GLOBAL domination might be a way off but the NRL rushed out a press release this week celebrating the fact that TV viewers in 50 countries would be loving the league when the grand final kicks off on Sunday night.

The announcement caught the Burmese junta off-guard. Having declared a dawn-to-dusk curfew to restrain protesting monks, military officials were fearful the rabble may turn revolutionary if the populace could not watch the big one.

Luckily, David Gallop stepped in to assure the creaking dictatorship. "There is also the chance for rugby league fans around the world to watch or listen to the match, whether it's via television, radio or on our website stream," the NRL chief confirmed.

Having saved the junta, Gallop's next challenge - if he wishes to maintain the NRL's growing international penetration - better be global warming.

The roll call of nations dipping their toes in the water to sample the league include many countries simply dipping their toes in the water, courtesy of rising sea levels. How many more grand finals will Kiribati, Palau, and Northern Marianas get to watch?

Tokelau is another with a limited future in the league. One problem is that it's barely a country, in fact a territory of New Zealand. Never mind the administrative details: think about the ratings.

Described in the CIA World Factbook as "about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC", Tokelau was settled by Polynesians. Except there were never too many of them. Total population is 1449 and falling. The highest point on the three islands is, currently, five metres above sea level.

Unfortunately, the CIA World Factbook is silent on how many league fans there are in Tokelau. The Herald rang one of the islands' only hotels and was told fans there were "watching the sky". We presume that's Sky Television, not the perpetual blue brand.

Unfortunately, our observer was less sure of the brand of rugby on offer but the names Australia, New Zealand and Samoa suggest those with TVs, dishes and interest will be taking their feed from somewhere closer to Toulouse than Telstra Stadium on Sunday night.