So to solve the issue of our best players leaving SL and making the competition weaker.....we put them on contracts that would see them withdrawn from SL duty from several games to play for England. Great.

I think you are doing that trick of yours of exaggerating outcomes to prove your point.

In reality, at most, England squad players may be unavailable for club duty on one or two games per year. Is that really a massive cost to pay for attempting to head off competition from RU & NRL, at the same time attempting to bolster the international game?

Even if it was 5 or 6 domestic games a year they'd miss, is that really a huge price to pay out of 30+ games?
Surely having those players for 25 games is better than none?

In the end the only way SL is going to increase its profile and the money in the game is through more internationals. The only way to fit more internationals in is to either reduce the amount of domestic games or take international players out of SL for some games. There is no alternative if you want more international games.

Plus, it'd give the understudies a go. No bad thing at all.

If it's 1 or 2 games then it's a pointless cost. RU & cricket don't give out contracts to get guys for 1 or 2 games. Might as well sell fire to the cash.

Problem is SL isn't at a position where it can afford to lose its best players for 5/6/7 weeks. Sponsors and TVs won't be offering the same if they know the best guys are being taking out of the competition for a period of time.

I thought we could get NRL players to play internationals easy just by asking???

You cannot have an international game with only 3/4 competitive teams that is not an international proposition - the sport needs to focus on the soccer model whereby the club game is the focus and what differentiates the sport. The sport needs to find ways of maximising income at the elite club level in order to invest in better youth development and facilities.

Most soccer fans are far more interested in their club than they are in England/Scotland etc and I don't see the domestic game struggling because of lack of success at international level

I assume that's because you are a moron.

firstly, the Euros and World Cup are far and away the biggest competitions in football, Soccer in no way prioritises the club game. It is in every way secondary. Ask Joel Matip.
secondly Most soccer fans arent the one that advertisers and sponsors are trying to reach. As RL finds out time and time again, there is limited money in the Wheeltappers and Shunters social club outings.
thirdly, football in scotland is on its .

Which is why at some point you have to actually put time effort and money into developing more internationals teams. Rugby Union is a good example of this.

RL is never going to be like football. No other sport is. It's appeal is so widespread, RL will never match that at domestic level. It's only way of increasing profile is with England playing internationals. All the Wigan v St Helens grand finals in the world aren't going to get people in other area of the country watching the sport. England will.

Problem is that it will take way too much time. Time that the club game can't afford. It can't afford right now to have its best players taken out of it for periods of time whilst the VERY VERY LONG time it'd take to bring other international teams up to a suitable standard to provide a truely attractive international calendar.

Really? The game can't afford to have its best players play 25 SL games out of 30?

Not that long ago they were only playing 27 and not much further back they were only playing 23.

I'd say the club game can't afford NOT to make it's best players available for internationals.

No SL really can't afford to take its best players out for a number of games at this point. May well have played 23/27 games previously but players weren't being taken out of the competition.

Why can't the club game not afford to make its players available for internationals?

Well, Im sure ThePrinter will be proved right come May when Super League collapses after England take the field against a team no-one plays for, in a game no-one watches, nobody sponsors and nobody broadcasts.