England boss McDermott calls for Super League to accept NRL investment

England head coach Brian McDermott has called for Super League to accept investment from Australia's NRL in order to improve the English game.

Talks are currently ongoing after Super League clubs rejected a £35m package from the Australian Rugby League Commission and a second deadline of 15 October was allowed to pass without an agreement being reached.

Formalising a partnership between the sport's two leading competitions is seen as as a key step in helping to grow the European competition's revenue.

"I think the NRL's investment in Super League could be very, very positive," said McDermott, who is also the assistant coach of the Gold Coast Titans.

"The product's brilliant. It has always being brilliant. The product's never been the problem. The players have never been the problem. The coaches have never been the problem.

"It's just how it's marketed and how it's presented to people. I think there's some dominoes could start falling our way if the NRL invests and we accept their investment."

Super League is yet to agree a new title sponsorship deal, finalise broadcast negotiations or even its fixtures for the 2027 campaign with London Broncos' position yet to be fully determined.

The Broncos came in16th on the yearly grading list, below fellow Championship side Barrow Raiders, despite a season in which they won the second tier's Grand Final, the 1895 Cup and were runaway champions in the regular-season standings.

The Broncos were overlooked 12 months ago when Bradford Bulls, York Knights and Toulouse Olympique joined the expanded 14-team competition.

But with the backing of Australian businessman Grant Wechsel and former Brisbane Broncos star Darren Lockyer, and with a squad full of internationals, they do still harbour hopes of playing in Super League in 2027.

It is understood any completed deal would involve the Australian governing body insisting on Broncos featuring in the top flight in the near future.

The financial gulf between the northern and southern hemisphere's elite competitions was laid bare, when the NRL struck a record $5.3bn (£3.97bn) television deal over seven years in July.

Super League's TV deal with Sky Sports, which expired at the end of 2026, was worth around £21.5m per year.

"I know there's some positive notes around Super League at the moment, especially with crowds," McDermott added.

"It's been a really interesting competition this year and Wakefield winning the Grand Final puts a brilliant marker down that all the teams can win it.

"It would be a real positive validation of Super League if the NRL were to invest."

McDermott also stressed that an injection of finance into the English game would help widen the pool of talent for future England coaches to call upon. NRL clubs have oversight of players in several age groups leading up first-grade level.

"The TV deal that the NRL's just signed is enormous and [with that you get] preparation, the facilities and the teams coming through that support each NRL club.

"I don't think Super League clubs could populate three teams underneath them with a genuine six, seven, nine and one [the spine of the team].

"So you end up playing a version of rugby league in the UK at junior level, which is good, it's well coached, it's dedicated and it's full of commitment. But you don't have the genuine six, seven, nine and one influence over a game. This is not a new opinion. This has been going on for a long time.

"If you're asking me, is there a big divide between the competitions? Yeah, there is. It's nothing to do with commitment, nothing to do with good-quality coaching or commitment from players. It's just the size of the competitions and the standing in their country."