“It’s too premature to comment on just exactly what we do next,” he said. “I’ve been across the issues for a while now. France 2025 was always going to be a great opportunity to grow the game in Europe and particularly in France.

“But it wasn’t without challenge and without risk, and it required a few things to go the way of the IRL. We are working on, and have been working on, a mitigation plan to make sure that international content is played over the next five years.“

The NRL re-implemented the mid-season Test window last year after the pandemic forced its cancellation for two years.

Buoyed by the success of it and the 2022 World Cup, the league is keen to lock in a regular four-week post-season international window for October and November.

“Everyone in the game is really united around making sure that we revive and then we invest in international football,” Abdo said.

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“We’re hard at work as to what that calendar looks like over the next five years. Hopefully very soon, we’ll be able to talk more openly about what those plans look like.

“If we’re not playing a World Cup in France, there are plenty of other really good opportunities for us to showcase international games.”

Growing the game in the Pacific Islands has been of particular interest to the NRL in recent times, with the region floated as a possible destination for an 18th team.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously suggested taking State of Origin games there as a chance to strengthen ties.

PNG international Alex Johnston suggested NRL-mad Papua New Guinea as a possible World Cup co-host, after it hosted games as part of the 2017 edition.

“The atmosphere is completely different in PNG, it’s a whole different world for sure,” he said. “We’re literally rock stars (over there), not just us, any team that goes over there. They just love rugby league.”

AAP