It is only a matter of days before Wigan play Hull FC in a legitimate Super League clash, and Leeds plays Melbourne in the prestigious WCC. Yet I have seen no news about either of these games in the Australian newspapers that I read (The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald).

Who is responsible for marketing these games: the NRL or the RFL?

These matches, being held in the Australian preseason, should be big draws for rugby league starved Aussie fans. Yet most Australians don't know about them.

Any crowd less than 20,000 for either of them will be a flop.

Has the "headless" RFL dropped the ball again?

I have seen Melbourne advertising the Leeds clash, but that's about it.

Given the clubs decided to take it over there, I’d say the responsibility is theirs, not the RFL or NRL.

Where were those ‘rugby league starved Aussie fans’ during the RLWC, and what makes you think they’d turn out in their droves for these matches?

Market them? Sky's already paying the clubs to broadcast them (as opposed to paying the RFL as it does for games shown in this country). So surely Hetherington, Pearson and Lenegan already have what they want. The attendances are merely incidental.

Lenegan is on record as saying he expected 5,000 Wigan fans to travel
As for Sky paying to televise the Hull v Wigan game.....it'll be a pittance. AM games on Sky will get little interest

Is "marketing" replacing the "attendance" moans for this season ?

Is someone going to start measuring & comparing those column inches & website hits from seasons past ?

The WCC is the responsibility of the host governing body, so in this case it is the NRL.

That said, you can't avoid content about the game if you're following Leeds' online media channels.

As for the Hull v Wigan game, that's on the clubs.

Yes, sorry, by clubs I'd meant Hull and Wigan. As CMG points out, it'll likely be a pittance though I think the real point is one of muscle-flexing by Lenegan and Pearson as they manoeuvre for a more favourable share of the TV deal. If so, it's a bone-headed way to go about things if it ends up disrupting their respective clubs' seasons. But we'll see.

The Wigan & Hull games were arranged initially by the Illawarra tourist board IIRC and paid for the clubs to travel via ticket receipts, so any marketing for the games will be theirs, as well as the clubs responsibility.

I'm not sure a huge attendance is top of the list for these games though, it'd be a nice bonus. Illawarra get a load of tourists over spending money (Hull are rumoured to have sold over 1,000 official club packages to fans alone), and the clubs make a bit of cash (holiday packages, merch, TV rights as mentioned).

Hopefully there's some intangible benefit in building the clubs brand too, not just to Aussie fans, but to sponsors over here and to players around the world who'll sit up & take notice.

Is this Pearsons masterplan? Get more money from the fans you've already got rather than try to attract new ones?

No matter who pays what I think it’s a good idea and one that should be repeated if successful

I'll give you the Wigan argument straight from the shareholders meeting and season launch night from Ian Lenagan. The club expect to make somewhere in the region of £300K - £400K from the matches/trip. That's more than from a Wembley or Grand Final.

What a brilliant move by the always brilliant Ian Lenagan.