Freddie Miller. wrote:I am certain Melbourne will be involved being the Premiership winners, with a big question mark over the Cowboys. Bennett has offered his Brisbane team to fill in if a second side is needed. Apparently not: http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/brisbane-broncos-keen-to-have-familyfriendly-sunday-afternoon-slots-next-season/news-story/0026d372b390d8d647273cd921e1a145 Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said they would not play another World Club Series match in England next February if asked. The English Rugby Football League is having trouble raising Australian interest, with clubs wary of adding pre-season games for players who will contest the World Cup until as late as December 2. “We have played games in England the last three years. We made a decision we probably won’t go over — we will take a bit of a different direction with it,’’ Bennett said. Bennett said the Broncos would play trial games at venues to be announced, but would be outside Brisbane. Grand finalists Melbourne and North Queensland have booked a testimonial trial in February to benefit Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston and the Storm may play as many as two trials against the Warriors, one at the Sunshine Coast and one in New Zealand. Preliminary finalists Brisbane would have been a welcome WSC opponent, but the World Club Challenge trophy could only be contested by the Storm, as premiers. The Storm and Cowboys declined the chance to play WSC matches in 2017 as preliminary finalists, with the Broncos losing to Warrington and Cronulla defeated in the WCC by Wigan. Broncos CEO Paul White has made plain in the past two years their interest in hosting an English club in a WSC match at Suncorp Stadium. “We’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting for it (the WSC) over the years, playing it three times,’’ Watt said.

Freddie Miller. wrote:I am certain Melbourne will be involved being the Premiership winners, with a big question mark over the Cowboys. Bennett has offered his Brisbane team to fill in if a second side is needed. Apparently not: http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/brisbane-broncos-keen-to-have-familyfriendly-sunday-afternoon-slots-next-season/news-story/0026d372b390d8d647273cd921e1a145 Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said they would not play another World Club Series match in England next February if asked. The English Rugby Football League is having trouble raising Australian interest, with clubs wary of adding pre-season games for players who will contest the World Cup until as late as December 2. “We have played games in England the last three years. We made a decision we probably won’t go over — we will take a bit of a different direction with it,’’ Bennett said. Bennett said the Broncos would play trial games at venues to be announced, but would be outside Brisbane. Grand finalists Melbourne and North Queensland have booked a testimonial trial in February to benefit Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston and the Storm may play as many as two trials against the Warriors, one at the Sunshine Coast and one in New Zealand. Preliminary finalists Brisbane would have been a welcome WSC opponent, but the World Club Challenge trophy could only be contested by the Storm, as premiers. The Storm and Cowboys declined the chance to play WSC matches in 2017 as preliminary finalists, with the Broncos losing to Warrington and Cronulla defeated in the WCC by Wigan. Broncos CEO Paul White has made plain in the past two years their interest in hosting an English club in a WSC match at Suncorp Stadium. “We’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting for it (the WSC) over the years, playing it three times,’’ Watt said.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/johnathan-thurston-and-cameron-smith-testimonial-game-at-suncorp-stadium/news-story/8870106b5791ea0738641d9c3363235a Now that the Testimonial game has been confirmed as the 23rd February, where does that leave the WCC apart from with a dirty great hole in the fixture list!

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/johnathan-thurston-and-cameron-smith-testimonial-game-at-suncorp-stadium/news-story/8870106b5791ea0738641d9c3363235a Now that the Testimonial game has been confirmed as the 23rd February, where does that leave the WCC apart from with a dirty great hole in the fixture list!

Karen wrote:http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/johnathan-thurston-and-cameron-smith-testimonial-game-at-suncorp-stadium/news-story/8870106b5791ea0738641d9c3363235a Now that the Testimonial game has been confirmed as the 23rd February, where does that leave the WCC apart from with a dirty great hole in the fixture list! As the English Rugby League set aside that weekend to play the series in England it shows that Melbourne have no interest in the WCC if it is played in England. They also refused to participate in the Series last year when runners up to Cronulla.

Karen wrote:http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/johnathan-thurston-and-cameron-smith-testimonial-game-at-suncorp-stadium/news-story/8870106b5791ea0738641d9c3363235a Now that the Testimonial game has been confirmed as the 23rd February, where does that leave the WCC apart from with a dirty great hole in the fixture list! As the English Rugby League set aside that weekend to play the series in England it shows that Melbourne have no interest in the WCC if it is played in England. They also refused to participate in the Series last year when runners up to Cronulla.

As I said in my earlier post, think this comp will fizzle out. The Aussie clubs are losing interest fast, a la Melbourne. They’ve kept it going by coming over here, £150k is beans compared to what tv cash they get. Whether English clubs have the appetite for travelling, like FC and Wigan, in the future, only time will tell. The World Cup has thrown spanners into evrrybodies works.