Despite all of these leg-ups, dating back almost 40 years, fumbleball is still a minnow in Sydney.
What chance does RL have in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth when we know the media will be against us?
The aim isn't for the AFL to be #1 in Sydney or Brisbane, just to have skin in the game.
Despite limited mass-interest Swans draw higher crowds and revenue than any Sydney NRL club.
Their presence here allows the AFL to sell itself as a national game.
It increases TV rights and sponsorship value for every club in the sport.
The NRL still remains an arguably niche East Coast sport.
With so much of Australia's national media culture based in Melbourne, the NRLs failure to have a presence in the 5 main state capitals makes it easy to refer to the sport with disdain.
Even in Sydney, League's lack of international ambition means that in the big-end of town (where serious sponsorship value sits) it still plays second fiddle to Union - an absolute basketcase of a sport in this country.
Qantas has pulled its sports sponsorships due to the COVID crash. When they inevitably come back to the table in a few years, it would be nice to see Rugby League in the conversation, but I'm 99% sure we won't.
Qantas Kangaroos has a nice ring to it doesn't it? But I can't see it while the sport remains completely obsessed with Western Sydney and Brisbane. 100 years building up the heartlands, maybe another 100 will do the trick.