Dragons forward Tyson Frizell says he would back moves to take NRL games abroad as St George Illawarra prepare to take on Super League giants Hull as part of a double-header on Saturday.
Old rivals Hull and Wigan fought it out for the Kenny-Sterling Shield in Wollongong in the first regular season Super League game played outside Europe last Saturday night. The Dragons start their pre-season campaign when they face Hull at ANZ Stadium.
The double-header will also feature South Sydney taking on Wigan.
Moves to take an NRL match abroad have been touted in the past, with the USA and Asia possible destinations, but are yet to come to fruition.
St George Illawarra floated the possibility of an international fixture in finalising it’s schedule for 2018 but ultimately decided to take their round 11 clash with Canberra to Mudgee.
Frizell said he would jump at the chance to take the game to a new international audience.
“I’m all for it. Pre-season’s a long time, you’e doing a lot of training,” Frizell said.
“To break that up and maybe expand the game and play footy somewhere where rugby league is not as well known would only be good for us as players and also the game.
“It’s something to look at down the track.”
Including Test and Origin appearances, Frizell played 31 games in 2017 – for the most part carrying torn rib cartilage – and said player welfare would need to be taken into account.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm.