I think Christian Welch put it best, leave the rules alone and focus on the bigger picture. There’s far more important things the NRL should be worrying about instead of if teams are deliberately kicking the ball into touch to have a break. The NRL should focus on increasing crowd numbers at games, expanding the game into new markets, developing pathways and grassroots rugby league to get more people playing the game and more talented players playing. Expanding the women’s competition so it’s on par (or as close as possible) to the men’s game and even things like improving off field behaviour from players to give the game a better image.

I do think expansion for the NRL could for lack of a better word, expand beyond the concept of adding more teams to the NRL. NRL expansion could exist in the form of improving grassroots, providing pathways in untapped regions (like the western corridor) and even developing reserve grade sides (like the PNG Hunters). So while I’m excited at the prospect of another Brisbane team I think one of the key aspects of expansion goes far beyond just plonking in another NRL team. Perhaps if they go for either the Dolphins or Firehawks at least develop pathways and programs for all that untapped talent in the western corridor to make their way into the NRL would be a solution.

As a broncos fan I can only stand and applaud this Melbourne Storm outfit and Craig Bellamy in particular. To be on the verge of Rugby League history after losing the club’s greatest player is truly phenomenal. Most clubs generally down for a period after losing their best player. The Broncos went from one game short of a grand final in Lockyer’s Final season to 3 underwhelming seasons seeing us scrape into the eight 2/3 and being bundled out first round and missing the eight entirely the other season. So although I despise the storm for their continual dominance over the Broncos I cannot help but admire just how good they are.

I thought I’d make a general comment in response to these comments as with a few days to reflect I think I was probably overshooting a bit and was jumping at my first opportunity to write another piece and I think I now tend to agree with a lot of the comments pointing out that financially it wouldn’t be feasible to establish teams in the pacific and while I think the NRL could still provide pathways for these nations so that emerging talent over there has a path to the NRL. But yes I do apologise I think this article was probably more an attempt to get something out rather than a thought out piece.

I think that would absolutely be the biggest concern, and again I think the game can still expand globally and have an international presence without being a sporting titan. Whether or not that comes to fruition I guess only we can wait and see.

Absolutely John which is why I believe the game will never die, but we should accept the reality that it would take decades of aggressive expansion and promotion in combination with a sudden decline in following of other major sporting codes. But as you put it we still have a far more legitimate world competition than sports like the MLB and I think the Olympics could be a realistic goal for a game like rugby league.

Definitely Nat, I think especially now with QLD heading into lockdown for the next few days perhaps the world cup should be put on hold for now as much as I hate to say it. It may be a missed opportunity for the growth of the game but as you said there are far bigger issues at play at the moment in the world.

Agreed Tony, rugby league I don’t think will ever be an international titan of sports but perhaps with development of domestic competitions across different nations it can become a bit of a niche sport with a devoted following in different pockets of communities around the world. It’s likely the only real international limelight the sport would get would be Olympic participation, but again I’d say it would garner casual interest from fans while the Olympics are on but the continual grind of the sport at all levels will be left for the committed fans.

Dave I think it’s quite insulting to suggest I want to play with people’s lives simply because I want a sporting event to take place when others have been doing so without major covid ramifications for the affected community. Look I can agree I think the UK government’s attitude towards covid is extremely poor and I hope they change tune soon. Obviously if evidence suggest that these sporting events could not go ahead cause they are too much of a danger of spreading the virus in the community then yes cancel them and wait for a safer time, but again plenty of sporting codes have shown the events can still take place. Whether or not that’s with crowds or playing all games at a single stadium or what is a decision for world cup organisers and UK government to make. But as we have been saying many sporting events have taken place without harming the community so we simply ask why is it so hard for us to do the same especially when many players are happy to go ahead with this world cup.

While that is sensible I think the bigger concern for world cup organisers is the media coverage in England as I’m confident that in the weeks leading up to the soccer world cup, the english sporting media is going to be entirely focused on how their team is gonna go at that world cup given the huge popularity of soccer in england.

Dave as a major fan of international rugby league I care, because I love rugby league and want to see the game flourish. Now if the majority of players were opposed to the world cup out of fears for their safety then yes postpone or even cancel it, but more and more evidence is being released to suggest that many players are still comfortable competing and abiding by the protocols in place. The ARLC and NZRL have made a decision that is against what the players want, without consultation and say they’re doing it for them when really it would seem they are more concerned about how this will impact the NRL. Also your comment about a government not requiring a referendum for every decision they make is flawed, as the players didn’t vote the NRL and ARL officials into power and don’t get to vote for someone else in 3 years time, so if the administration are making decisions that directly impact players they should be consulted.

I think Jacko is more so saying that given other sports across the globe have continued to take place and with new information that the RLPA wasn’t consulted it’s likely the ARLC don’t want to do the hard yards because it would affect the pre-season of the NRL as apposed to looking after player safety as RLPA Boss Clint Newton said many players still had every intention of participating despite the circumstances.

While I have immense respect for Ivan Cleary as a coach, surely this starts to reach conflict of interest? I mean of course he would want to stop his rep players from going to international tournaments if it means it will impact their pre-season. It’s understandable he gets paid to make the Panthers to be a successful NRL club not to provide a streamline of talented international players, but again I think he should be taken out of the equation given the before mentioned conflict of interest.

Oh wow, did not know that I assumed like you he had made some consultation with the RLPA I guess he had us both fooled.

My biggest concern though is I doubt many NRL clubs would sacrifice sending their players to the tournament at any point during the NRL season so it would likely have to be played in the same time frame as it’s slated for this year thus leaving it to be overshadowed by the FIFA World Cup.

This what I don’t understand if the RLWC was the first major international sporting event to take place I could understand the hesitation but given many other sporting events have taken place it would indicate there is no problem that adequate protection could be provided for the players.

Yes I would like to see those countries rewarded since Australia and NZ have withdrawn. And also I apologise my geography isn’t amazing I should’ve done my due diligence in regards to Jamaica’s location.

My biggest concern is how will this decision impact other competing nations with NRL players (like the pacific island nations) if they go ahead and compete in the tournament. After all only Australia and New Zealand have withdrawn at this stage and if the remaining nations decide to play on without them I feel they should be free to use their NRL players regardless of the requests of the NRL clubs (obviously assuming the players are happy to compete). Why should nations like Samoa and Tonga lose their best players simply because Australia and NZ isn’t competing? However, I fear this will give NRL clubs free reign to withhold all players from participating as well the ARLC and NZRL gave them the greenlight.

While yes the tight quarantine conditions will be difficult for players again I think they should be allowed to make informed decisions themselves and if they elect not to participate then they should be free not too and vice versa.

I also disagree with the UK completely abandoning restrictions but one thing they have in their favour is over half the population is fully vaccinated and given the success of Wimbledon they have shown they can provide secure biosecurity for competing athletes.

And yes while postponing would be the logical decision that is complicated by the fact the soccer world cup will take place at a similar time next year and completely overwhelm sporting media in that time frame. Also the UK government has seemingly invested a lot of money and time to get the RLWC to happen this year so it could be a decision taken out of the IRL’s hands.

While yes I can excuse the difficulty scheduling international footy during COVID, but with an eye to the future I would love for this to be a permanent fixture in the rugby league calendar and yes definitely should alternate between Australia and New Zealand each year as well.

In terms of playing one-off tests I believe if they contributed to some sort overarching competition like the Oceanic Cup or a WTC style competition I think it would work. But yes token one-off tests by themselves are rather pointless and players would likely be encouraged to just skip them and have a break.

Yes the fact that the Aussie tour of England originally scheduled for last year is now in danger of not happening at all is frustrating as while it was said to be postponed I believe there are talks to just replace it entirely with an England vs New Zealand test series.

Yes Rugby Union has the bledisloe Cup however this article was more highlighting the lack of Australia and New Zealand sporting competition around the time of ANZAC day to directly honour those who served. Rugby League already has an annual Trans-Tasman Test usually played around October-November but the idea is to have something take place on ANZAC day between the two nations.

Exactly and while the onus shouldn’t be on the NRL to organise test matches it should allow the IRL freedom to schedule blockbuster events and cooperate with the international body in growing the game.

Yes and while the tournament has been given the green light the fact Australia and the NRL has yet to commit to supporting and participating in the tournament concerns me as having the largest pool for rugby league talent slam the door shut on the world cup could be devastating to the tournament’s entertainment.

Definitely Paul, I think it’s a debate because for so long head contact has been excused by experts and fans as accidental or slipping off the ball. However, the reality is that it’s just plain careless if anything and I understand it’s hard for me to say as an average fan and I definitely think players should’ve been given more time to adjust but the current situation is still better I think rather than continue on with how it used to be for the rest of the season.