I can't speak for all the NRL clubs, but I do know that's not the case for Melbourne - who, incidentally, have never shirked a WCC following a Grand Final win.
For them it is not about not caring, it's mainly that the game is a week out from the start of the season and ALWAYS entails shipping a squad half way around the world to play in frigid weather when you have been conditioning the guys to start a season at the end of an Aussie summer.
Storm have previously tried to have a couple of their WCC played in Oz to no avail.

Most of the Aussie fans, however, don't give a damn unless their club is involved.

Anyway, I have said for years - since 2000 in fact when storm played St Helens(and beat them 44-6 iirc

) - that it didn't count unless it was played 2 weeks after the respective Grand Finals with the full Premiership squads. [uThen[/u it'd be a trophy that mattered.

At the time yes but after watching it back it was very much swings and roundabouts. We got some calls for us and come against. I thought they got away with an awful lot during the game and it didn't look any different watching it back but then we got one or two calls go our way as well.

Our discipline was generally better then there's I thought and it showed on the penalty count. Do I feel we got the rub of the green? Not really, I just think we correctly came out on the right side of the penalty count.

Ultimately the referee had no bearing on the result IMO.

I don't think either team were badly done to - Hicks tried to let the game flow, he just did it with less alacrity than Bentham did the night before; he allowed both teams some leeway for the sake of a free flowing game.

For all the talk of the NRL being a superior comp - which it undoubtedly is - it's actually a very sterile and structured form of RL, with few mistakes and a heavy reliance on percentage plays and athleticism. And they do cheat at the ruck - it's just more evolved, as they've already clamped down on wrestling.

I think Tony Smith alluded to it in his post match interview when he said that Brisbane were quite predictable in that they don't start playing until they get in the opposition 30-20. The only time Brisbane attacked from deep was from the scrum in their own 10 which resulted in a try.

Pfft. No point with the concept. A series whitewash against 2 poor teams without even getting into top gear.

Scrap it. It's done.

Indeed he did - and both Wire and Wigan did a good job of nullifying the exit strategy of NRL teams, by crowding and bullying their big men; really good game planning by both SL coaches, to stop them getting into the area where they start to actually play.