NRL officials considered playing the season-opening clash between South Sydney and Brisbane at London's Wembley Stadium and may take the first-round match to the iconic venue next year.

The Rabbitohs and Broncos, who will kick off the 2015 season at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday, March 5, are in England for the World Club Series and do not return home until midway through next week.

Drawcards: Greg Inglis and the South Sydney Rabbitohs will attract plenty of fans in London. Credit:Getty Images

By transferring the match to Wembley Stadium, the teams would have had more time to prepare and Fairfax Media understands serious thought was given to the proposal, however officials could not make the time frame work. One proposal is understood to have involved the match being played at Wembley next weekend and Souths and the Broncos then having the following weekend off when the rest of the teams played their first-round matches.

The move would have also provided a massive boost to the game in the English capital, where Brisbane's sister club, the London Broncos, have been struggling for survival and are now playing in the second tier after being relegated from Super League. Fairfax Media revealed after the 2013 World Cup that the possibility of playing a premiership or State of Origin match in England had been discussed during meetings NRL boss Dave Smith had with other major sporting bodies, including the Football Association, which owns Wembley National Stadium Limited, the company that operates Wembley Stadium.