Footy fans will decide if it's a gamble not a Soccer fan or highly opinionated Binroy.
Alan B.

There could be a number of reasons:

from gambling revenue and broadcast rights to a genuine desire to share passion for a sport.

Now that Rugby Union has essentially self-imploded there is little completion in the Rugby sphere for fans.

I watched snippets of the game.

One of the common phrases used by the TV commentators was about the "brutality of the game".

The implication being that the NRL players are "tough guys" as opposed to American Football players who needed all that protective gear.

Given the number of former NFL and NRL players with CTE, a game advertising itself as a brutal game with hard knocks and big hits may be in fact advertising its own demise.