The old adage is: build it and they will come. The Dolphins have got their golden ticket to the NRL. The question now is whether people will travel to support and watch Brisbane’s second team.
For the past 18 years (excluding the Covid-affected season of 2020 when games were briefly played in empty stadiums), the Broncos have averaged more than 24,000 fans to their home games at Suncorp Stadium.
The peak came in 2015, when the Broncos averaged a league-high 37,973 in their march to that year’s grand final against the Cowboys.
The Dolphins’ headquarters at Redcliffe is 40km away from Suncorp. Sunshine Coast residents are a whopping 104km away from the home of Queensland rugby league.
When the buzz surrounding the NRL’s shiny new expansion toy eventually dies down, how many fans will travel an hour, and potentially longer, to watch the Dolphins at Suncorp on a Thursday or Friday night?
They will have no issues packing out their beautiful boutique set-up at Dolphin Stadium but the majority of their games will be at Suncorp.
“That (a crowds crisis) was dispelled in our research,” ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys said. “To be honest, that was my concern and I posed that very question at our expansion meetings.
“We did our own internal analysis, looking at Ticketek sales (to sporting events at Suncorp), and the results showed people who live in Redcliffe do travel to Suncorp.
“That gives us great comfort.”
LIFE AFTER WAYNE
Wayne Bennett is the perfect coaching launch pad for the Dolphins, but at 71, the master mentor is nearing retirement.
The Dolphins must formulate a robust succession plan because identifying the man to succeed Bennett is as critical as signing the super coach in the first place.
Bennett will most likely coach for the first two seasons before stepping aside at age 75 in 2025. By that time, the hoopla over the Dolphins will have dissipated and the NRL grind will intensify. Bennett will select his assistant for 2023 and the choice must be bang-on because his successor is being groomed to bat after Bradman.
PLAYER POWER
As Bennett says, the beauty of a new club is starting with a blank canvas.
That means signing 30 players, getting the right balance in a full-time roster and doing so all while juggling a $10 million salary-cap that can easily be blown apart with reckless spending.
The NRL’s army of shrewd player agents will attempt to leverage a new 17th club to drive up their clients’ salaries.
The Dolphins must hold their nerve and construct their roster with a mix of marquee talents, seasoned NRL performers and cheaper, moneyball-style investments.
Ideally, their first recruit will be a big-name Queenslander that has synergies with the Sunshine State. Melbourne’s Maroons star Cameron Munster is Bennett’s No.1 target.
STATE POLITICS
The Dolphins must overcome decades of resentment in the second-tier to engender widespread support for their NRL team.
Call it Tall Poppy Syndrome, but Redcliffe are on the nose with rival clubs in Queensland’s premier league competition, the Intrust Super Cup. They are viewed as the cashed-up bully boys who have used their chequebook to fund 10 premierships and 22 grand-final appearances in the past 56 years.
There is no way thousands of fans from Wynnum Manly, Norths Devils, Brisbane Tigers, Souths Logan and Ipswich Jets will want the silvertail Dolphins to succeed in the NRL.
Then again, the detractors could be a powerful motivating force for the Dolphins as they look to attract a new generation of fans in the top flight.
BRONCO FEVER
The Dolphins cannot afford to obsess over comparisons with their soon-to-be derby rivals the Broncos.
The worst thing the Dolphins can do is attempt to hunt down the Broncos in commercial, marketing, supporter base and on-field performance streams in their quest to become an NRL force.
They must have a point of difference to the Broncos and chart their own course.
Historically, expansion clubs take time to fire.
In 1995, new teams North Queensland, South Queensland, Auckland and Western Reds were also rans. The Broncos and Titans both missed the finals in their first two seasons.
The Dolphins will be buoyed by the trailblazing success of the Storm, who made the finals in their debut season in 1998 before winning the premiership the following year.
CASH IS KING
The Dolphins will be one of the NRL’s richest clubs from day one.
Financial documents show the Redcliffe empire has $70 million in gross assets and the Dolphins have more than $20m in cash reserves.
The Dolphins have the infrastructure and resources to ensure they can compete with the NRL’s financial kingpins the Roosters, Melbourne, Souths, the Broncos and Penrith.
With Bennett having the football IQ to build a cultural bedrock for the Dolphins, the club has the millions to fund his vision and ensure Brisbane’s second team will be a formidable organisation for the long haul.
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Originally published as NRL news: Moreton Bay mayor steps up push for region to be included in Dolphins name
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