National Rugby League (NRL)

Australian rugby league competition the NRL has opted to suspend the 2018 edition of its Nines competition to allow players more time to recuperate following this year’s World Cup national team tournament, and has suggested that the pre-season event will not be staged in New Zealand when it returns.

Organisers of this year’s Rugby League World Cup are being faced with the prospect of losing a host of star players from the national team tournament amid a dispute between Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) and the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA).

Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) has cited a hike in sponsorship income as one of the main reasons behind a year-on-year rise in non-broadcast revenue in 2016.

The English Super League has confirmed that rugby league’s World Club Series will be reduced from six to four teams for its 2017 edition, with Brisbane Broncos stepping in to replace Australian National Rugby League (NRL) counterpart Melbourne Storm.

Nigel Wood, chief executive of the Rugby Football League (RFL), the sport’s governing body in England, has said that the World Club Series could be revamped as early as next year, with plans to stage matches in Australia for the first time.

Australian National Rugby League (NRL) team Wests Tigers has moved to secure its long-term future by entering into a new ownership agreement worth A$8.5m (€5.5m/$6.1m) with the Wests and Balmain entities.

The Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA), the organisation that represents players in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), has called on the league to agree to a new structure that will allow a fixed share of revenue to be distributed to players from 2018.