[quote="ccs"][/quote]
Thanks,I don't read the club website.

As good as a week in Australia sounds , what will we gain out of this ?
These games are like taking sand to the Arabs ! I think the Sydney area has got the concept of Rugby League!

If you look at it purely from an expansion of RL angle then you're right. However, that's not the motivating factor in this. It's a business deal, driven primarily by NSW/Illawarra to boost their local economy, rather than an initiative from the NRL or RFL.

It probably won't be costing the club anything to go there, they may even make a few £, but the main benefits are likely to be intangible. Building the Hull FC brand's perception will have a knock on effect on sponsors, supporters, media attention and our ability to attract & retain players in the future. The experience will benefit our players I'm sure, and who knows, maybe other revenue streams & opportunities will stem from it.

I'm struggling to see any big downsides.

I'd imagine the club may look at doing one/some of the following in order to help raise the profile and cash in from the tour:

- One-off shirt release, with tour-only sponsorship
- Streaming the game live on FC Live with a cost to view (as per the RFL did for the England v Samoa game)
- Use the tour as a chance to meet agents and players for future seasons
- Take some key sponsors/prospective partners on the tour with them and give them a VIP treatment to butter them up
- Of the fans that do go, invite them to training sessions/meet the player events, really make a big fuss of them
- Link up with ex-players/coaches out in Australia/NZ and help to publicise the history of the club abroad
- DVD of the tour, including both games, tour diary style vlogs, behind the scenes access

The tour also helps to push the club towards the top of the RFLs thinking when it comes to high profile events within the game; Seeing the club being taken abroad and hopefully received well, and the fanbase we having here and in Australia following the club will boost us towards the top of their thinking for any future tours, World Club Challenges etc. The benefits of playing two games abroad are MUCH more than just the players getting the experience of an NRL opponent and showcasing themselves in Australia. It could genuinely be a VERY lucrative, in terms of money and exposure, move for the club.

you can bet sky will show live coverage of the game

hull fc or wigan wont have the rights to show live SL games either on their clubs channels

Roggiehrlfc1 ''All booked, from Manchester Airport £568 adult return''

Struggling to get anything as cheap as that, could you kindly share your flight details so we can jump on as well please.

Manchester Weds 14th at 08.10am, one stop, land Sydney Thurs 15th at 19.30pm.
Sydney Mon 19th at 14:00pm, two stops, land Manchester Tues 20th @ 06:40am. Booked with Dream World Flights.

Try Skyscanner mate.

There's a couple of Asian company's who do cheap flights and are quite cheap, southern China been the best. If you book it right you can get on a Air France flight for one leg as well.

just a quick heads up that karen has kindly agreed to put a sticky thread on the forum where folk can post any details of their bookings, routes, itineries etc and also ask any questions about the trip so other users can help them on what could be the trip of a lifetime