One of Super League's most powerful voices has thrown cautious support behind a potential tie-up with the NRL, conceding such an arrangement could catapult rugby league onto a genuinely global stage, provided club owners aren't simply written out of the story.

The NRL has been circling the struggling northern hemisphere competition with chequebook in hand, driven by ambition to cement the code's international footprint.

Two weeks ago in Las Vegas, ARL Commission Chairman Peter V'landys pulled no punches, declaring English rugby league was careening toward a "train crash" and giving a three-month deadline on the Super League to relinquish control.

With the NRL seeking a new TV deal that would eclipse the current $2billion arrangement that expires in 2027, a thriving Super League under the NRL's guidance would make for an intriguing sales pitch.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, St Helens owner Eamonn McManus conceded the boardrooms aren't hostile to the idea, but they're not signing anything blindly either.

"Everybody is open-minded,” he told SMH.

"There is a degree of confusion, should we say, here in that there's been an awful lot of talks but no detail.

“I think everybody sees that there is a match here. Rugby league in Australia is a top sport … but the market is possibly near to saturated, the broadcast deals, how much growth is there left in there?
 
"And Super League and rugby league in the UK is the antithesis of that: there is a lot of growth to be had and the combining of the two entities could be strong.
 
“As with every business deal, everything is about detail. I think everybody is agreeable [that] if the deal is structured correctly, both sides could benefit.”
 
McManus challenged the perception of how power is distributed in the English game, with explaining the club owners only get a meaningful vote on specific matters, such as the broadcast deal.
 
When it comes to being rendered powerless, that's where he draws the line.
 
"We've got to have some influence because it's our sport, and we own it,” McManus said.
 
"We don't feel as though we're on our knees. We feel as though we are weak, but we are able to work our way out of this gradually."
 
“We [could] take each other to the next level. If we do have some sort of merger or partnership for the two sports, it's a powerful body to grow from.”
 
The vision is tantalising. Two hemispheres, one sport, a united front.