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New Zealand Warriors and Catalans are set to become permanent fixtures in the World Club Series as soon as next year. Blake Solly, the general manager of Super League, told Discord that he agrees with the idea of the other two countries in who play full-time professional rugby league being involved each year.
"It's a possibility - we've always been real clear about making year one a success and I think the early indicators are that it's going to be a huge success," he said. "From there, we can look at how we grow the concept. I think Shane Richardson is very keen to ensure that's part of his brief in his new role (at the NRL). We think it's got plenty of growth opportunities and we're just looking forward to getting this weekend away.
"Then we can all get around the table and we can work out what 2016 looks like.
"The World Club Challenge is a non-negotiable anyway and it's built a huge reputation over a period of time."
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The fact that the southern hemisphere clubs involved this weekend are not the top three from the previous year will make it easier to introduce arbitrary participants in future seasons. If the second and third-placed NRL teams had been included this year, there could have been complaints from whoever lost their place to the Warriors.
France's BeInSport sent a crew to Manchester this week to cover the WCS build-up.
"Catalan really wanted to play in this year's tournament - they were desperate to get into that grand final to qualify," said Solly. "They're a great club. They've got the best commercial income in Super League. They certainly want to host a game.
"France is a growing market for both the NRL and Super League competitions. From a commercial point of view, from a profile point of view, from a TV point of view, the more markets you've got playing in it (the WCS) the better."
The WCS is again likely to be in the UK next year. "The UK market wants this game a little bit more but in saying that, it's for us to make it a success. Hopefully the NRL and the Australia clubs will want to host it and there's always that alternative for another venue somewhere else around the world."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...nd-and-french-connection-20150217-13hsz6.html
New Zealand Warriors and Catalans are set to become permanent fixtures in the World Club Series as soon as next year. Blake Solly, the general manager of Super League, told Discord that he agrees with the idea of the other two countries in who play full-time professional rugby league being involved each year.
"It's a possibility - we've always been real clear about making year one a success and I think the early indicators are that it's going to be a huge success," he said. "From there, we can look at how we grow the concept. I think Shane Richardson is very keen to ensure that's part of his brief in his new role (at the NRL). We think it's got plenty of growth opportunities and we're just looking forward to getting this weekend away.
"Then we can all get around the table and we can work out what 2016 looks like.
"The World Club Challenge is a non-negotiable anyway and it's built a huge reputation over a period of time."
Advertisement
The fact that the southern hemisphere clubs involved this weekend are not the top three from the previous year will make it easier to introduce arbitrary participants in future seasons. If the second and third-placed NRL teams had been included this year, there could have been complaints from whoever lost their place to the Warriors.
France's BeInSport sent a crew to Manchester this week to cover the WCS build-up.
"Catalan really wanted to play in this year's tournament - they were desperate to get into that grand final to qualify," said Solly. "They're a great club. They've got the best commercial income in Super League. They certainly want to host a game.
"France is a growing market for both the NRL and Super League competitions. From a commercial point of view, from a profile point of view, from a TV point of view, the more markets you've got playing in it (the WCS) the better."
The WCS is again likely to be in the UK next year. "The UK market wants this game a little bit more but in saying that, it's for us to make it a success. Hopefully the NRL and the Australia clubs will want to host it and there's always that alternative for another venue somewhere else around the world."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...nd-and-french-connection-20150217-13hsz6.html
