NEW Zealand and England are considering playing a Four Nations tournament without the Kangaroos in the lead-up to the 2013 World Cup.
While the Kangaroos will again be involved in next year's tournament, which will be staged in Britain and include Wales, there is no international schedule for the end of the 2012 season as Australian officials want to give the players a summer off after three consecutive Four Nations since the last World Cup in 2008.
But their New Zealand and England counterparts believe there is sufficient interest in the concept to warrant playing without the Kangaroos, and could invite Wales and France to make up the numbers.
Despite failing to sell out Suncorp Stadium for last night's final between Australia and the Kiwis, officials consider this year's tournament to be a success - due largely to the crowds for the three matches played in New Zealand.
With the Kiwis having won the 2008 World Cup, league in New Zealand is booming and last Saturday night's ''dead rubber'' against Australia attracted a crowd of 44,432, while 20,668 fans turned up for the match against England in Wellington and 7500 fans crammed into Rotorua International Stadium for the game against Papua New Guinea.
In fact, the attendance figure of 72,600 for the three matches in New Zealand was greater than the number of spectators who watched the three games in Australia, with the 36,299 crowd at Suncorp Stadium last night taking the total to 66,501.
However, television ratings in Australia have been strong, with the Australia-England match in Melbourne being the most watched program in Sydney with an average viewing audience of 402,000 and second in Brisbane with 276,000 viewers.
The Kangaroos-Kiwis clash also rated well, with 354,000 viewers in Sydney last Saturday night and 244,000 in Brisbane, while Australia's match against Papua New Guinea was watched by an audience of 272,000 in Sydney and 161,000 in Brisbane.
But interest could have been much higher if the draw for the tournament was done differently so that last Saturday night's match was not merely a dress rehearsal for what was a gripping final in Brisbane last night.
Rather than face the might of New Zealand and Australia in its first two matches, England would have been much better served by opening its campaign against Papua New Guinea.
A tournament opener between Australia and New Zealand would have also ensured the loser had to win its remaining two games, while both matches last weekend would have had a bearing on which teams qualified for the final.
After having its preparations hampered by the political infighting that led to coach Adrian Lam resigning on the eve of the tournament, Papua New Guinea was a major disappointment and there is now talk about a combined Pacific Nations team taking its place the next time the tournament is staged in the southern hemisphere.
A newly formed Asia-Pacific Rugby League Federation has been established, with its headquarters in Auckland, and each of the seven full-member nations will get a seat on its board.
The main focus of the federation will be development in the Pacific Islands and with the Kiwis now fielding arguably their strongest team, officials want to improve the standard of countries such as Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
