Last week the NRL officially put the Gold Coast Titans licence on the market. Potential suitors included Rebecca Frizelle and Darryl Kelly in a partnership. And we saw strong rumblings from North Sydney keen to bring the foundation branding of the Bears back to the NRL.

A New Bidder Emerges

Coming in off the bench and punching holes in the defence is Nick Livermore. Son of former QRL boss, the late Ross Livermore.

Nick is the CEO of a Brisbane NRL expansion cohort the Brisbane Bombers.

Who Are The Brisbane Bombers?

The Brisbane Bombers based out of Albion in Brisbane launched in 2011. With key corporate values of community, integrity, sustainability and success, the Bombers have been biding their time waiting for the NRL to announce expansion.

Their board is made up of a strong league pedigree including football manager Scott Sattler.

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And brand ambassador Billy Moore.

The Brisbane Bombers were off to a rocky start in 2011 with the Essendon Bombers threatening legal action over the mascot. To date there has been no update on that action. Plans were further stalled in 2016 when the NRL announced no immediate plans for expansion and the Bombers should consider a second tier competition. The Bombers responded in an article stating:

“After six years of preparing to tender for a license for a much-needed second team in Brisbane, Bid CEO Nicholas Livermore announced that they will most definitely not be pursuing a licence for the second-tier competition.”

Their Bid For The Titans

There are a few things that the Bombers could bring to the Titans that the other parties can not. Money and Plenty of it. Frizelle and the Bears were set to enter a bidding war to the tune of 7 million dollars. Livermore has been quoted in the courier mail stating:

“We estimated we needed a capital base of around $15-20 million to start up an NRL club in Brisbane so if we got the Titans licence, finances wouldn’t be a problem.”

The Bombers Make a Strong Case

The other edge that Livermore has over the Bears is that he doesn’t plan to re-brand the side. The team would not become the Gold Coast Bombers. They would stay the Titans and the Bombers would remain an expansion consortium as Livermore and his executive team firmly believe that Brisbane can support two NRL teams and a Gold Coast team.

Finally they have a plan. You can be cashed up more than Oprah but without a plan for succession that cash can quickly run dry. The Bombers have been in operation for 6 years and already have a strong corporate backing. Among their many corporate partners are Channel 9, Triple M Brisbane and Virgin Airlines.

They also have a plan for the future including a grassroots blueprint and membership and broadcast plans.

All backed in consultation and review by PriceWaterhouseCoopers the Bombers are going to give the NRL something very serious to consider.

by Darrin Seath – contributor