This idea is good but the timing is important. If it is to be a fair contest, and to be meaningful, it must be held at the end of the regular season. To be precise, it must be held two weeks after the respective grand finals (which need to be coordinated and held on the same weekend in their respective continents). Only then will it be considered an event that culminates the club seasons, a sort of "icing on the cake."

Holding it preseason is a kind of lowballing of the event. It is turning it into a kind of "taster" for the regular season, not a serious contest.

Moreover the teams are rarely the same in the new season so it is not a real reflection of each team's actual strength based on the previous season's results. Only end of season makes it a true reflection of the teams that placed 1-3.

End of season can be fitted into an international schedule. Let us say we coordinate the respective competitions' schedules so that the grand finals are on the last weekend in September. The World Series will then be on the second weekend in October, so as to give the teams time to recuperate, and to give one nations' teams time to arrive in the other country with more than a week to get over jet lag and acclimatise.

Then the internationals between nations can be started in the 3rd weekend of October and finish in mid November (in the case of the Four Nations) or at the end of November (in the case of the World Cup).

If we're going to bridge that gap, we need to bring in revenue. The easiest way to do that is to chance the most lucrative sponsorship and television deals and those, whether we like it or not, are to be found in Australia.

The Aussies wouldn't be interested if there wasn't something in it for them so if it does come off, it's because they consider it viable.

Good point. So scrap some fixtures by getting rid of the dross.

The Championship version against the French was poorly supported

Just saying like

Well said. Uncle MO would be pleased at this other folly.

But that was not comparable.

The Championship and French clubs competing had much much smaller fan bases than the SL and NRL clubs we are talking about (e.g. three out of Melbourne, South Sydney, Canterbury, Manly, Nth Queensland, Sydney Roosters, Brisbane vs three out of Leeds, Warrington, Huddersfield, Wigan, Bradford, Catalans, St Helens).

The Championship and French clubs competing had a much lower standard of rugby league than the SL and NRL clubs we are talking about.

So that example is irrelevant.

Much more important is getting the season time scheduling right, as I have written about in my post above.

But similarily they were all apart from 1 , completely meaningless matches , that is the potential problem , generally RL fans dont watch meaningless matches

OK, so I have a solution, which I hope that Gary Hetherington, the RFL and NRL pick up:

Have two competitions at stake:

(i) the World Club Champion, which is between the two grand final winners.

(ii) the World Competition champion, which is between SL and NRL, based on the best of the three contests.

You could have a SL club as world champions because they win the contest between the two grand finalists, but the NRL clubs win the other two games, so the NRL wins the Championship contest, or vice versa.

Incidentally with three clubs from each competition competing, I suspect that you could charter at least one, maybe two, Boeing 747s to carry the three away clubs' supporters there and back.

Only problem for the airline involved would be filling the business class and first class sections, but I suppose a squad of say 20 players and five coaches and officials from each club could fill most of those more expensive seats.

I think if they can get it right it would be good for the game it might take time but remember Rome was not built in a day, but has I said if they can get it right

Spot on, that is the problem with rugby league fans and to an extent the RFL. We introduce something, and if it isn't an instant success slam it and brush it all under the carpet. Let us not forget that when State of Origin in its current form was introduced, there was widespread criticism.

Some fixtures would have to be dropped. Cameron smith was complaining earlier in the year about to many fixtures the top NRL players have to play.
I like the idea but it has to be done right and with the full backing of the NRL clubs and players

SuperBowel sums it up for me