The RL Farce

USA has won the rights to co-host the RL WC in 2015. The organiser wanted to have a game in Denver, Colorado, USA in an international window in mid 2018. The game was to be between England and New Zealand, with a substantial sum of money for each team. Most of the players are involved with the Australian NRL competition but as it is two weeks between games, that was not seen as a problem.

It would be an excellent opportunity for the promotor to start building interest in a sport that the USA knows nothing about. It's being fully underwritten by the organiser and money paid out to the teams. It's exposing the USA to a new sport. Sounds a no-brainer, right?

However, the pro clubs in Australia don't want any of their players to go and in effect are killing the fixture. They will sanction a game played in Sydney. The NRL clubs are dictating who can play internationals and where they are played. It's reached a point where if the NRL competition says jump, the rest of the RL world jumps. The tail is wagging the dog!

In Soccer they have international windows. It may involve friendly games in South America, Africa, Asia etc. Clubs in Europe who have paid huge sums for these top players release them. If any come back injured, the clubs accept it. Jet lag? Whatever. Why? Because the big European competitions don’t run Soccer, FIFA does. When FIFA says jump, they jump. If RL wants to learn from the most successful sport in the world, then maybe RL will stop being the tiny sport that it is.

The current situation is Australia runs RL internationally with both England and NZ kowtowing to them because it financially advantageous. RL around the rest of the world is largely ignored, with lip service paid to growing the world game. Only with an international body with power above individual nations will international RL have any hope of growing. The NRL, SL and any national body must accept the international body as the leader of the the game. They cannot dictate to the RLIF, it's has to be the other way round. What a farce!