Identity.

Because for the Illawarra, accepting the great southern plan will also mean officially becoming a suburb of Sydney, at least in a sporting sense.

Is the community content with this?

Are political and civic leaders comfortable at this major shift in mapping out the region’s future?

Because there is no shortage of political groundwork going on in the A-League, as most notably seen in independent MP Andrew Wilkie’s talks with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a Tasmanian bid last year. 

This isn’t a shot at the Southern Expansion push or trying to argue against what it has to offer.

These are genuine questions.

This will be the thorn in the Southern Expansion’s side until a ball is kicked in anger at WIN Stadium.

Longer, if NRL counterparts St George Illawarra are any guide, given the debacle over not calling their feeder club the Steelers, almost two decades after the joint venture began. 

With a Chinese property group investing a $12 million guarantee and a commitment to building a new training base in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Expansion have declared they’re “ready to go now”.

In a letter to the Mercury on Friday, expansion bid chairman, the iconic football identity Les Murray backed up their push.

“It is this approach, we believe, that has the best chance of finally delivering professional, A-League and W-League football to the Illawarra,” Murray said of their blueprint.

“As someone who grew up in the Illawarra, doing all my high-schooling at Berkeley High, watching Corrimal and South Coast United play at Australia’s top football tier, I am personally committed to bringing those days back to the coast.”

There is little doubting Murray’s standing in the game and the respect he commands.

But there is certainly a sales job ahead to prove Southern Expansion is the best path for the Illawarra and it needs to be more than a scare campaign about having half a team or nothing at all.

This has to be something football fans in the region are truly prepared to buy into.

Otherwise, many of the potential supporter base could continue to support the Wanderers or Sydney FC if they’re going to regularly drive to the city to watch games anyway.

There is still much to be played out. 

Sydney FC will continue to heap pressure on Football Federation Australia about their supporter base being hemmed in geographically.

There is a great amount of unrest in the National Premier Leagues about delays in expansion plans.

The Wolves will launch their bid with a formal release of A-League expansion criteria, as much as Southern Expansion have dismissed their threat outright.

WIN Television boss Bruce Gordon remains an X-factor in all of this, with links to both camps.

His interest in Network Ten adds a different dynamic to the situation, given they are likely to pick up the free-to-air rights in the new television deal.

Interestingly, some, including ex-Mariners, Glory, Wanderers and Dapto Dandaloo defender Dean Heffernan reckons there’s enough room for both.

If there were four more teams introduced in the medium-term, could the A-League and football in NSW sustain having six clubs.

It seems unlikely, given the other bids involved.

We finally know what the great southern plan looks like. Fishing where the fish are, as David Gallop famously said.

It’s big, it’s professional and it could be irresistible for the FFA.

The lingering question remains about whether it’s the best for the Illawarra’s future?