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This Las Vegas gambit is mostly (solely) about gambling money. I doubt even the most ardent Rugby League fan really thinks the game is going to take the USA by storm or even gain a minor foothold. Even in Las Vegas it won't be getting that much attention as the city is a non-stop venue for things from all over the world - for all we know the city will be flooded with people from France next week for an acrobat convention! The sports market here in the USA is completely saturated. Cricket gets a bit of a look in simply because millions of people from the subcontinent live here - I went to a couple of Major League Cricket games in Dallas and I was one of about 30 white faces in a crowd of 12,000. All this being said, if it brings more money into the game and provides a notable international event on the RL calendar it is a good thing. I do fear what will happen to the World Club Challenge if the NRL champions are also chosen as a Las Vegas representative though.

I'm not sure this is the most objective comment I've ever read. Living in the USA I have taken neutrals to live Union and Cricket games and they've enjoyed them. If neither of these sports appealed to neutrals they'd never grow at all.

Rugby League doesn't have the money necessary to make a serious go of it with a professional competition in the USA. Major League Rugby has struggled mightily, and cricket has required a billion-dollar investment from the Indian subcontinent.

The big concern with Christchurch will be recruitment, which is the big concern with Auckland and Perth also. Producing local talent will be imperative as few top tier Australian players will be willing to live in Christchurch. This doesn't mean expansion is doomed, but it will be a challenge to build a regularly competitive team.

Super League+ is at a price point I can't really justify, unless I cancel all my other streaming services. I was hoping it would be $5-10 per month like most streaming services.

Is Fox Sports still showing Super League in the USA? I didn't any evidence of todays game on Fox Sports.

Leigh

It seems to work.

Of course. Let's hope there is an alternative arrangement for the USA then, or I can fire up the VPN I guess?

How come I can't subscribe? Is it not available in the USA? I click 'Purchase your pass' and it says ;checkout successful' but then nothing happens. No option to pay. Is it not operational yet?

The Broncos deserve to be relegated solely on the basis of the god-awful logo they have.

Bring back the Bears! I don't care where, as long as there are Bears!

Handball did recently get a crowd of 1,200 in Derby for Great Britain v Kosovo. Quite impressive.

It'll likely never happen, the money simply isn't there. There is as much chance of a professional handball league in Britain as there is a professional Rugby League league in France.

Brett Mullins

Is this all perhaps a sign that a professional French league is as far away as ever and the more ambitious clubs are deciding to go another direction?

It will be interesting to see if he reappears on NRL 360.

Time to get the Russian teams back in! Does RL still exist in Russia?

Anthony Wiggle is a die-hard Wests Tigers fan.

The telling thing is that the President of the IRL is basically someone fitting the job in around their actual job. I can't imagine the heads of many other international sporting bodies are working evenings and weekends in the office around another job!

I'm not sure these events really increase awareness nearly as much as we think. Just because a comic book convention is in town doesn't mean I'm going to start being interested in comic books.

Might be able to pick up some leopard-print attire also!

2025 Magic Weekend will be in Leigh I imagine.

Tonga and Samoa have essentially hit the jackpot. As nations they have little infrastructure and produce no players, they are simply fortunate that the majority of islanders live in Australia and NZ. I would imagine almost all of their international players were not born in the islands. France unfortunately doesn't have this advantage, unless they get a bunch of New Caledonians onboard with moving to Australia.

What keeps the game relevant in Australia is the domestic comp, what keeps it relevant in the UK is internationals. Square post meet round hole.