How many Int Teams in a Domestic Comp ?

[siv]

So with all of this talk of international teams joining comps in England and in Queensland/NSW

How many teams can a 14 domestic team really sustain ?

At some point travel costs to local clubs become a issue - not to mention the issues it causes to the draw when they don't field lower grade teams

How long before a local comp is the better answer ?

Eg could a NSW Cup survive having all 8 NZ provinces playing, Fiji, Tong and Samoa

At some point somethings gotta give - when Brunei wants to join

 

[Pommy]

So with all of this talk of international teams joining comps in England and in Queensland/NSW

How many teams can a 14 domestic team really sustain ?

At some point travel costs to local clubs become a issue - not to mention the issues it causes to the draw when they don't field lower grade teams

How long before a local comp is the better answer ?

Eg could a NSW Cup survive having all 8 NZ provinces playing, Fiji, Tong and Samoa

At some point somethings gotta give - when Brunei wants to join

Well Toronto cover the expenses of clubs visiting Canada. They take no central funding but in return are allowed to negotiate their own TV deal.
I’m not sure what agreement the French clubs joined under.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I would imagine that part of the deal for joining a domestic league (as a foreign club) would be covering costs of travel and accommodation for visiting teams. This would especially need to apply when the expansion is occurring below the professional level.

Toronto does this, I would say that there is some sort of arrangement setup with the PNG Hunters either by the PNG Government or the Hunters' sponsors. Fiji until recently have been declined entry to the NSW Cup based on the fact that they needed a major sponsor, this was to ensure financial viability but also maybe to assist with funding of travel.

As long as costs are covered, I think the ideal number depends on the season structure. I would prefer that the NRL have 20 teams and everyone play each other once for fairness. If SL wants each team to play each other twice (home & away) that's ok but I think they should restrict the number of clubs to 12 to keep the season length reasonable.