Smith urges World Club re-think

Saints celebrate their 2001 World Club Challenge win

By BBC Sport Online's Phil Gordos

Hull skipper Jason Smith wants the World Club Challenge to be expanded to help lift the British game to new heights.

Australian champions Newcastle Knights and Super League kings Bradford Bulls are due to square up at Huddersfield's McAlpine Stadium on 1 February.

But Smith thinks it is time to open up the event, with three or four teams from both hemispheres competing in the annual showdown.

Smith says a reduced Super League season would cut out the moaners

"Not only would it be good for the clubs financially and in terms of experience, the standard of the British game would improve to," said Smith.

The proposal to expand the World Cub Challenge has already won several backers, but the big problem is fitting the new-look event into a packed rugby league calendar.

Smith says a way of making room would be to cut the number of Super League games - a move which he also feels would make the competition a lot more fairer.

At the moment, Super League sides play each at least twice, with some clubs facing the same opponent three times during the course of a regular season.

"The only way we can do it is by making teams play each other just twice," said Smith.

"It would also make it a more even competition and cut out the whingers.

"A few of the top sides were moaning that we had an easier side of the draw in 2001.

"But we proved we were a top-three team way before the end of the regular season."