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One of the competing offers for the 17th license of the NRL, the Redcliffe Dolphins, officially registered a trademark on the title “Brisbane Dolphins” on February 4, may reveal Wide World of Sports.
Dropping their suburban name of Redcliffe to the title “Brisbane Dolphins” will undoubtedly broaden their appeal beyond the Moreton Bay area, which is home to around 470,000 residents.
But according to club president Bob Jones, the trademark application does not guarantee that it will be the team’s name when submitting their candidacy to the NRL.
“We only recorded it to keep it up our sleeve,” Jones said.
“We’re actually going to go out into the community and get feedback from the fans. It’s not concrete and one of the few tossed around, but more than likely the Redcliffe name will be dropped.”
So what are the touted options within the bid team?
“It has to be representative of the area,” Jones said.
“Some names we are looking for are the Sunshine State Dolphins and the River City Dolphins.. The app for the Brisbane Dolphins title was to ensure it was available if we chose it. “
The name “Dolphins” has a long history in the Rugby League. In January 1996, Super League attempted to file the Cronulla Dolphins name.‘ before withdrawing the request a year later.
The Gold Coast Titans also attempted to use the Dolphins’ name before eventually switching to the Titans, after a legal challenge to NFL properties protecting their Miami Dolphins brand in April 2005.
Surprisingly, the NRL has yet to officially launch competing offers with the specific criteria that will be used to determine who the 17th license is granted to.
If it’s revenue-centric, the Dolphins’ candidacy will clearly be the frontrunner, as their roughly $ 50 million annual turnover dwarfs competing franchises.
Disclaimer: Ramy Haidar, formerly known as The NRL Economist, is currently employed by the NRL club, the Manly Sea Eagles. You can follow him on Twitter @ramy_haidar
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