Pulga

Jesus. There really is no hope for the international game.

Apparently the next one is already nearly sold out too.

Plus the real possibility of one or more of the "warm-up" matches being lost by England would do more harm than good.

The problem is t that there is curtain raisers, it's the order. The headliner should be the test, not the Championship game.

Is it really no better? Playing as curtain raiser is pathetic.

English RL deserves everything it gets. Why should the Kangaroos taint their brand by playing England?

And at the moment they're Qld Cup or NSW Cup players.

KPP didn't play any NRL last year either so, no. They're not. They're former players.

Unless the official club websites have a problem only Kennar and Pole have played NRL this year.

There's nearly as many London products in the NRL as Melbourne products. Further backs up the point of how hard it is for RL in Melbourne.

That's not true when there is no minimum spend. You aren't playing for anything. You're just poor.

So 7 out of a possible 20 GF spots. And out of 60 spots there's been 12 different teams? Ok? And 11 out of 20 CC finalists. None of this really kills my argument although it's a strawman. I never said anything about different teams making finals. Just that 4 or 5 have any chance in any given year.

Have you missed the last decade of the game where there are only 4 or 5 competitive teams and the rest race to 11th where they're safe? Get a grip.

There was always going to be a problem in the change-over unfortunately. It just so happens to be London.

So has rugby union in this country. It's just the last 5 years that it's been terminal. The sporting landscape is changing faster than it has in history and RL in England wasn't keeping up before and certainly isn't now.

Oh god. His last role at the Titans was a complete fraud.

I was just thinking that this is the last chance. I have been saying for 5+ years that Super Rugby and Rugby Union in Australia was dead. Not dying but already dead. It's just the life support that needs to be switched off. I think English Rugby League is very close to where Super Rugby/RA was 5 years ago.

I'm not sure you've noticed but the English RU domestically is possibly in an even worse state than RL for the exact same reason. Millionaires can invest in NRL clubs already, and do. The NRL has a bottom floor for catchment area of around 150k - 200k. There really is no need for anything lower than that and would devalue the brand. P&R in its current guise does not furnish ambition. Quite the opposite. The teams without a shot of winning trophies (8/12 teams most years) just have to aim for 11th or better. I'm sorry but it is delusional. The constant yo-yoing does nothing but hurt the game.

In every single country in the world except for England, Yes. For some reason English Rugby League can't get their heads around sport in 2024. English Rugby League is not Football (soccer). It is completely deluded in this day and age to believe your one-horse town deserves to be in the top flight.

Funny you say that. I'm heard Super Rugby crowds weren't great because it was Easter.

Melbourne. The brand is already huge and it would all but kill the Rebels (RU) team. It's 2024. It doesn't matter if there are locals playing or not. The amount of NZ women you could attract to live in Melbourne with how much better the Aussie dollar is would be huge.

Hopefully next year we can do Cas Vegas instead. That'll really show the world that the NRL means business.