The NRL has officially confirmed that both the Auckland Nines and All Stars match won't be competed in 2018.
MORE: Has another Origin win convinced Cronk to play on?
With the 2017 Rugby League World Cup set to be held at the end of the year, the NRL has opted to suspend both competitions as a way to ease the workload of players.
While the All Stars game will return in 2019, no confirmed date as yet has been given for the Auckland Nines.
Despite this uncertainty, NRL chief commercial officer Andrew Abdo stressed that the tournament had been a great success over the past four years and has a part in rugby league's future moving forward.
He also suggested the Nines could well make the move to Australia with the NRL seeking expressions of interest from potential host cities.
