Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk believe Perth is ripe for NRL expansion.The NRL has been cultivating Western Australia for a number of seasons, drip feeding games to rugby league fans far away from its heartland in NSW and Queensland.But ahead of the first ever rugby league Test in Perth on Saturday between Australia and New Zealand, Kangaroos stars Thurston and Cronk want to see the NRL move on expansion.Cronk has helped to spearhead the Melbourne Storms emergence as a rugby league bulkhead in AFL-mad Victoria and said the clubs success can be reproduced in Western Australia.For us to be a truly national game you need to broaden the horizons and be spread across the country, Cronk said.We need to get more spectators, we need to get more kids playing the game, we need to get more females watching it and the way you do that is you take it to new markets and Perth is at the forefront of that.Melbourne had an influx of internationals and Origin games and rugby leagues popularity has increased dramatically in my time there.I am sure it can be the same blueprint for Perth.Thurston is also keen to see the NRL move to open up new markets.Personally I would love to see a team playing out of Perth, he said.The NRL has brought club games to Perth over the last few years and you can see by the crowds at the ground they certainly love their rugby league over here.It is a good time for rugby league here with the Test match and Origin coming.Hopefully we will see a team here soon.The NRL has remained conservative on its expansion policies since the Super League war ended in 1998. The Western Reds, later named the Perth Reds, played in the top flight from 1992 to 1997 and were a casualty of the time.The new Perth Stadium will host an Origin game in 2019, indicating the games governing body continues to see the west as a genuine market.The West Coast Pirates were formed in 2012 with the intention of joining the NRL but are currently in limbo.Cronk said he understood that the NRL had to take a measured approach to expanding the competition beyond 16 teams.From a purist rugby league point of view I think there should be a team here in Perth but as to how and when that happens is beyond me, he said.I dont have the metrics and the numbers as to whether it is feasible or not at the moment.But as players we have a greater responsibility than just playing the game, we have to help expand the game. 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WACO, Texas -- After posting three straight comebacks to win the Battle 4 Atlantis championship last week in the Bahamas, No. 9 Baylor came home hoping to avoid an emotional letdown.Thanks to a smothering defense, the Bears had nothing to worry about Wednesday night.Reserve King McClure scored 14 points and Baylor remained unbeaten with a 79-45 victory over Sam Houston State.This is one of those games everybody thought would be a trap game, Baylor coach Scott Drew said. Coaches get worried about every game, but I was really concerned from the standpoint that several teams that came back off the islands yesterday Michigan State lost, St. Johns lost, VCU was down 16-0 to Princeton, so youre always worried about that hangover.Baylor shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 13 for 31 from 3-point range. On the other end, Sam Houston State missed its first 13 shots while Baylor opened the game on a 10-0 run. The Bears (7-0) limited the Bearkats to 28.6 percent shooting, blocked 11 shots and altered countless others.McClure struggled early in the season with his shot, but that changed with a 15-point second half against Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.After the Louisville game I feel like I gained my confidence back, McClure said. Once I saw the ball go through the basket one time, I just continued to see it. I just put my head down and continued to grind it out.Al Freeman had 13 points for the Bears, and Ishmail Wainright added 12. Their big front line players, Jo Lual-Acuil and Johnathan Motley, dominated the boards with 14 rebounds apiece.I could sit up here and talk about our team tonight, but that wouldnt be fair to Baylor, Sam Houston State coach Jason Hooten said. I think Coach (Drew) has a really good team. It seems it could be one of the best teams hes ever had because he has a bunch of good kids that like playing together. They share the ball and they seem to play harder defensively than tthey ever have in the past.ddddddddddddSam Houston State (4-3) came in averaging 81.7 points per game, but never got into a rhythm. Aurimas Majauskas led the Bearkats with 13 points.Im totally disappointed in our team, Hooten said. Were way better than that. Were picked to win our league, and I know weve played a brutal schedule but we just werent very good tonight.BIG PICTURESam Houston State: There werent many positives to take from this game. The Bearkats were selected as the Southland Conference favorite in the preseason, thanks to an experienced roster. But they were overwhelmed by Baylors size on the inside and shooting on the perimeter.Baylor: This had every opportunity to be a sandwich game for the Bears. They defeated two ranked teams in No. 24 Michigan State and No. 10 Louisville to win the Battle 4 Atlantis last week and will host No. 7 Xavier on Saturday. They avoided that trap with a defense that contested nearly every shot without fouling. Sam Houston State had one free throw attempt.UP NEXTSam Houston State returns home for four of its next five games, starting with LSU-Shreveport on Saturday. The Bearkats have one more road test against a Power Five team before opening conference play. That comes Dec. 22 against Arkansas.Baylor has knocked off three ranked teams and gets another shot Saturday, when it welcomes No. 7 Xavier. That figures to be the last difficult hurdle between the Bears and an undefeated nonconference run.POLL IMPLICATIONSBaylor has had a meteoric rise from not receiving a vote in the preseason to No. 9 this week. With losses from teams in front of the Bears already, combined with hosting No. 7 Xavier on Saturday, they have a chance to move even higher in the Top Ten.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '