World Club Challenge Storm don’t want to come - Game On!

[Graham]

Sounds like Storm are unwilling to travel to the UK to play so it looks like if the World Club Challege is to take place it seems it would mean Leeds would have to travel down under.

[Irish Saint]

Thread on the main board stating Leeds may play Storm at AAMI Park 16th February

[Futtocks]

Excellent! About time the NRL champions hosted the thing.

[The Future is League]

5 hours ago, Graham said:

Sounds like Storm are unwilling to travel to the UK to play so it looks like if the World Club Challege is to take place it seems it would mean Leeds would have to travel down under.

Most, not all NRL clubs have no interest in promoting Rugby League outside of the Australian eastern seaboard.

[Jace]

1 hour ago, The Future is League said:

Most, not all NRL clubs have no interest in promoting Rugby League outside of the Australian eastern seaboard.

That's right although I think people put that expectation on the NRL because it's the most successful comp in the sport. However they have no obligation to promote expansion

[The Future is League]

40 minutes ago, Jace said:

That's right although I think people put that expectation on the NRL because it's the most successful comp in the sport. However they have no obligation to promote expansion

No they don't but they don't realize what a benefit it can be.

For me a team in Perth is a must

[RabbitRhinoovOZ]

7 hours ago, The Future is League said:

Most, not all NRL clubs have no interest in promoting Rugby League outside of the Australian eastern seaboard.

It's an absolute disgrace and should be called out as such by more RL fans, I've attended the WCC in England and rate it in my top 3 all time sporting experiences. I find the attitude of clubs like Melbourne to be utterly disgraceful. 

[The Future is League]

15 minutes ago, RabbitRhinoovOZ said:

It's an absolute disgrace and should be called out as such by more RL fans, I've attended the WCC in England and rate it in my top 3 all time sporting experiences. I find the attitude of clubs like Melbourne to be utterly disgraceful. 

Insular is word to describe Melbourne and other clubs like them.

They do really need to see the bigger picture

[Graham]

When Storm came to the UK they did enormous good They were great ambassadors for the game by mixing with UK players and fans. They made the news so gave the game publicity. It reflected well on them and spread positives about the club beyond their state and NRL strongholds.

It is a shame they won’t travel. That doesn’t reflect well on them.

If it meant that the WCC alternated between Europe and Australia, or even took place in a developing area then that would be an ideal way of running the thing.

[RabbitRhinoovOZ]

3 minutes ago, Graham said:

When Storm came to the UK they did enormous good They were great ambassadors for the game by mixing with UK players and fans. They made the news so gave the game publicity. It reflected well on them and spread positives about the club beyond their state and NRL strongholds.

It is a shame they won’t travel. That doesn’t reflect well on them.

If it meant that the WCC alternated between Europe and Australia, or even took place in a developing area then that would be an ideal way of running the thing.

It's a shame the Storm don't have more even minded fans like you Graham, If they did I suspect there'd be far less dislike of the club among the average RL fans.

[Graham]

I’d love Storm to travel here RRoO. There are NRL and Storm fans here. By coming both  the NRL, Storm and the image of Australian Sport would benefit.

I have repeatedly said my preferred option would be alternating the fixture between the north and south hemispheres.

I’d rather this was on principal though not because individual clubs will or won’t travel.

[The Future is League]

6 minutes ago, Graham said:

I’d love Storm to travel here RRoO. There are NRL and Storm fans here. By coming both  the NRL, Storm and the image of Australian Sport would benefit.

I have repeatedly said my preferred option would be alternating the fixture between the north and south hemispheres.

I’d rather this was on principal though not because individual clubs will or won’t travel.

I'm in favour of playing it in Singapore. A neutral venue ish half way between the countries and chasing the corporate dollar

[Davo5]

 

2 hours ago, Graham said:

When Storm came to the UK they did enormous good They were great ambassadors for the game by mixing with UK players and fans. They made the news so gave the game publicity. It reflected well on them and spread positives about the club beyond their state and NRL strongholds.

It is a shame they won’t travel. That doesn’t reflect well on them.

If it meant that the WCC alternated between Europe and Australia, or even took place in a developing area then that would be an ideal way of running the thing.

The WCC really needs to alternate between Aus/Eng but it needs to be part of a long term plan rather than a last resort,Roosters/Wigan a couple of years back drew a decent crowd and should have been the catalyst for the fixture to be played over there every other year.

[Lounge Room Lizard]

To accuse the Storm of being Insular is a joke. They played a home game in Adelaide last year and played a preseason game in Hobart as well as playing in Perth.

The reason they didnt want to travel is that well over half the squad are likely playing in the Semis of the WC in alte November. They are the Club with the most players playing in the WC. Few if any will do any pre season til January. The First NRL game is in Perth. Flying to the UK is not really a good thing for the Players. Its about time the English came to Australia.

[Graham]

Selfishly I’d have liked Storm to have travelled to Leeds to play the WCC game, but probably better for the game it is now almost certain to be played in Melbourne.

I wish it had been arranged as such by design though and not by the way it has.

It should alternate between the countries involved.

Quote

A DEAL has reportedly been struck to hold the World Club Challenge next year, after several months of doubt about whether the traditional fixture between the NRL premiers and the Super League champions would go ahead.

Fairfax Media says the match between Melbourne and the Leeds Rhinos will be played on February 16 at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.

The match is usually played in the UK but had been under a cloud this year because the Storm were reluctant to further disrupt a pre-season already interrupted by the World Cup.

The fixture has usually been played in the UK mostly because the Aussies didn’t seem to want it enough to stage it. 

Hope discussions take place at the top level to see that it does alternate and that the incentives to play in it are to good to pass up on.

[The Future is League]

3 hours ago, Lounge Room Lizard said:

To accuse the Storm of being Insular is a joke. They played a home game in Adelaide last year and played a preseason game in Hobart as well as playing in Perth.

The reason they didnt want to travel is that well over half the squad are likely playing in the Semis of the WC in alte November. They are the Club with the most players playing in the WC. Few if any will do any pre season til January. The First NRL game is in Perth. Flying to the UK is not really a good thing for the Players. Its about time the English came to Australia.

When they played that home game in Adelaide and a preseason game in Hobart was because they got payed too by local government.

[Lounge Room Lizard]

55 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

When they played that home game in Adelaide and a preseason game in Hobart was because they got payed too by local government.

Yes but they still Chose to do it. They dont have to agreed to play in Perth this past year or next. There other clubs far more Insular than the Storm. Its not as if they refused to play but more about the travelling to the UK this time. Many clubs have done this recently. 

[The Future is League]

15 minutes ago, Lounge Room Lizard said:

Yes but they still Chose to do it. They dont have to agreed to play in Perth this past year or next. There other clubs far more Insular than the Storm. Its not as if they refused to play but more about the travelling to the UK this time. Many clubs have done this recently. 

They would have made more money playing the game in Adelaide than if they had played the game at AAMI stadium

[RabbitRhinoovOZ]

18 hours ago, Davo5 said:

 

The WCC really needs to alternate between Aus/Eng but it needs to be part of a long term plan rather than a last resort,Roosters/Wigan a couple of years back drew a decent crowd and should have been the catalyst for the fixture to be played over there every other year.

Who did you get to post this for you Stormdave5, Was it one of your carers? Makes to much sense for it to have been you plus there's no deranged laughing so has to be someone else. 

[Davo5]

1 hour ago, RabbitRhinoovOZ said:

Who did you get to post this for you Stormdave5, Was it one of your carers? Makes to much sense for it to have been you plus there's no deranged laughing so has to be someone else. 

How would you know what sense means.

[DiddyDave]

I don`t blame any team for not wanting to travel halfway around the world for what is really a nothing game anyway. As somebody has said,a lot of Storm players will be playing right up until to early December,so will not be back in gruelling training until well into the new year and a trip like that for one game in a crappy English winter is not one I`d be looking forward to.

[Graham]

As you will know DD we have wonderful winters here.

At least there's some sort of sense regarding too many games for players:

Quote

Auckland Nines will be scrapped next year (2018) with the pre-season competition axed from the NRL’s crowded scheduling.

A crammed off-season has seen the nine-a-side tournament make way in what is a busy rugby league calendar.

It follows a similar path of the All-Stars match which also won’t be played next year, but will return in 2019.

Player burnout and fears over the workload of some of the game’s best players following the end of season world cup mean the Nines will be put on the backburner for one year.

The World Cup final is not played until December 2, meaning a host of players would be unavailable for the tournament — which is usually played at the end of January — once they have their ­entitled break.

It is expected to return in 2019, with a revamped concept, although it is unlikely the tournament will return to New Zealand for now.

I've had some great times and views in Jan Feb  in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. 

I expect that all those films and preconceptions of foggy old London Town have had their effect.

Haven't had a pea souper here for years!

[Graham]

Quote

It is understood the NRL has plans to revitalise the concept once it takes control of it from 2019. Perth and Brisbane loom as potential hosts with a return to New Zealand not expected for a few years.

It is understood the NRL are open to the idea of inviting English Super League teams and potentially international teams to take part in a hope to renew interest in the concept.

The world sevens had similar appeal in the mid-1990s when the likes of Wigan, Fiji and the USA brought a different edge to the tournament before that ceased in 2004.

The temporary scrubbing of the Nines and All-Stars game means only pre-season trials and the World Club Series will be held before the kick-off to season proper next year. Duco successfully promoted the recent bout between Jeff Horn and Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium

 

[Phil]

On 10/11/2017 at 3:22 AM, DiddyDave said:

I don`t blame any team for not wanting to travel halfway around the world for what is really a nothing game anyway. As somebody has said,a lot of Storm players will be playing right up until to early December,so will not be back in gruelling training until well into the new year and a trip like that for one game in a crappy English winter is not one I`d be looking forward to.

So the right to call yourselves club champions of the world is a “nothing game”?

Take your meds lad 

[Lounge Room Lizard]

Sadly the WCC has no real prestige and offers very little finacially to an NRL Club, especially in Pre Season. It has no real meaning. It disrupts the Pre Season training plan, as they need a good week to travel and get ready etc. In many cases they havent played a game in 4 or more months. I feel if we are to have it then at the end of the season and maybe hold it somewhere like Toronto, Jacksonville, Bangkok and could tie it in with a International game i.e USA v Canada, Thailand v Phillipines/Japan and properly sell the game as something with meaning and get as much money from it for the Clubs involved and other areas of the game.