My fear is the damage caused by the NSWRL is irreversible. It went out of its way to f**k up the game in Brisbane in 1988 out of spite, doubled down on its efforts in 1997 and has never stopped holding it back to protect the NSWRL clubs from Sydney.
It's a miracle the Cowboys survived after being forced to fork out $800k per annum to fly broke Sydney clubs to Townsville. The annual grant back then was just $500k and teams had to cover the salary cap out of their own pockets. Cowboys were also forced to take out a loan to convert The Willows into an RL stadium while Sydney clubs were allowed to play out of shitholes.
@The_Wookie and
@MugaB conveniently ignore these inconvenient facts because the truth goes against their revisionist history of the game.
We cannot forget that the NSWRFL never wanted State of Origin and labelled Queenslanders insane and stupid for bringing up the proposition. It's no wonder the game in Australia has failed to grow into new markets when it it's been run by simpletons from the NSWRL since 1908. If it wasn't for Super League and News Ltd's involvement then we wouldn't have the Storm or Cowboys.
The NSWRL managed to destroy rugby league in Perth by favouring the NSWRL clubs. News Ltd refused to fix the mess caused by the NSWRL.
Our main competitor has been unopposed for 25 years thanks to the parasitic Sydney cartel. They've achieved a lot in that time and we'll never catch up to them.