dally messenger wrote:london is certainly an expansion market.
why would it be at the cost of an international anyway?
its helped RL in melbourne quite a bit, why not london as well on the same basis
I never said that London isnt an expansion market, however is a game of Australians (same could be said for some super league teams) going to help the London RL? There are teams here in Super League and the Championships, there is a growing number of people playing the game. An Australian exhibition match is not going to help the cause.
There are a few things that you need to consider:
The Melbourne game works so well because of a few things:
Government support from Victoria due to the economic benefit created from visiting NSW and QLD fans. I went to the last game there and all hotels were booked out in the CBD.
Melbourne is on the same Time Zone as NSW and QLD
We know about players and their burnout fears. Playing an origin after the season has finished (which is traditionally 3-4Nations/World Cup time). Would almost certainly come at the expense of an international for Australia.
Not being part of the origin calander seriously devalues the state of origin concept and the NSW and QLD jerseys. Make no mistake, there would be a fair few players unavailable to play.
TV: Wouldnt be played to prime time audience in Australia. No revenue for the ARL. This tour would have to be underwritten by an independant promoter or the RFL. Neither (if any forth coming) could see any commercial value.
Littleor no corporate support. Yes there may be the odd 'Australian' company or business group, but not to the real value of the game.