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Do you follow the Super League?
Regrettably, for most Australian and New Zealand rugby league fans, the answer is no.
Disdain for the European rugby league system here in the Southern Hemisphere seems to have reached an all-time high in recent years. But an even higher percentage of fans seem to just have no clue rugby league exists outside of the NRL.
The question is, why?
Firstly, the Super League, and the tiers below it, are struggling. Big changes are supposedly coming, and they’ll be needed to keep any hope alive of resurrecting the competition. The issues with the Super League are complex and are for another article.
Secondly, the majority of NRL fans feel a tribal connection to their club. It’s harder to connect with an English or French team from the other side of the world.
Furthermore, the media coverage is outrageously bad. Mostly because there is none. You could watch every game of the NRL season and have zero inkling that rugby league exists outside of this collection of islands down under.
There's nothing like League ????
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) February 1, 2023
The @Betfred #SuperLeague returns Thursday 16 February ???? pic.twitter.com/OeCgP8QWig
But the media can’t be blamed for that when NRL fans have made it clear they want nothing to do with the Super League.
So back to the question of why. I love the Super League. It’s a rugby league competition. The way I see it, the more rugby league the better. The Super League may not have as large a talent pool or crowds, but gee it’s entertaining. Any NRL fans reading this, please watch a replay of the 2020 Super League grand final – you won’t be sorry.
But right now, it’s stuck in a recurring circle. NRL fans show no interest in rugby league outside the Southern Hemisphere, so the media doesn’t cover it. Super League continues to suffer, and NRL fans continue showing no interest.
Here’s where St Helens’ trip to Australia comes in.
The NRL have promised a revamped, engaging, and entertaining pre-season ‘challenge’, with exposure of what are essentially trial games set to be higher than ever. St Helens will meet the Dragons in a ‘Red V Derby’ in Wollongong before they travel to Penrith for the World Club Challenge a week later.
Fans of the Dragons and the Panthers have already written St Helens off. But chances are, neither team will field a full-strength line-up. Anything can happen in pre-season, and especially in a clash between clubs from different sides of the world.
If St Helens put on a show for the Australian crowds, maybe, just maybe, the younger fans who have no memory of the Super League war, and may have never even heard of St Helens, will start to pay attention. Maybe they will google the Super League fixtures, and realise that the season is about to get underway. Maybe they’ll find that some of the matches are being streamed on the same platform as all of the NRL matches.
And, maybe, they’ll watch it.
CLICK HERE for a seven-day free trial to watch the NRL on KAYO
The Super League has its problems. But more exposure for rugby league, anywhere in the world, can only be a good thing for the sport. So, rugby league fans (with the understandable exception of Dragons and Panthers fans), if you support St Helens this February, then you support all of rugby league.
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