NRL players are far too valuable to actually travel internationally for internationals – but we’ll send them out onto suburban parks in February in front of no-one.
If any sport can get its priorities consistently arse-about, over the course of more than a century, it’s rugby league.
On one hand, the clubs are telling us they have, and will exercise, veto rights over internationals played during a supposed international window.
That’s why they are baulking at releasing New Zealand and England players for a sanctioned Test in Denver on June 23.
The clubs want to know how many people are going to show up, whether it will be on TV, how much national exposure will it get – and don’t want the players to go anyway even though there are no NRL matches that weekend.
Yet where is their concern for leveraging their own pre-season to help rugby league get maximum benefit from these precious thoroughbreds crossing the sideline?
Penrith v Sydney Roosters at Panthers Stadium. Oh they are crying out for rugby league in Penrith, aren’t they? Probably need the rules explained to them. Penrith today, tomorrow Castle Hill.
Cronulla v Manly at Southern Cross Stadium. I believe players will be doing a full week of promo in the Sutherland Shire to spread the league gospel before this one. Daly Cherry-Evans is even going to co-host the Good Morning Miranda show on Channel 78, watched by millions.
Penrith v Canterbury at Belmore Sports Ground. The people of Sydney really don’t get enough rugby league, they show up in their tens of thousands at the mere mention of the word “Steeden”.
Cronulla v Wests Tigers at Campbelltown. Well, Campbelltown is one of the world’s great cultural and political capitals – which is why we are sending our number one international property, the Tonga Mate Ma’a, there in June.
(NRLPhotos/Dave Acree)
You play at Campbelltown and there are bound to be movie stars, captains of industry, presidents and prime ministers in the crowd. It’s absolutely essential for the survival and spread of rugby league for this game to take place.
Denver? Why the hell would we go there? Surely the England-New Zealand game should be in LA or New York or Jacksonville.
None of them are as big time as Campbelltown, of course, but…
Yes, every time one of our players takes the field it must count for something… unless we organised the game and the coach insists on it in which case it can count for nothing.
I will add many trials not listed sarcastically above do serve a greater purpose than giving the coach a look at the third-string hooker. If the clubs applied the same standards to themselves as they are attempting to project on Moore Sports regarding Denver, then they would all serve a greater purpose.
These clubs think they know better than the people hosting the 2025 World Cup when it comes to the American market and yet they flood their own already-drowning backyards with pre-season games, with no regard to trying to create just a little bit of scarcity.
You can’t sell your product to Sydney 11 times a year so let’s try to sell it 12 times! Or, better yet, let’s not try to sell it at all – just open up the gates and get it over with.
It’s obscene to think that Jared Waerea Hargreaves and James Graham and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and these guys are considered too good for Mile High Stadium but perfectly suited to Belmore and Penrith in February. It’s ridiculous to think that a trial at Southern Cross Stadium ticks some box, somewhere, that a full international in Colorado does not.
But there you go. That’s rugby league.
TheEroticGamer
Roar Rookie
Wouldn't let me reply to this comment directly before for some reason. Here it is. That’s one of the stupidest comments ever made on this website. Clearly, being a ‘Roar Guru’ doesn’t require a minimum level of intelligence. Anyone is welcome I suppose.
Hez
Roar Rookie
Pretty interested in the NFL athletes not quite at NFL level to have a look in. Saying that the Ozzie $$ would be a major turn off.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Sorry, the 'it didn't work back then' was a reply to Big Daddy's comment. I get the cramming issues. I get the recovery issues. I get that clubs have concerns. But at the moment this is what we've got. By all accounts, a promoter is willing to pay. For heaven's sake it's a chance to do something. My view is that a line has to be drawn. Each time the clubs get to 'veto', the integrity of Test football is diminished. You're comments are one of the very few that at least tries to find a way through. Consider me jaded. I never realised villages were made out of concrete. My head hurts from butting against their walls.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Sleiman - is this game part of a ‘coherent strategy’? Doesn’t seem to be. You’re cherry picking my comments but ignoring most. I’m not saying don’t do anything because it didn’t work in 87, I’m saying this is the wrong way to go about it. Wouldn’t it be better to find a way to work with clubs to find a suitable way forward than to force them into conflict at the first opportunity? The international window is a great thing. Trying to milk it by jamming a game in on the other side of the planet is crazy. Please let me ask you one thing...if you were charged with growing the international game in this climate with these restrictions...is this fixture the way you’d choose to go about it?
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
It didn't work then because it was treated as a 'holiday junket'. It didn't work then because it wasn't part of any coherent strategy. 'It didn't work then...' is not an argument. It's an excuse.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
In what way was it stupid?
TheEroticGamer
Roar Rookie
@Renegade That's one of the stupidest comments ever made on this website. Clearly, being a 'Roar Guru' doesn't require a minimum level of intelligence. Anyone is welcome I suppose.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Watching the best the sport has to offer in a tournament for "2nd, 3rd and 4th" as you put it, is boring? Yet watching Penrith compete for 8th spot every year in a competition they have no chance of winning is exciting?? hmmm sounds awesome.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
It's part of the NRL charter to support the international game.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah, I remember that. These are different circumstances though. That was a do or die, last chance World Cup qualifier. There is nothing at stake in this game, it's effectively a friendly. There are several international windows in soccer per season and the system has been in place for a long time. This is the first go for rugby league. Soccer clubs sides have no choice, international league is still trying to win its clubs over. There are millions of dollars in it for the Socceroos to make the World Cup to justify the expense. Maybe they could spend millions and do it successfully, but what's the point when there are other times in the calendar that can work far easier without the cost of chartered flights, recovery glasses, etc? When rugby league is remotely as big as soccer and generates the revenue and haseffectively a year round calendar then this may be viable but it's nothing more than a lovely thought for rugby league at the moment. I'm not even suggesting players are definitely going to get injured...but why take the risk?
John
Guest
Socceroos did this when they flew to Honduras and back to qualify for the world cup. https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/australia-charter-flight-socceroos-professionalism-to-beat-honduras/news-story/5afb6728feb1d52300b12766927226e1
matth
Guest
The NRL does and has done things to grow the game internationally. 1. NZ Warriors, making being a fully professional rugby league player in NZ viable 2. Giving Pacific Island players the chance to earn a living playing rugby league in Australia, whcih they could never do in their own countries 3. Not strictly the NRL, but the QRL invited the PNG Hunters into their competition, and they are now the reigning champions.
Jaime O'Donnell
Guest
And the Wolfpack idea was created off the success of the Wolverines
The Barry
Roar Guru
PS re your Perpignan experience, I was there in 05. My wife and I had done a day off sightseeing and stopped off at a pub for a beer and a glass of wine. There was a back room to the pub and every now and then an almighty roar would come forth. I went and checked it out and it turned out Perpignan were playing Toulouse or Toulon in the local rugby comp and it was televised. My missus went back to the hotel. The locals were incredibly welcoming - once they worked out I was cheering for Perpignan - and I spent the arvo drinking glasses of red, discussing rugby in my pigeon French or their better English with the fog of many Gitanes hanging heavy in the air, roaring with delight or disgust at every try, goal and refs decision. Not live sport but as much fun as any game I've seen. Also - Salvador Dali once described La Gare de Perpignan (Perpignan station) to be the centre of the universe after he had a vision there. I made a pilgrimage there but I think Salvador was on more than the local reds when he had his vision.
sham
Guest
Re the clubs you make some fair points I guess I would argue two things. First the clubs only have value collectively - the game only exists when you have multiple clubs and the TV rights are for competition as a whole. It can get semantic as you have no game without the clubs. Second I hope that the NRL looks beyond the interest of the clubs - if it doesn't then we are in trouble.
mikeT
Guest
Agree the Barry. And really mile high stadium!! They will be lucky to crack 10k spectators... In an NFL stadium that will be embarrassing. Moore sports must be magicians because most sane people would question this game and the rlwc in the US considering it has zero presence. Even RU which is far bigger in the US and has sold out NFL stadiums is cautious to ho there yet. Sorry but this is a very long bridge too far
The Barry
Roar Guru
That's a great post. I think the game needs to have vision and the clubs are short sighted if they don't contribute. This fixture isn't the right one though and completely ignores the concerns of clubs and their fans. The only thing I disagree with you though is the TV money. There's an opinion out there that the NRL generates the TV income and magnanimously distribute some it to the clubs. That's not true. That money is earned by the clubs and the players, the NRL is distributing the money they've earned off the back of the clubs and players. It is the clubs and players taking the risks. If Sam Burgess sustains an injury because of poorly scheduled travel and play with insufficient recovery time, Souths season is stuffed. Fans are annoyed. Burgess' career is impacted but international footy continues on regardless.
The Barry
Roar Guru
BD - I think it can work. Just not as a one off mid season game jammed into an already busy schedule.
sham
Guest
Last year I went to watch the Catalan Dragons play in Perpignan. I enjoyed the match and the whole atmosphere. I probably could not have done that if the English had not decided to try to build the game in France initially through an exhibition match in Paris involving Australia on 31 December 1933. This game got positive press coverage and soon after a former French rugby international Jean Galia signed a contract with the Rugby Football League to bring a side to England. Rugby league then started to grow in France but if required support from the English. While rugby league in England had been very provincial they realised the importance of growing the game. The English are doing the same now with teams in France and the Wolfpack in Canada. What has the NRL done for the international game? This is a fair question. It’s not their role you say to grow the game internationally well the same could be said of the game in England but they are growing the game – they are not being incredibly provincial and small minded. Sure we could just stick with the NRL but is that enough? Do we really have no vision, no hope for the game? Do we really think that is a great game? If so why should it remain a very small sport in international terms? Surely we can grow it more? As for the clubs the argument that they take all the risks etc. is absurd. Where does the money come from? Television rights for the main part. Without these payments could the clubs self-finance the players? No way.
Fred
Guest
Rugby league internationals in Canada, against the US and Jamaica, got crowds as big or bigger than the Wolfpack home games!