AUSTRALIAN supremo Phil ‘Gus’ Gould has called for NRL hegemony over international rugby league in a bid to enhance the sport on a global level.
Whilst the NRL posted record profits at the end of 2023, Super League continues to toil, but recently the idea of an NRL takeover of the northern hemisphere sport has gained traction.
NRL chief Andrew Abdo openly spoke about the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) taking a stake in Super League.
Now Gould, who is the General Manager of NRL side Canterbury Bulldogs, has welcomed the idea.
“There was talk last week of the NRL purchasing the UK Super League which I think is a great idea,” Gould said on the Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
“I recommended this four or five years ago because it’s a perfect gap between us and the US and I have no doubt that we will see a World Club Challenge in Vegas as part of a season-opening weekend.
“I have no doubt that we will see a women’s game in Vegas – that’s the organic growth, showing the US not just our product but also our inclusiveness with men and women and showing that we are international.
“By bringing clubs from England to play against Australian clubs in the US, we could have a two-weekend thing.
“We could play the World Club Challenge the weekend before, and then you could play the NRL. I don’t know about availability, but we’ve got to keep making a noise.”
Gould went into further explanation about the NRL taking over Super League.
“I think we could really help the UK game. I think we could then get rid of what I think is a really ineffective international rugby league board, and we could have the NRL being the EPL of World Rugby League.
“The game should emanate here from the NRL and the NRL should run world rugby league.
“There could be development pathways between competitions, getting back to international football, international timetables that go over five years.
“There are a lot of things that can help if you’ve got control of the whole thing: the international game, the UK Super League, which is the second biggest competition, and we can help New Zealand, which we’ve got to do.
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