New ploy: Brad Fittler wants to get non-rugby league fans in Sydney following the Blues. Credit:Getty Images "It was a bit like that, guys were going a long way when they were trying to dive on loose balls and things. You couldn't really see any lines. It wasn't bad enough to call it off. Thankfully the rain relented and we got a better second half." Titans skipper Kevin Proctor said the first 40 minutes reminded him of "swimming lessons", while Cronulla's Chad Townsend said: "You could actually see the puddles where the drains were, you'd kick the ball and it would just stop." 'Swimming lessons': The waterlogged pitch reduced the Gold Coast-Cronulla match to a farce. Credit:Jason O'Brien Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago we suggested rugby league bashers had fair ammunition from how soft we are on the shoulder charge. I present to you: Josh Papalii on Josh Dugan. 3. I have seen the future

Set Of Six has predicted a number of times that global sporting brands will swamp our local competitions unless the NRL gets a foot in the globalisation door. We hope those who laugh at us each time we say it will take note of the torrent of hype surrounding Arsenal's pair of post-season friendlies in Sydney over the past couple of days. When a British NRL fan complained on social media that Premier Sports had delayed a match to show the football friendly, I had to inform her that most people in the NRL's capital would rather watch Arsenal, too, so she really shouldn't complain. As I've said before, the same process that saw the NSWRL usurp the Brisbane competition will eventually see the Premier League, NFL, NBA and MLB dominate the Australian sports market. Only global thinking by our local administrators can prevent it. You and I might be dead by the time this evolution reaches its conclusion, but it will happen. 4. Duco and NRL go their separate ways Promoter Dean Lonergan says the relationship between the NRL and the Nines is probably over. Duco Events, who run the Nines, still have a year to run on their contract with the League and since the tournament has been canned for 2018, it's reasonable to suggest the Auckland company could be involved in whatever happens the following year.

However, when asked if the relationship had run its course, Lonergan told Set Of Six: "I think so. I might be wrong in saying that, I might be reading it the wrong way, but it seems that way. We are enormously grateful to have worked with the NRL on something that was successful, that broke new ground. We'd like to thank the NRL and its clubs." Speaking New Zealand radio, Lonergan recently accused the Warriors of having "pissed on" this year's tournament. 5. Keeping it in the family How about a good refereeing story for a change? Andrew Gilchrist recently became the 1000th match official graded by the NSW refs association and he is a third generation match official, after father Bryan (No.748) and grandfather Carl (No.594). While the NSWRLRA may seem an organisation out of the 1980s, when Kevin Roberts was king, it performed an important role last week when it called the NSW Police and demanded that a photoshopped picture of Matt Cecchin wearing a Queensland jersey be taken off the force's Facebook page.

"We saw it as a parody, I approved the post," said the police director of public affairs, Strath Gordon. "When I received a call from the NSWRL Referees Association asking for it be taken down, I was only too happy to do so." Cecchin was aware of the post and was less than thrilled. 6. Breakaway gathers momentum Loading We've attempted to keep you up to date here with a rebel international federation which seems to be growing more and more bold with every passing day. World Rugby League now lists as its members Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Italy, Greece, Romania, Cyprus, Albania, Georgia, Bulgaria, Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine. WRL's Ikram Butt with a representative of the UAE rugby union.