Is it time to scrap the World Club Challenge?
Roar Guru By MG Burbank, 13 Jan 2013 MG Burbank is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- English super league, NRL, Rugby League, World Club Challenge
The excitement is palpable as we near the World Club Challenge. Or not.
I’m having second thoughts about the whole idea. Or let’s make that eighth thoughts.
And I’m not even talking about the daft idea to expand the thing. I’ve been in therapy on a weekly basis for 16 years, trying to expel Super League’s 1997 World Club Championship from my mind.
Nothing is working. For the record: Round two of the ‘competition’ featured the Hunter Mariners beating Paris 32-4 at Topper Stadium in front of an holographic crowd of 2,000.
But even the original, stand-alone game, which kicked off in 1987, seems a little worn at the seams.
Kevin Sinfield, responding to Australian scorn over his Golden Boot award for the world’s best international player, said that Aussies ”probably think they have the better competition”.
Um… not probably, Kev. The NRL is streets ahead of the English Super League- but how can we maintain that when most of the time our premiers head over to England in February and get rolled?
Let’s stop deluding ourselves. Australian premiership coaches have been treating this game as a slightly-important trial match for years.
Yes, most of the elite players play, but the NRL season hasn’t kicked off yet, players are not fully prepared and they’re also spending 413 hours on a plane.
Meanwhile, the English players are further into their playing year and an established routine and are all hopped up on a fully developed inferiority complex and a truckload of kippers (even with all that, Manly were dead-average in last year’s game and were still in it with 10 minutes to play).
This game has meaning for the English players, not to mention their club’s supporters. Which might be a good reason to keep it going.
I just can’t help the feeling that we either need to make it a more meaningful contest or just scrap it altogether and go back to the real English tour our elite players used to take and the fans love.
That of the Kangaroo variety.
- Explore:
- English super league, NRL, Rugby League, World Club Challenge
January 13th 2013 @ 4:45am
Johnno said | January 13th 2013 @ 4:45am | Report comment
It stuffs up, pre-season training up for the aussy teams, having to fly over to England, and pay such an intense game, with a grand final like energy. I don’t like the all stars game either, I say shift the all stars match too the test footy weekend, and scrap city vs country, or have an all stars vs NZ maori match or vs the pacific islanders all stars or Exciles VS All stars match.
January 13th 2013 @ 5:15am
MG Burbank said | January 13th 2013 @ 5:15am | Report comment
These would all be fine, Johnno, but at least the Indigenous match is a positive affirmation for the indigenous community and is also clearly just an exhibition. I think it’s a fun way to kick off the season and provides exposure for some players who might otherwise not receive it.
I actually like the idea of a Maoris v Islanders/Oceania game. It could run on the same weekend and would help to grow the game further in those regions.
January 13th 2013 @ 7:44am
Brad said | January 13th 2013 @ 7:44am | Report comment
The concept should be expanded not scrapped.Look at the champions league in soccer…. For the game of rugby league to grow you need to grow international comps like this.
January 13th 2013 @ 10:06am
MG Burbank said | January 13th 2013 @ 10:06am | Report comment
You simply cannot compare soccer with league. The Champions League is a worldwide event, watched across the globe and involving the best teams from the many elite leagues across Europe. Rugby League has TWO elite-level competitions, and one is an inferior product. Simply playing the game won’t advance league anywhere- we have to do something with it to attract attention.
But not EXPAND! Do you really want to see the teams below Leeds playing the Storm, Bulldogs and Souths in meaningful matches? won’t happen- they tried it in 1997 and the final was between Hunter and the Broncos. The English clubs were destroyed.
January 14th 2013 @ 10:05am
Renegade said | January 14th 2013 @ 10:05am | Report comment
MG,
The 1997 version included all clubs…..they could expand it to a top 4 scenario.
I’m happy with the way it is, the premiers of each club playing…..we really do sound like whinging poms ourselves when we say stupid things like “we only lose cause we don’t care”….that has to be the worst excuse anyone could ever come with.
The fact the NRL clubs travel across the globe and have to adopt to a new climate is more of a reason for their struggles rather than “it’s a trial match”.
January 13th 2013 @ 8:13am
eagleJack said | January 13th 2013 @ 8:13am | Report comment
MG I don’t think it should be scrapped but it certainly needs to be tinkered with.
Firstly play it at the end if the year the 2 clubs involved actually win their respective comps. Currently the NRL teams have only played a couple of trial games while the ESL are 3 games into their season proper. The high intensity of a game like this so early in the season is a recipe for injuries to key personnel. Not to mention with salary cap restraints and player movement the teams involved are different to the premiership sides from the previous year.
Also alternate it between nations or have it played in a neutral country, equidistant from Aus and Eng, to showcase the event. Cam Smith commented a couple of years ago that the full effects of the travel still linger in Round 5 of the NRL comp. This has to have a long term effect on an NRL teams fitness levels at the back end of the year. And certainly could be a reason why no side has gone back-to-back since 1993.
The concept of the WCC is fine and is good for the game. The application of it screams of the administrators not really caring.
January 13th 2013 @ 8:28am
Big Time said | January 13th 2013 @ 8:28am | Report comment
The game is purely there to increase exposure in UK. Everything favours the UK team. Rugby League in Australia is well established whilst in UK it is a continuous struggle. They win this game and it makes headlines, Poms love beating Aussies.
Dragons took it seriously in 2011 and won, but they then struggled at the end of the season.
They will not play at end of season, as Super League teams would NEVER win!
January 13th 2013 @ 8:32am
Droppa said | January 13th 2013 @ 8:32am | Report comment
We need it to get a win for the poms…
January 13th 2013 @ 9:30am
Greg Cross said | January 13th 2013 @ 9:30am | Report comment
There have been some great Club Challenge games before the debacle by Superleague,typical of Superleague.We need to promote Rugby League in England and this match does that.This is a small price to pay for the overall good of the game.I actually enjoy watching the game.They have a great atmosphere.
January 13th 2013 @ 10:06am
Edward Kelly said | January 13th 2013 @ 10:06am | Report comment
The World Cup Challenge and the Charity Cup are fantastic as they mean there is an end to the cricket and tennis and the real competition is just days away . It would be a far better intro to the season if they were shown on FTV in HD and ad free, so most fans miss a good warm up, but then I have paytv so I don’t care. Also this is a far better way to start the session than what that other code does with its meaningless pre-session competition.
January 13th 2013 @ 10:08am
MG Burbank said | January 13th 2013 @ 10:08am | Report comment
The Charity Shield is a completely different animal- a game that both sides care about and which gives equal preparation and opportunity to both teams. If we can manage that in the WCC, I’ll be the first to support it.
January 14th 2013 @ 10:08am
Renegade said | January 14th 2013 @ 10:08am | Report comment
You can’t be serious….anyone that says the charity shield has more meaning than the WCC is just plain ignorant.
January 14th 2013 @ 1:53pm
kid said | January 14th 2013 @ 1:53pm | Report comment
How much meaning does the WCC have for aussie fans? I can name every player in my clubside, both SOO sides and australian side, every captain and coach of every nrl team, know the names of each ground, can name the premiers in order from 1983 but have never even watched a WCC game and really don’t care who is even playing. Oh but I think the rabbits can get the choccy in the charity shield this year.
January 14th 2013 @ 3:24pm
Renegade said | January 14th 2013 @ 3:24pm | Report comment
Yeah and what’s your point….i can do the same except i’ll also name the WCC winners and losers.
It’s a terrific contest that brings an international feel to a club match, i suggest you get up and watch this years game.
January 14th 2013 @ 5:54pm
Dayer said | January 14th 2013 @ 5:54pm | Report comment
well said Renegade.
January 13th 2013 @ 10:19am
Ronald M said | January 13th 2013 @ 10:19am | Report comment
Tell you what, get rid of this stupid all stars game with its pathetic big brother style voting system instead. The WCC is a fantastic concept and the fact that we have never taken to it, promoted it or supported it is more shame on us. The concept needs to be reworked after all this time but certainly not got rid of. Yes our competition is better because we have significantly better media coverage and income. The Poms have their game and they enjoy it and some of the better clubs there could compete at NRL level. Sinfield is a good player and has been a great ambassador for the game. What is the matter with us, can we not give the Poms a little respect ?
January 14th 2013 @ 2:32pm
oikee said | January 14th 2013 @ 2:32pm | Report comment
I cant see them ever getting rid of the all-stars game. It is about the only concept in the world that works well.
Both teams are close to equal, they raise close to 2 million this year to go back into the indigenous communities. The indigenous community has a pride in this game, and Aurther Beetson now has his name on the trophy.
You go tell the indigenous community and players we are scrapping the contest.
I love it, i think it is one of the best things the game has ever done. Off the back of this game we also picked up a award in London for our work in local and indigenous communities.
The world club challenge is not hurting anyone, or costing us money, so why worry about it, we dont promote the game at all, so you cant expect it to be a huge event. One day it copuld be, if they want it to be, and at least if we keep playing the game, it can grow some history, like origin has over the last 30 odd years.
We dont take the pacific islands seriously either, yet i see that the commission wants to grow there involvement in the game, long overdue.
I normally watch the game and enjoy watching, not that we win many. I love the atmosphere and the conditions sometimes.
Plus the poms get a chance to see our best players as well and they gather some attention which is what they want.
I am sure Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cam Smith will get some airtime in England.
January 13th 2013 @ 10:22am
Graz said | January 13th 2013 @ 10:22am | Report comment
Scrapping the WCC won’t help promote the gane. I don’t know why you would want to do that if you care about rugby league.
The Rhinos have offered to play the last two WCCs in Australia but have been turned dowm. That is a shame because it would add another dimension to it.
January 13th 2013 @ 12:01pm
Go warriors said | January 13th 2013 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
I am a fan of the WCC but I think it could be altered a little bit. Why not play it at the end of the season a couple of weeks after the grand finals. That way both teams will be at their very best which should result in a cracking game.
I also think it should be played in neutral locations such as Las Vegas, Honolulu, Hong Kong etc that way we are promoting league to new developing nations. It is also a well deserved end of season holiday for each of the premiers killing many birds with one stone. Anyway that is my two cents worth.