Plans to revive the World Club Series have been shelved next year and we’ll just have the World Club Challenge once more – but there are a number of ideas flying around about how to take the concept forward.
South Sydney were to fly to Cheshire (sorry for the old timers who obsess about county boundaries in England and like to think of Warrington as still being in Lancashire!) to take on the Warrington Wolves on the same weekend as St Helens host Sydney Roosters at the Totally Wicked Stadium on February 22.
But Rabbitohs general manager of football Shane Richardson told League Weekly on Monday: “They didn’t go forward with it.
“It was a financial thing, not from our point of view but from the leagues’ point of view. The NRL and Super League. We would have gone. We organised to go, we haven’t got another trial that weekend.
“We’ve to do more to try and promote the World Club Challenge and make it bigger and better.”
Richo wants more NRL and Super League teams involved and that is the conventional idea of how to re-expand the concept.
It was 22 years ago now that the Super League World Club Championship was an unmitigated disaster (although many players and even journos met their lifelong partners during that competition!) but the lessons aren’t forgotten.
A competition involving every club from both leagues would be a car crash on the field, even if off-field factors would prevent it happening anyway.
So the idea is to involve the better Super League clubs without us having to watch Huddersfield versus Gold Coast.
Yuck. (Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
But another idea that’s been kicking around for a few years now has been picked up by the Toronto Wolfpack – predictably, when you consider its nuts and bolts. I may have even planted it in the minds of their officials myself and now I’m a reporting on it – a sure sign you’ve been doing a round as a journalist for too long!
That idea is that every country with a full-time professional club enters the World Club Championship.
So next year, you would have Sydney Roosters, St Helens, Catalans, New Zealand Warriors, PNG Hunters and Toronto in a two-weekend round robin.
A philosophical reservation about this is that any “World Club” competition is – by definition – about clubs not countries. Therefore you shouldn’t get a rails run into a competition that two clubs have to earn entry to the hardest way.
The flipside of that is we’re a small sport and smoke and mirrors are necessary on a regular basis for us to create the right impression in the marketplace.
But it’s not so much the argument that I want to resolve here as to discuss how the decisions in this area are made.
The World Club Challenge is owned by Super League and the NRL. The NRL has never cared enough to make competing in it compulsory for the premiers. And Super League is, effectively, the Super League clubs.
Are Super League clubs going to vote to automatically qualify Catalans and Toronto (perhaps Toulouse and even Ottawa in future years can break these monopolies while New York would be added) for a blue-chip event – regardless of where they finish on the table?
How could a club CEO or chairman justify this to his board? “I voted in favour of Catalans and Toronto getting into this competition ahead of us even if we make the grand final or win the Challenge Cup.”
And would the NRL invite the Hunters and compel the Warriors to take part every year when they were happy for Melbourne not to play this year and Leeds had to go to them? Would they put the new Fiji franchise in ahead of, say, Souths who actually want to travel?
I don’t think so.
Sadly, a decision on the future of the World Club Series is still a long way from being made in the interest of the sport.
But, you know, the arc of progress in rugby league is bending in the direction of these things being done for the right reasons.
It’s just a bloody long arc.
Steve Mascord
Expert
It would be where it is now - pre-season, two weekends instead of one.
Patrick
Roar Rookie
Hi, I think the British clubs would like to be known in the Australian market alot more than the Australian clubs care about being known in the British market. What would be the point of a world club challenge anyway? There are already different rosters competing from the ones that won the premierships the previous years. Maybe if a super league premiership winning team is tactically innovative or plays with a different style or something, but see little value in a world club challenge except as a way to troll soccer supporters in Australia. I mean, I am sure that it would be financially viable with the right format, and it would attract some interest, but when are you going to play it? Cricket owns the summer season.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
It looks like a serve. It smells like a serve. It’s a serve!
Really
Guest
Good points
Max
Guest
100 years ago Brisbane was too far from Sydney for regular competition. Air travel fixed that & we go the Amco Cup. Once plane rides get down to 15 hours from England, France or Nth America to Aust & NZ the true world rugby league will come. By 2025 I hope.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
Not really a like for like comparison. The clubs do see Origin as an unwanted distraction but there are two teams in Origin the winner is the winner no question same as Roosters vs St Helens but what is on offer for Souths paying Wigan or Penrith playing Hull? Plus in Origin there are no other trophies to be won. There is no way winning a pre season round robin will go close to a Premiership.
Jimmy
Roar Guru
No it’s a question. “predictably, when you consider its nuts and bolts. I may have even planted it in the minds of their officials myself and now I’m a reporting on it “ I genuinely don’t know what the central point is, perhaps it’s my ignorance? I personally think the main challenge at present is to build fan interest in the NRL and force the clubs, like the Roosters this year to take it seriously.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
The two winning teams playing has great appeal and is embraced by both clubs and their supporters. However as soon as you expand it to include teams who run 5th 6th or even 2nd it ceases to be anything more than a glorified trial match. Throw in the disruption to the traveling team and it becomes a totally unwanted distraction.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
Anzac day, Grand Finals, Prelim Finals, Qualifying Finals AND World Club Challenges.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
It's just Mr Alias. Facts aren't really his forte plus add Mr Mascord & an article on Intl RL & he has an aneurysm.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Come on, own it Jimmy... “Or are you just trying to remind everyone that the idea of an expanded World Club Challenge was yours alone?” Don’t tell me that’s not a serve...
Really
Guest
Origin doesn’t seem to be so why should the world club challenge?
Jimmy
Roar Guru
At what point did I bag him? I was asking a question.
Noosa Duck
Roar Rookie
Fancy taking the Raiders to England for a challenge cup against a pommy team, that would be like giving half the team a free holiday home and if it was based on Nationality then half of the Raiders would be playing for the opposition.... :laughing: :laughing:
Tom of Brisbane
Guest
Tosh and balderdash. Roosters v Wigan in 2014 got 31515 to the SFS. How many times do the Roosters get 30k+ crowds?
Walter White
Guest
I always thought that the idea behind the WCC was brilliant but has been badly organised and badly marketed in the UK and even worse over here. The media never engaged with it and Australian fans never bought into it. What it needs is rejuvenating into something special with real money in it, a prestigeous trophy and proper marketing. It needs to be screened on fox and on FTA even if it means making it a condition of the next contract. Change the format into something like a world series where the best club from different countries comes together over a week or even two and plays in a knock out style comp. On the income side, there could be global screening rights, Special Merchendice and of course gate income (make sure tickets sold cover admittance to all games). Countries that could be involved include Australia, New Zealand, UK, Canada (and soon USA), Red Star Belgrade, France and I am sure others so don't say we have nothing World. WCC is a great concept, it just needs real work and money.
RudyZarzoff
Guest
Doesn’t the NRL season already go on too long ? I doubt there would be much interest in any expansion of what already attracts little interest.
Big Daddy
Guest
If the Super league and NRL own it why haven't we had it for a long while. Probably too many arguments of who should be in and who should be. As you said Steve there's a lot of smoke and mirrors with this concept because it's not a mainstream sport world wide. We are having a nines comp coming up next year , why don't we have some of these international teams to put the toe in the water but I'm sure the results will be a little bit one sided in some matches. It's a matter of finding the right type of occasion to place these teams in. If the people that are running it can't find a way who can.
Flexis
Roar Rookie
The Wolfpack won’t need automatic qualification! ;)
The Barry
Roar Guru
It’s always interesting when someone leads out with “I have no idea...” and then tries to bag you