• Podcast
  • ARL
    • Indigenous All Stars v NRL All Stars
    • Rugby League State Of Origin
  • NRL
    • 2020 NRL Draw
    • 2015 NRL Draw
    • 2014 NRL Draw
  • ESL
    • International Origin
    • Challenge Cup
  • World
    • World Club Challenge
    • World Cup
    • Rugby League 9’s
    • NRL Auckland Nines Draw
  • Sports
    • AFL
    • Cricket
    • Rugby Union
    • Soccer
  • Guest Writers
  • League Freak
    • Web Site News
    • Sponsorship
    • Uncategorized

The Glorious League Freak – Covering Rugby League World Wide – LeagueFreak.com

  • Home
  • Podcast
  • RL World 9’s
  • Features
  • History
    • The Super League War
      • The Super League War – The Clubs
      • The Super League War – The Freak
      • The Super League War – The Extras
  • Quotes
  • Look-Alikes
  • Teams
  • Rankings
  • Media
  • About
    • Bio
    • League Freaks Commentary Career
    • Contact
    • League Freak On Twitter
    • I Am Not A Journalist
    • Contribute To LeagueFreak.com
    • League Freak Mentions In The Media
    • Advertise On This Website
    • Rugby League RSS Feed
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • RSS Feed
    • Youtube

The World Club Series Feels Like A Cash Grab

Sep 05, 2014 League Freak World Club Challenge News 0


So the World Club Challenge has now been expanded and the World Club Series will become the latest cash grab by clubs on both sides of the world. Great, looks like League Freak needs to make another bloody banner for his site!

The NRL Grand Finalists will join a third team and play one off matches against the Super League Grand Finalists and the third ranked team in Super League.

1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3. Simple enough!

Here are my thoughts on this whole thing…

It’s clear we need to be playing less club games during the NRL regular season. Watching how the 2014 NRL season has played out, some players look worn down. We see teams rise and fall over the course of the season, very few clubs play consistent football, and as we head into the NRL finals series a number of clubs are dealing with injury lists as long as your arm.

If we were playing less NRL regular season games and replacing them with things like the World Club Series, I’d be fine with that. That isn’t what we are dealing with though. This World Club Series is just more games to play on top of the Auckland 9’s, the All Star Game, pre season trials, NRL games, State Of Origin games, and international games.

I don’t care what sport you take as an example, that is a massive workload on players who play a violent contact sport that sees them playing games from late January to November.

I personally wouldn’t want my club heading over to England at the height of their pre season preparations. I would much rather they concentrate on winning the NRL title. Winning the World Club Series might put a bit of extra money in the clubs coffers, but at what cost?

Packing up and heading to England is no small feat. It has worn on every single NRL club that has been forced to make the journey. The NRL salary cap makes it hard for NRL clubs to win back-to-back titles, but it has nothing on asking our Premiers to trash their pre season and go to England.

As an expansionist, I want to see NRL clubs use their influence to spread the word on Rugby League. The World Club Series doesn’t feel like that though. It feels like a cash grab.

What I would love to see happen is the NRL season cut back to 20 games. Stand alone representative weekends. With some time freed up and the workload on players eased, then we can consider a competition like the World Club series.

One major change I would make would be to have the New Zealand Warriors and Catalan Dragons feature in the series. That would give you professional clubs from four different nations taking part in the series, and if we want to have an international club competition, surely that is the way to go. Get as many countries involved as possible. Make it a truly international series.

That then opens up the possibility that the World Club Series can expand to include clubs such as the PNG Hunters who currently play in the QLD Cup, the Fijian NSW Cup team that will be formed in 2016, the United States Rugby League premiers and from there you could invite another international club champion from one of the many Rugby League competitions around the world.

Basically, if you’re going to make a World Club Series, do it right! Make it a truly international competition. Not just a bunch of NRL teams playing a bunch of English sides.

The World Club Series could be the start of Rugby Leagues version of a champions league. To be able to say that we have a competition that shows off the best club sides from Rugby League playing nations from around the world would be something that would help Rugby League expand internationally.

Let’s hope that the administrators of the game are thinking along those lines and not just looking to make a handful of wealthy clubs even wealthier.

  • Tweet
  • Share 0
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • LinkedIn 0
  • Email

Related


  • Australia, England, Fiji, France, New Zealand, United States, World Club Challenge
The Death Of The Balmain Tigers Has Been A Long Time Coming Daniel Nichols - Thousands Miss Kick Off In TNF Blockbuster

League Freak

A well known Rugby League writer, League Freak has established a reputation among supporters of the game for his fearless commentary and unmatched insight. With a reach that spans both sides of the globe, League Freak has produced an independent network that allows him to distribute content to his many thousands of followers. He is the owner and main author of LeagueFreak.com

Related articles
  • RLIF Release “World Rankings” That Make No Sense To Anyone!
    RLIF Release “World...

    Nov 18, 2019 0

  • Podcast: Fergo And The Freak – Episode 106 – The Disastrous British Lions Tour And Fiji And Papua New Guinea Play Out A Classic!
    Podcast: Fergo And The Freak –...

    Nov 11, 2019 0

  • Australia Vs England Ashes Schedule Released
    Australia Vs England Ashes Schedule...

    Nov 08, 2019 0


You must log in to post a comment.

RSS Fergo and The Freak Podcast

  • The 1994 Season
  • The First Referee
  • The 2019 King Of Rugby League
  • 1917 And One Little Lie
  • Should The NRL Buy Rugby Union In Australia, Ralf Rimmer Quadruples Down And Thunder And Lightning
  • Paul McGregor Wants To Forget 2019, A Semi, Gold Coast Hookers And A Possible Amputee
  • Michael Carbone From The International Rugby League Podcast Joins Us For A Chat
  • Israel Folau Is A Moron, The Golden/Silver/Bronze Boot Winner And Celebrity Boxing
  • The Postmortem To The Great Britain Rugby League Lions 2019 Invisibles Tour
  • A Podcast For Julie!
  • The Disastrous British Lions Tour And Fiji And Papua New Guinea Play Out A Classic!
  • The Media Vs Latrell Mitchell - Defending A Young Man Who Has Done Nothing Wrong
  • Richard Shaw-Wright Joins Us To Talk Lions Tour, Expansion in Super League And The 2021 World Cup
  • Tonga Beats Australia, Great Britain Lose To A Poor New Zealand Team And International Footy Wrap
  • International Rugby League Preview And Peter V'landys Steps Into The Big Job

Polls

What do you think has caused the sudden surge in medical retirements in the NRL?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

League Freaks Social Network

Follow League Freak on:

Latest Rugby League Articles

  • Should The National Rugby League Take Over The Running Of Rugby Union?
    Should The National Rugby League Take Over The Running Of...

    Nov 27, 2019 0

  • RLIF Release “World Rankings” That Make No Sense To Anyone!
    RLIF Release “World Rankings” That Make No Sense...

    Nov 18, 2019 0

  • British Lions Disaster A True Sign Of Rugby Leagues Decline In The Old Dart
    British Lions Disaster A True Sign Of Rugby Leagues Decline...

    Nov 10, 2019 0

  • MoFoStormfan – The Story Of A Melbourne Storm Supporter
    MoFoStormfan – The Story Of A Melbourne Storm

    Nov 09, 2019 0

  • The NRL Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Covering Super League And International Rugby League
    The NRL Podcast On Apple Podcasts, Covering Super League And...

    Nov 08, 2019 0

Follow League Freak on Twitter

My Tweets
As featured on NewsNow: NRL newsNRL News 24/7

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Blogroll

  • The Glorious League Freak.
  • League Freak on Twitter
  • League Freak on Facebook
  • Rugby League Podcasting Network
  • NRL Breaking News
  • NRL Rumours
  • RLWorld9s.com

Facebook Pages

  • NRL Gossip
  • NRL Infinite

Features

  • King Of Rugby League
  • Rugby League Look-Alikes
  • Biggest Winning Margins In Rugby League History
  • Biggest Crowds In Rugby League History
  • Rugby League Quotes
  • Rugby League Dictionary
  • The Super League War
  • The New Zealand Haka
  • Funny Rugby League Teams
  • Rugby League Rankins Lists
  • NRL Rumours
  • IHateRugbyUnion.com
  • NRL History

Other Links

  • Submit Your Australian Blog
  • Best Junk Hauling Virginia
  • Gutter Cleaning Service Virginia
  • Best Lawn Mowing Service Virginia
  • 2020 NRL Draw

Other Sports

  • Clutch Fans
  • Sportette

Players

  • Cameron Smith
  • Kayln Ponga
  • Sonny Bill Williams
  • Jarryd Hayne
  • Andrew Johns
  • Semi Radradra
  • Sam Burgess
  • Benji Marshall
  • James Tedesco
  • Cooper Cronk
  • Johnathan Thurston
  • Anthony Mundine
  • Sam Tomkins
  • Greg Inglis
  • Jamie Peacock

Rugby League

  • Rugby League Project
  • Era Of The Biff
  • Darryl's Rugby League
  • Jamie Lyon Web
  • Rugby League Review
  • Rugby League Ratings
  • NRL CEO Fantasy League
  • QLD Panthers
  • Andrew Ferguson's Website!
  • Black Swans RLFC
  • InternationalRL
  • 2021 Rugby League World Cup

Rugby League Podcast

  • Best Rugby League Podcast
  • Best NRL Podcast
  • Best Super League Podcast
  • Best Australian Podcast
  • Best Sports Podcast
  • Funniest Podcast
  • Best Comedy Podcast
  • NRL Radio
Google+
  • National Rugby League
  • Rugby League State Of Origin
  • Brisbane Broncos
  • Canberra Raiders
  • Canterbury Bulldogs
  • Cronulla Sharks
  • Gold Coast Titans
  • Manly Sea Eagles
  • Melbourne Storm
  • New Zealand Warriors
  • Newcastle Knights
  • North Queensland Cowboys
  • Parramatta Eels
  • Penrith Panthers
  • South Sydney Rabbitohs
  • St George/Illawarra Dragons
  • Sydney Roosters
  • Wests Tigers
  • The King Of Rugby League Awards
  • Fantasy Rugby League Teams
  • Rugby League World Rankings
  • Rugby League Look-Alikes
  • International Rugby League News
  • National Rugby League
  • European Super League News
  • Featured Guest Writers
  • Other Sports
  • Advertise On LeagueFreak.com
  • About LeagueFreak.com
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feed
  • NothingButLeague.com
  • Rugby League Podcasting Network
  • NRL Breaking News
  • NRL Rumours – Latest NRL Rumours
Copyright LeagueFreak.com 2020 / All rights reserved
  • Advertise On LeagueFreak.com
  • About LeagueFreak.com
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feed
  • NothingButLeague.com
  • Rugby League Podcasting Network
  • NRL Breaking News
  • NRL Rumours – Latest NRL Rumours