I saw a video interview with Gus Gould a couple of weeks ago and before any of this came to light when he cast a large shadow over the Competition not going ahead.
Gus said that from the NRL clubs perspective that all NRL players are allowed 8 weeks rest in between each season and that he couldn't see the World Cup going ahead as the NRL players would only have a very short pre season as a result before the 2022 season started.
He also said that as all of the Pacific nations players were all predominantly playing within the NRL competition that they wouldn't be allowed to play either.
After hearing the noises currently being made by the elite players within the NRL
Perhaps they hold a far higher regard of the World Cup than their clubs do?
After all not all great players get the chance to represent or even win a World Cup for their country.
How good would it be if all of these players stood firm and said that they wanted to play in the World Cup