And frankly, there are plenty of teams worth watching that aren't auz/nz.
All the various pacific islands, PNG, england and france alone = more than enough to have a decent competition and get as much RL on the BBC as possible. Getting RL on BBC is the single most important thing in my eye. RL is doing gangbusters in south hemisphere and needs more free-tv/BBC exposure in the NH.
Don't forget, this event is not just mens either - its also womens and wheelchair. They don't rely on NRL say so at all - and will also hopefully add to BBC being RL-dominated for a long period of time in a bit of a sport vacuum.
The time is now - all plans have been made and will be very very difficult to delay by a year - if they let NRL clubs/etc bully them out of doing it now then NRL clubs/etc will simply continue to be bullies.
And do you really think any UK/global neutral will care that whichever Oz star isn't there? Of course not. Watch the olympics now - does anyone know who anyone is until they start watching? No! Does anyone care who is missing that day due to injury/doping bans//Russian bans/boycotts/covid/whatever reason? No!
The sport needs to prove that it is bigger than the domestic game in one country.