You are wrong about why they were at the game.

They were invited by the ANZ Stadium Board of Directors to attend as guests of honour in the ANZ Stadium corporate box, in order to promote the game of rugby league in Australia. The invitation process was initiated last December. The key movers on this issue among the ANZ board members are both seriious rugby league fans. One goes by the name of Steve Mortimer.

The five avid rugby league fans in the Manchester United team were specifically invited, but it appears that the invitation went out to the entire team. (Rooney did not attend because he had flown back to Britain, alegedly because of a hamstring injury, though some suspect other reasons).

They were not needed to promote either SoO or their own game on this coming Saturday because both events were long ago sold out.

Got it... let's get ManU to sponsor the Super League. Shouldn't cost anymore than 1 weeks worth of Wayne Rooney's current wage

Why does RL in Australia need promoting by British footballers. I will bow down to your superior knowledge on this matter once I have a sensible answer to my question.

Im not sure I want the game linked to a guy who spent 10 years sleeping with his brothers wife, a granny prostitute fancier and a banned drug cheat to be honest.

Because of course Rugby League players are all whiter than white...

Not really the point I was making. Of course they're not, but we have enough of our own disciplne issues, without kicking up these dreggs to promote us, we may as well have got John Terry too. In fact, he could have had a queensland kit on and been dancing round the pitch faster than you can say 'my dads a drug dealer'.

You forgot racist too !!!!

Don;t let the facts get in the way of a good moan, Gav.

Ah it was the WC trophy. Great work Peckerwood!

I'm sure you could do something crative with the like of these, but what will probably happen is just that Hemmings will mention it a couple of time during a programme and that will be it.

You could invite these "pro-RL" footballers down to a training session and let them run through their paces. Let them hit a couple of bags a joke about how they don't move - get them in the gym and let them see how much more our guys lift. Put them in a foot race with our quick lads.

Remember the Adiddas adverts with Johnny Wilkinson and David Beckham? One advert was Wilkinson showing Becks how to kick a conversion and the other was Beckham teaching him his free kick technique.

Warrington were training at Carrington earlier this week too.

Because rugby league in Australia is in a close neck and neck contest with Australian Rules to be the most popular winter sport and "football" code in Australia. It is also in a struggle with rugby union, which is the third winter sport in terms of attendances, and which claims to be the more international code of rugby (which it is).

This presence of the much esteemed Manchester United soccer players (who will play an Australian A League Selection to a sold out crowd of 83,000 at ANZ Stadium on Saturday) at the marquee rugby league event in Australia is a way of the NRL scoring prestige points against the rival codes in Australia.

The secondary idea was also to provide visual material to promote the World Cup. But that is up to the RFL to exploit. Hence my question in the OP.

the media fuelling the media led code war

For the record Ryans dad played for Swinton & then later at Trafford Borough.

I am supprised that this was never brought up in his interview on the touch line unless he dosn't want it to be.