All very true but you have missed my point the only way we will get wider coverage thus bring more money into the game is by playing international games. Look at Union a game that is boring in the extreme, they can fill their national stadia 10 times a year charging £50 plus per seat. A lot of those spectators will not go to club games. It has become something to do, why? Because it is international sport & the media & sponsorship is only drawn to international games. Association football is probably the only sport to buck that trend in Europe. That is why I am so angry at the attitude of the cowards in the NRL.
There is a lot more to play out here as Australia has made it dam near impossible for thei own subjects to leave or return to the country, many ordinary people sre increasingly angry that sports people & celebrities seem to be able to travel. Also will our cricketers go out in October if they can’t take their families? (We allowed the Indian cricketers to do that). Can you imagine the abuse the Aussie press will hurl at them if they won’t play the ashes.

The game needs to expand outside the heartlands simply to increase the player pool.

Define both "many people are angry" and "sports people and celebrities"
The first is the usual hype....a demonstration in NSW or Victoria against lock downs....same as the anti vax loonies and pandemic deniers we've had in here if late....a miniscule % of the population who think they know better than the science and medical professionals...lock downs done properly work and we have the pty graves here to prove it.
The second....a handful of movie professionals have managed to "pay" their own way into managed isolation and been granted access.....at no expense to either the state or public.....not fair, but being wealthy isn't about fairness. As for sports people.....our world champion cricketers spent 2 weeks in isolation before being able to celebrate their win....the Olympic athletes returning from Japan are all in isolation hotels....it's just accepted by 99.9% of us down here as the new norm for now. I can fly to the UK tomorrow if I choose....so long as I can secure a 2 week isolation spot on my return....that's the only thing stopping me.....but if they wanted to, the NRL clubs could have secured managed isolation for the supposed 600 bodies...after all, they are celebrities and sports stars........ in NSW anyway. They just didn't want to.
The NRL moved everyone to Queensland, but won't move them to the UK......this speaks volumes.

And that will increase interest as well

The Aussie won't turn up next year either and neither will the Kiwis as the Kiwis do what the Aussies tell them to do.

Well, history has shown that the Aussies have turned up overseas 31 times over the past 10 years, but UK teams have turned up 20 times.

Of course in 2000 NZ didn't turn up.

The only thing between NZ RL and extinction is a shed load of volunteers and the NRL.........same sort of thing with English Rugby League....SKY tell them to jump and they ask "how high"