So ladies and gentleman, I'm going to attempt to "do a Durko" today. Introducing … the London Kings, an NRL side based in the capital. It's been weird this week on social media to be criticised all over again for an idea I expounded in an English newspaper column some 16 years ago. My reasoning back then was to improve the standards of the Great Britain side, yet some people are now saying a team in the NRL will do the opposite. In our game, if you've been around long enough you hear every argument over and over again – and many of those decrying the idea are saying the same thing we heard when Illawarra, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Brisbane, the Warriors, North Queensland and just about every other expansion team was added. Let's go through the arguments one by one. No one likes rugby league in London.

Good point – the Broncos are back down a division this year and play in front of paltry crowds. But when Harlequins played Manly and Australia took on New Zealand at The Stoop, they had to delay the kick-off because of crowds outside. The Storm are aimed at expat northern staters and Kiwis, while trying to convert locals. The Kings would be exactly the same. They would not be competitive because the standard of Super League is poor. Hello? Did the Warriors recruit their first team completely from players who already lived in New Zealand? Dean Bell! Andy Platt! Denis Betts! Australians and Kiwis would play for the Kings. They would just be another side with the same salary cap as the rest of the comp. The travel is too much The time zone changes and transit time is the same as a Super Rugby side travelling from Dunedin to Durbin. They manage. Three teams are doing exactly what the Kings' visitors would face a fortnight from now! They have a week to acclimatise, they play, and they come home. Personally I favour the Kings playing home games in blocks of four, followed by away games over the same period. That means the other teams have to make concessions to something that would hugely increase their income and footprint. Hasn't hurt the AFL.

The domestic league would be ruined That is the biggest worry, without doubt – which is why the team must be based on London. An NRL team in London has an appeal that a Super League side there never will. Super League would continue as it does now, but fixture clashes would be studiously avoided. If the Kings were playing at home on Friday night, there would be no Super League matches that day. There would be challenges, of course, with a perception that Super League has become a feeder competition, something that would need to be fought vigorously. But there would be no end to tradition, no end to derbies. Super League teams would have their salary cap, the Kings would have theirs'. You can't make enough money to cover the costs The Warriors are the most valuable team in the NRL because of the television money they generate – a whole new country of broadcasters came with them. A team based in a huge media market like the UK would gazump them many times over. Marwan Koukash says he already has an airline on board and believes the idea is viable. David Gallop used to say "fish where the fish are". The success of one-off events in London proves there are fish there – even if the ones who are interested in rugby league swam there from somewhere else.

International competition would be devalued What? Like the Warriors ruined the Kiwis? Like having Sam Burgess and James Graham and Gareth Widdop and the rest in the NRL has hurt England? Have another drink. Sure, the WCC would be pointless - but it earns nothing in broadcast rights anyway. The days of doing things just for the gate are numbered. I honestly believe most major professional sports leagues will be international within 80 years. The fact that rugby league is a small sport should make us dynamic. We have small pockets of popularity, which makes it is incumbent upon us to unite and utilise resources efficiently. Because we are a small sport, we should be able to do things like this first – not wait until someone else tries it and then attempt a fallow imitation. Seize the day, NRL! Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/white-line-fever/id494213902?mt=2

