Quote: Andy Gilder "Part of the problem with maintaining the success of a World Cup or Four Nations it the timing.
Where does a new convert to the code go now for his rugby league fix? The professional game in both hemispheres shuts down for three months, so the only alternative is to find a local amateur side that hasn't yet moved to summer.
The appeal of watching a much lower standard of contest, stood in the freezing rain beside a local park pitch for the next three months is going to struggle to hold the interest until SL and the NRL start again.
Prune some unnecessary weekly rounds out of the SL schedule and let's look at clearing a 5-6 week space in July and August for World Cups and Four Nations tournaments. The momentum gained can then be carried on into the finales of the respective domestic seasons, rather than simply being lost in a forest of inactivity.'"
I've been saying something similar for ages. We could even go back to having tours every four years to Aus and play midweek games against their club sides. Young players would gain experience and we as spectators would have four years to save and tour with the team.
However, to do that we need the buy in from from the Aussies and I doubt that will happen. Origin (because of our inability to compete at the top level) has become "the series".
If the aussies don't want to tour over here every four years then perhaps the Kiwis could take over one of the tours giving them a longer stint between tours.
If we toured June/July the Superleague teams would have to do without their touring players for a few weeks, but that alone could be a bonus as young players would get a chance.
