With the news that next season the WCC will be held in australia( 1. I'm hoping bulls win the league so I get to go haha and 2. Its been a long time coming) do you think this will help the aussie public get behind the idea before they go for the 6 team format in a few years time?
No-one's ever really going to care about this while it's still played as a pre-season game. I personally find it absurd that teams aren't able to use players from the squad they won the grand final with if they're not contracted the following season - or indeed that they're able to use newly signed players; it just makes a mockery of it. The Broncos squad that was used for the 2006-07 WCC was the same squad that finished 8th. How is that a Club Champion squad?
Going to this game was one of the best sporting experiences of my life. Would definitely go to England again when Saints win their next GF.
I have thought the same it should be after the grand finals but they seem to have more focus on internationals and trying to compete with RU in that respect
They lost Webcke. Apart from that they had Stagg out and Michaels in and Ennis instead of McGuire. The Broncos finished 8th in 2007 largely because they lost Hunt, Lockyer and Tate for close to half the season. Not to mention having some forwards like Thaiday and Hannant out for extended periods. The Broncos finish in 2007 has little to do with whether they were a "Club Champion squad" when they turned up to the WCC. With the exception of Webcke they were essentially the same.
changes to the tournament were formalised with the NRL and Super League agreeing to begin alternating the World Club Challenge tournament between UK and Australia. The 2014 World Club Challenge will be the first held in Australia since 1994. In addition, commencing in 2015, the tournament will also be expanded to six teams. Details of exactly how and when this tournament will be staged and what format it will take are yet to be decided
Yes I'm aware of that but what if they lost the entire 25 man roster and finished with the spoon? It's ridiculous to just assume that because it's the same club it's still a champion team or we might as well just give Melbourne the premiership for this year as well. It's just something that really, really irks me.
I think from ourside I think it should be Minor Premiers, Grand Final winners and Challenge Cup Winners, would be same for NRL but no third trophy
What if the same team wins all three of those though? That's where it gets complicated. Grand finalists from both comps should be automatic entry IMO, which takes you to four. And you can't play yourself in the grand final so that's definitely four as such. The other two spots.. hmm.
Just been going on recent seasons they have been mostly different in SL and CC. But I see your point both grand finalists would be a good one That would make it a mockary of the whole idea of it then
There would be 2 teams vying for that spot though, unless you were to refer back to where they finished on the ladder.
Yeah meant the ladder. So the three NRL sides would be: Grand Final Winner: Melbourne (1) Grand Final Loser: Canterbury (2) Highest Placed Side: Souths (3) Three SL sides: Grand Final Cheat: Leeds (5) Grand Final Loser: Warrington (2) Highest Placed Side: Wigan (1) Brackets being where they finished during the regular season.