Russel and The Rabbits

[Frogz]

Love them or hate them they are really showing the way fro a club that has won nothing.

Id imagine Manly would eb happy with half of what they have.

Read the article

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/treading-the-redcarpet-to-redfern/story-e6frexni-1225973014914

 

[eggson]

Manly ARE happy with half what Souths have - a couple of premierships, no wooden spoons.

 

[WAMF]

Frogz, we are so far behind them off the field it's not funny.
What bothers me the most is that there appears to be little that's changing at Sea Eagles head office.
People suggest that the bunnies should be culled, along with the Sharks to make room for the games expansion in WA and QLD.
With the membership numbers and MILLIONS OF SPONSORSHIP dollars they have, they are already guaranteed of their future in the NRL,  like no other Sydney club.

They can charge more for sponsorship because Crowe is out their at every opportunity flogging the brand.
Manly are happy to have a Kiwi promoting the team and memberships in NZ but that clearly is not working.
What the hell are we doing? We cannot claim any kind of 'boutique' qualities. Souths have already done that and are charging their sponsors accordingly. Meanwhile we can't find a major sponsor???

 

[Guest]

i want the rabbitts to stay, who else are we gonna laugh at

cashed up trying to constantly buy a premiership ,bogan try hard movie star owner ,cap rorting,cant make the semis every year,punchups between coaches and players,dodgy contract dealings  it passes the time for us all ....

reading all that are they really that far ahead of us off the field ??

 

[jbb/james]

Frogz, we are so far behind them off the field it's not funny.
What bothers me the most is that there appears to be little that's changing at Sea Eagles head office.
People suggest that the bunnies should be culled, along with the Sharks to make room for the games expansion in WA and QLD.
With the membership numbers and MILLIONS OF SPONSORSHIP dollars they have, they are already guaranteed of their future in the NRL,  like no other Sydney club.

They can charge more for sponsorship because Crowe is out their at every opportunity flogging the brand.
Manly are happy to have a Kiwi promoting the team and memberships in NZ but that clearly is not working.
What the hell are we doing? We cannot claim any kind of 'boutique' qualities. Souths have already done that and are charging their sponsors accordingly. Meanwhile we can't find a major sponsor???

As we know there are many clubs in Sydney basically flogging the same product. Souths can provide a point of difference that no other club has been able to produce. The chooks and dragons obviously can flog more TV time than most clubs which is suspect and reeks to high hell, but all the rest are just bascily making up numbers off the field atm

When manlys off field reputation was strong, they were winning games they had something

I hope quantum as owners are able to bring some fresh ideas and strategies to the table as it does appear from the outside we are just pushing the same barrow with less results

I'm not knocking anyones effort, I'm sure they are trying hard but its getting to that stage very very soon when all must be asking the same questions. SHOW ME THE MONEY

For the NRL to truly move forward at some stage down the track there has to be less clubs in Sydney. I doubt the independent commission will have sympathy for any club dragging the chain, and stopping the comp from moving forwards. In the short term the commission will guarantee more cash but in the long run it will also guarantee less Sydney clubs and news ltd will be able to sit back and not be blamed for getting what they have always wanted

I live in qld, love going to brookie and love the eagles, but i hope one day they relocate to guarantee a future, as the northern beaches and Sydney do not embrace the eagles strongly enough to move into the big league that a truly national comp will bring in the future

Maybe the NZ experiment is the first stages, who knows

Sorry not trying to piss off the locals but have a think

 

[Sundance]

No disrespect to the team in the office at Manly but I do believe they may need to clean house.  Loyalty is something that may need to be put aside for the future prosperity of the club. 

We still seem to have a lot of old heads over seeing the new staff and effectively tying thier hands.  There is no point in hiring new people who have excelled and been effective in thier field elsewhere but then not letting them do things the way they need to and smothering thier effectiveness.

We have survived the Delmege/Penn war and should be looking to push forward but seem to be still wallowing around in neutral. 

It is time to stand up and move forward and the current front office as a whole is not achieving this.

 

[ManlyBacker]

I live in qld, love going to brookie and love the eagles, but i hope one day they relocate to guarantee a future, as the northern beaches and Sydney do not embrace the eagles strongly enough to move into the big league that a truly national comp will bring in the future

Maybe the NZ experiment is the first stages, who knows

There is no doubt that the NRL competition will change shape over time. But I am at a bit of a loss to understand what we would be supporting if they relocated. Just the name 'Sea Eagles'? 

The main basis of support imo is the northern beaches tribalism, the history of battles and going to Brookie, the rivalry against teams that don't have a beach and 'priveleged' lifestyle, and a proud tradition of success. I am sure there are many others that make up the Sea Eagle culture that we follow.

Brookie is run down but that can be fixed with redevelopment. I can't see how sticking us in Wellington, or the Central Coast, or Perth, or somewhere else is going to guarantee a future.

Personally I believe our success does lie in the way Crowe has gone about promoting the Bunnies. We need to differentiate ourselves from the other team's brands by the strengths (of the basis of support) I have listed above. If that fails and the Sea Eagles fail as THE northern Sydney team then I will have little reason to keep supporting them.

How many people who were South Melbourne supporters still continue their association with the Sydney Swans when they can't regularly get to a game or get close to 'their' team. The reality is that South Melbourne is dead and the Swans are another team. That is my fear with relocation.

We need to forget all about the 'flying under the radar' rubbish and get club leaders who can push the Sea Eagles as hard as possible, in as many places as possible, as one of most successful and must-be-associated-with brands.

 

[jbb/james]

Manly backer. You make some very good points about relocation regarding the swans especially.The identity problem of any side moving is a difficult problem
I know brookie could be fixed but in reality why would the govt spend millions in upgrades when
1 there own council isnt really even on side with the idea
2 the ground easily fits the supporters that do go to the games

Sure they might fix a toilet and cut the grass but manly does not fill the ground often enough to justify turning into a grand theatre

The local residents around the oval hate it and there will come a time very soon when the rent will rise considerably to justify the maintenence. And while there is a very loyal supporter base of 8 or 10 k that go and i admire them for doing it are they enough to save brookie

No doubt teams will go , due to financial restraints in the future. I can see 3 or 4 teams gone from sydney in the next 20 years. Do manly have the legs to survive the cut. Jeez i hope so., i really do. I hope they geta new oval, zillions in corporate support and record crowd figures but how will this happen. I love coming to sydney to catch up with people , get to the northern beaches, have a beer at the club

The independent commission for some clubs will be the death. In time it will be  the strong clubs that rise, there is no responsabilty for them to prop up the weak. There job is to turn rugby league into a money making business and that will mean more clubs in profitable areas and less in the highly competitive overcrowded sydney market

At the end of the day i uderstand what you say about tribalism and supporting a team from the northern beaches but that is really only relavant to manly fans. When it comes down to the almighty coin those fans wont be important to the big picture

In conclusion atm manly hold the aces when it comes to relocating. In time that may change and rather than controlling it, the place and colours they may have to settle for what illawarra did.

 

[mickqld]

"I live in qld, love going to brookie and love the eagles, but i hope one day they relocate to guarantee a future, as the northern beaches and Sydney do not embrace the eagles strongly enough to move into the big league that a truly national comp will bring in the future"

Jbb/James that is rubbish. If the Sea eagles relocated away from their spiritual home of the Northern beaches of Sydney they will no longer be the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and all their history, pride, rivalries and hatred will mean nothing. It would be a sterile franchise with no history or emotion. I live in Qld too but would hate to see them move from Brookie they would no longer have any meaning to me. They will have lost their Manah, their spiriutal force that binds their existance. They stand alone where they are or they cease to exist in any other form.

 

[jbb/james]

Mick its easy to pick small snippetts out and have a rant and ignore all the rest. The overall content in the thread is that i believe in the future when teams in sydney are culled, manly may not have the clout to stand alone

IF thats the case and i have fears that they may be a club that will struggle. Nothing happening atm indicates they will have the finacial savy to be there

And while you would prefer them to fold than relocate or merge, I wouldnt. Thats just a difference of opinion . Prefering manly to fold is rubbish. Manly once merged and many got the ****s and voiced they will never follow the BEAGLES, but at the time it was there only option for survival. Now due to that we have a club to support and another GF. Some people give up, some dont.

To further the point here.This is about souths at the moment. Souths are the only other club that have a similar business model to manly. Private ownership, 2 owners

Souths while they have struggled on the field have just continued to grow as far as corporate, making money from other venues, marketing and membership. They have started to attract high profile players and are a half back a way from a really good side. Its going to happen. They are constantly getting stronger and really seem to have a big picture strategy

Since manly has had ownership the whole business  has revolved around survival. Membership had a small incline but has steadied and the 10000 dreams seems just that, 1 owner has left and sold to a company for what reason we are yet to see. We have no major sponsor. On the field we are travelling ok .They seem to be understaffed, under resourced and still very old school

They tried to develop football club land into a revenue stream- nothing
They made a TV series in NZ - so far nothing
They fought and bickered about the leagues club
They have jumped into bed with a super annuation company - who has taken there super over ???
The oval is falling apart. The council openly stated the deal manly had was unders, so i presume when that deal expires they will be asking for a hefty increase
Recently there was a post on here regarding how many thousands of fans manly needed to break even on game day. When the rent goes up so will that number

Grant mayer was asked to table a 5 year plan. From memory he was cut short and that never eventuated. Has anyone completed one since ??. It would be a travesty of major proportions if the answer to that question is NO

Look it would be great if manly stand alone.If that tribalism remains, if the community got behind them, if crowds and membership increased, but just saying it and flying a flag doesnt make it happen

I can honestly see the salary cap either scrapped or raised considerably in the short future

 

[lismore_fan]

Russell & his Bunnies

Souffs are always winners....IN THE OFF-SEASON!
Last year they got the big headlines... Big Buys... Big Sam from Pommie Land.

Where did that get them? Still didn't make the EIGHT!

Don't look at Souffs as the Club/ team to watch.
They're good as a mouthpiece.... but that's where it ends.

 

[Ryan]

Great thread guys.

jbb / james: RE: Brookie Oval. I don't think it is as much about The Sea Eagles increasing its average crowd size per say, but more to do with marketing the old girl for other attractions, apart from just Rugby League. This doesn't and shouldn't be a Sea Eagles management task, it should fall in the hands of our very RE-ACTIVE council, who tend to do naught, but sit on their hands, and bicker over scraps that other pro-active groups have fought to attain (6 mill in Labor provided funding for example).

As much as people like Kristina Kirsch believe they are providing by way of support to out local demographic, their actions are in fact crippling it. Imagine Kristina got off her butt, and actually rallied for NEW and FRESH funding for infrastructure, investment etc, rather than fighting over what other people have worked hard to attain already?

Then, we could move forward. If the ground is sold to the public as a multi-purpose facility, additional funding may be forthcoming. The problem for us, is that it is being sold to the government as a Rugby League ground solely, and the government may not be able to justify throwing so much money into one area. If it were a soccer association, Rugby League Group, Rugby Union group, The Council, The local Community Group etc etc all going as a united entity for the request, who knows....

RE: Clubs Management. We have just signed Centrebet. I'm very pleased with that. We have found ourselves in the major Sydney rags of late with feel good stories. I am happy with that. I believe the club is investing in a process of building from within, so I am very happy about our roster going forward. If Lowey could land that major sponsor, things would be sweet. Something long term would be fantastic.

If these two key elements were addressed, we'll be sweet.

 

[Andrew..]

With the strong push from the cc bears for inclusion in 2013 I was wondering if we could do a little more (in time) to embrace  some of north's old stamping ground, it makes me nauseous to say it but something along the lines of the North shore Sea Eagles.
It's all about supporters and corporate dollars and North Sydney has been an open market for over a decade now...I'm sick of seeing the CC Bears bid claim all the terriotory from the spit bridge to Lake Munmorah...surely we have more growth potential.

 

[Rusty]

With the strong push from the cc bears for inclusion in 2013 I was wondering if we could do a little more (in time) to embrace  some of north's old stamping ground, it makes me nauseous to say it but something along the lines of the North shore Sea Eagles.
It's all about supporters and corporate dollars and North Sydney has been an open market for over a decade now...I'm sick of seeing the CC Bears bid claim all the terriotory from the spit bridge to Lake Munmorah...surely we have more growth potential.

How about we call ourselves something simple, perhaps something like the North Sydney Eagles... no that doesn't sound right, North Shore Eagles... no, Northern Eagles, there we go.



Rather not thank you.

 

[The Eagle]

Move another club
Our club has had enough hell without a halfbaked relocation idea

Northern eagles and the super league war tore our club to peices
and literraly raped its spirit,its finally got its spirit back and you
want to rip it apart again?

No sir

 

[Andrew..]

[quote author=manlyborn link=topic=186151.msg309899#msg309899 date=1292716039]
With the strong push from the cc bears for inclusion in 2013 I was wondering if we could do a little more (in time) to embrace  some of north's old stamping ground, it makes me nauseous to say it but something along the lines of the North shore Sea Eagles.
It's all about supporters and corporate dollars and North Sydney has been an open market for over a decade now...I'm sick of seeing the CC Bears bid claim all the terriotory from the spit bridge to Lake Munmorah...surely we have more growth potential.

How about we call ourselves something simple, perhaps something like the North Sydney Eagles... no that doesn't sound right, North Shore Eagles... no, Northern Eagles, there we go.



Rather not thank you.
[/quote]
I totally agree with your sentiments (regarding names) I just hope that in time we can encroach a little further into North Sydney's catchment.

 

[Phantar]

JBB - didn't you read the outcomes of the recent studies Council sponsored? The vast bulk of locals who responded wanted the Club to stay at Stadium Brookvalia. On the ground itself, Council has agreed to selling naming rights. The money from that will be used for the grounds upkeep, on top of what the Club pays. Additionally the land fronting Pittwater Road, behind the Arko/Fulto/Menzo Stands will be developed as mixed use space (offices/showrooms et al). Rental money from that will also go towards the ground's upkeep. The Club will still have to actively seek further funding for major upgrades, but it is a positive step in the right direction.

The Council is keen too on the idea of extending the Jane Try Stand down to the sidelines and a corner stand adjoining the Jane Try, similar to the Arthurson Stand.

We know you live in Qld fella, 1 hour and approximately 50 years behind the rest of the eastern seaboard, but try and keep up with the play!

On the score of Crowe's efforts, great work by the big fella, but none of it has yet translated into any meaningful on-field success. Souths, just as they were when Crowe and Holmes aC took over some years back - are still without a premiership win since 1971. Manly, three years or so after the new management structure was introduced, were in a GF and the following year won 40-0. Which team do you think has been more successful? The understated mob from north of the Bridge or the noisy galahs from south of the Bridge?

 

[jbb/james]

Phantar, as far as i see , apart from a few more corporate boxes in the the year 2030, none of that extra revenue will be manlys,and to be honest teams will probably be cut in the next 10 years.( my opinion)

While we may not have daylight saving in brisbane or all your fancy word speak, we can at least present an opinion without the need to be nasty. That im afraid is not state specific but a choice of individuals. Enjoy your choice mate

 

[The Who]

When you are privately owned you run the risk of a team being relocated so that the owner can make more revenue. There are many examples of this in the US and Canada. Crowe obviously loves Souths and they are safe at South Sydney, although the Hollywood Bunnies has a ring to it . .

My point is that keeping a club in the hands of the people, and not selling out to an individual, is a priority in protecting that club's identity and base.

 

[The Eagle]

As annoyed as i am with Penn,Barry i dont see him moving us to increase revenue,for him i think its a labour of love and i see it as
the biggest shame in the history of our club that Penn and Max could
not put their pride aside and work together to widen our horizon as
a franchise,they both commited the cardinal sin of putting their pride
over the good of our club as a whole,that said i think we're going to
be on the northern beaches of sydney for a LONG time,Penn is loyal
to our club and to the region