LATER this week, Peter V’landys, the Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission and the NRL, will fly into Heathrow Airport prior to attending Saturday’s game at Wembley.

I then expect him to have meetings with RFL and club representatives the following week.

Although some people within the game would apparently like to see the Australians take a controlling interest in the British game, I think that is a minority view.

And I think we need to take great care before we go down that particular road.

The NRL has a lot on its plate right now with its own competition, especially with new clubs in Perth and Papua New Guinea due to join the NRL in 2027 and 2028 respectively.

And there are several questions I would like to put to the Aussie supremo.

It’s now less than 12 months before the next World Cup is scheduled to be played in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Plenty of English supporters would no doubt like to follow their team down under. So why do we still have no indication of when and where the games will be held?

Secondly, what is the future of the World Club Challenge? Is it always going to be played only at the whim of the Aussie Grand Final winners or will it be organised on a more formal basis? It does now look as though next year’s game, between Hull KR and Brisbane, will go ahead on Thursday 19 February at the MKM Stadium, although that has still to be confirmed.

The third question I would like to put to him is one about his vision for international Rugby League.

How does he hope to expand the international game?

It’s great to see an Ashes series and the Pacific Cup taking place down under. But what about the future of the World Cup? Do you ever foresee the World Cup going back to 16 teams, rather than the ten that will compete next year?

And my final question relates to the British game.

Will the ARLC come out into the open to explain whether it has any interest in taking a stake in the British game? And if so, what form would that stake take? Would it want a controlling interest or simply an investment interest? And how much would it be prepared to invest?

V’landys has tremendous energy, as he has shown since becoming Chairman.

If he can channel that energy for the good of the game in the northern hemisphere, as opposed to simply making the British game subservient to the NRL, then it would be worth having a discussion with him.