I personally don't think the game would work being played in Aus. In a ideal world then yes but it is seen as just a pre season friendly to the Aussies and they don't attach any more importance to it than we do to our boxing day games.
And I am not saying this because I am a Leeds fan, but we always talk about this big team historically of Wigan, and for me they are as I grew up with there dominance so for me they are probably the big name. But in aus do they really think that now? With recent years they have had a barren spell will they still be held in the high regard that certainly my era had for them?

Sorry I also agreed with your last idea of not every year

It should be played in Australian at some point.
The Aussies always say they won't sell out and fiddle the figures when they do.
As has been mentioned the official crowd at the ANZ for the Wigan game was 54000. At the press conf a couple of days prior to the game a Broncos man was telling us he was really worried about the attendance figures as pre sales of tickets was low.
The capacity at the ANZ was 60k and I went downstairs to get a programme 15 mins before kick off and the gates were locked and all the gatemen had gone. There were hundreds out side.
No way was there 6000 empty seats at that ground.

As for a neutral venue, why? The first WCC was at Central Park v Manley and the game in Oz was at the Broncos home ground.
The reasons for not going to KR, Odsal or Shedingly is that they don't have undersoil heating which prevents the game being called off due to freezing weather conditions. CP had undersoil heating as does the DW.
Hence it's being played at Wigan.
If you've travelled from Australia nowhere in the UK is neutral!

I'm pretty sure Wigan are still the most well known and famous English club in Australia.

Even though St George have had a long quiet spell, just knowing the history makes this feel like a big game.

Brisbane havn't won anything for a few years? People over here still see them as the biggest club in Aus.

It's not like we havn't won anything for 30 years. W went 7 years without a trophy and were in the top 3 all but 2 of those 7 years.

Fair enough I wasn't claiming we would be or anything I was just curious, as I say I grew up with Wigan winning everything but not like that for last 7 (excluding this). From a personal point of view as stated previosly the Aussies don't take it serious and never will as long as we perform how we do internationally.

also your point about BRisbane. I don't think straight away of Brisbane either!

www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 17ueh.html Seems there not keen. It looks like the charity shield game with South's is more highly regarded. Lets face the choice of venue sapped any last bit of credibility this fixture ever had! No more than a exhibition match!

www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 17ueh.html Seems there not keen. It looks like the charity shield game with South's is more highly regarded. Lets face the choice of venue sapped any last bit of credibility this fixture ever had! No more than a exhibition match!

So...if it had been played at a neutral ground then 15,000 Australians would have rolled up would they


Makes no difference where it's played......it's a nothing game for a trophy that only matters if you win it

....ask Leeds fans

So...if it had been played at a neutral ground then 15,000 Australians would have rolled up would they


Makes no difference where it's played......it's a nothing game for a trophy that only matters if you win it

....ask Leeds fans

It disappoints me that even amongst the die hard Wigan fans there is no optimism for a big crowd at a bigger venue.

With this being Wigan's first in a while they would get 20,000 of their own fans anywhere. I know a fair few people who are not even going to try getting tickets but have said they would have liked to go.

It just sums up our sport perfectly. If Union had this event, which they are bound to replicate sometime soon, they would play it at Wembley and get a massive crowd. Our sport just sits there and has the party in the back garden because it's cheaper than renting the town hall and putting up a marquee. Small minded and happy with it's decline.

No but it would of made it more of an even competition. But of course it's not about competition it's about a commercial marketing event for SL, that's why the Aussies don't respect it.

Kind of like playing the 4 nations in a RL stronghold of the Australian NRL Between Australia and New Zealand, with an Australian Ref



Fact remains....Bell End Road, Old Trafford or the DW Stadium.....the only real advantage is that it's played in the UK. If you really wanted to even things up.....play it at Craven Cottage.....you'd get more Aussies than Pies there.....