The NRL boss says the Premier League is heading towards “collapse” without increasing revenues

V’landys said there was no concrete offer for the NRL to buy the Super League, but added that any deal would depend on the establishment of an independent governing body.

Asked about the National Football League taking a share in the Premier League, he said: “We can. That’s an option, if that’s what they want us to do.”

“There has to be a structural change in corporate governance for that to happen. You need an independent body to govern competition and that’s one of the reasons why Australia has been so successful in rugby league. It’s completely independent.”

“You have to have independent decision making, because independent decision making always works in the best interest of the game as a whole and not in the best interest of individual interest groups.

“We’re just here out of loyalty to Mike Danson and Simon Moran to listen, and if there’s a way we can help, we will help. But we’re not here to force ourselves on anyone or be part of anything. We’re here to listen and hopefully we’ll be able to help.”

Flandis saw Australia beat England 26-6 at Wembley on Saturday, in front of 60,812 fans, a record for a UK Rugby League Ashes Test.

He says this is evidence of interest in the sport in England, but feels the game’s authorities have not helped themselves, suggesting that a city the size of London should have a Premier League team.

The London Broncos, under Australian investment with Kangaroos legend Darren Lockyer among their backers, have missed out on a place in the newly expanded Premier League for next season.

Instead, Bradford Bulls were promoted earlier this month at the expense of Salford Red Devils under the competition’s ranking system, with Toulouse and York selected to join them by an independent panel.

Prior to the announcement, the Broncos had already appointed former South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou on a three-year deal to become their head coach and signed former Australia international Regan Campbell-Gillard and Tongan hooker Siliva Havili for next season.

“London had to be the first city they chose, because if you want to market something, you have to market it in a densely populated city,” Flandys said.

“You have to increase your revenue. Sponsors will be interested in London. And they lost that opportunity, on this tour anyway. So, yeah, they have to be able to market the game better than they are at the moment… They don’t have the right structure at the moment to be able to move the product forward.”

When asked about expanding the Premier League to 14 teams, Vlandys said: “Will they get additional broadcast revenue? Will they get additional attention? Will they get additional participation? That has not been made clear.”

“There was no plan. They have to have a road map and a plan to move forward for the next 10 years. Because 10 years comes very quickly and unless you have that plan, you’re going in all directions aimlessly.”

“There have definitely been some positives. Their attendance has improved, their ratings have improved, but you also have to have a very strong financial base and that’s not there right now.”