GATESHEAD have gained a place in Super League for 1999 and it is a positive move.

The current Super League clubs weighed up the financial implications and then made their decision.

Gateshead, geographically, is not the easiest place to get to though, specially for southern teams. And I also thought it was mainly a soccer area so I expected Cardiff to have been first choice with it having a staunch rugby background.

But they have the financial stability because auditors Deloitte Touche did the assessment. This was probably the most important criteria because we must not have clubs folding after 12 months or less.

We need to make sure they develop the game at grass roots level up there and don't keep having the same situation as London - that is unlimited numbers of Aussies in their squad. That would not help the game at all because the Australians come over for two or three years, take the money out of the game and then go back home.

Shane Richardson looks like being the figure head at Gateshead. He is from Brisbane and has done well in the game.

Shane was at Easts in Brisbane and then moved over to Cronulla, where he did a good job over a number of years. He has a good knowledge of the game and is a good administrator.

I am sure Shane will play a part in the team development up there. He did that at Cronulla with coach John Lang. I am pretty confident they will go for an Australian coach as Gateshead are going to have to bring in an influx of Australian players to get them started so an Australian coach will probably be appropriate.

I am told it will be Shaun McRae. I haven't heard any other names being linked with them but there are coaches in Australia that will be without jobs if they do amalgamate a few of the clubs. People like Brian Johnson could be available.

Kerrod Walters is being talked about as their captain. He's a good player, very competitive and has international experience. He is a very clever player and the sort who would make a good leader for them.

I hear Gateshead are looking for a nickname, fitting in with the rest of Super League. How about the Gladiators?

I am pleased that only one club has been successful with its franchise bid at this stage. By bringing in two or three teams it would have meant the game was trying to grow too quickly. The playing strength would not have been there.

We have to learn from the mistakes made in Australia. They tried to bring in four new clubs in one year. What evolved from that was the Super League and the two year battle that decimated the game down under.

It put wages way above what was and still is reality. There's no money there. That was all borne out of expanding the game too quickly.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.