BULLS legend Brian McDermott is urging Super League to embrace Toronto Wolfpack after guiding them to promotion from the Betfred Championship.

The Wolfpack made it to the top flight three years after being launched thanks to a 24-6 victory over Featherstone Rovers in the Million Pound Game in Ontario.

It means Super League will have a North American presence in 2020 while Ottawa and New York are due to enter League One in 2021 and McDermott believes big-city teams are vital for the game to grow.

He said: "Toronto is a mega sporting city - they've got the Raptors (basketball), the Maple Leafs (ice hockey), the Blue Jays (baseball), they've got Toronto FC, the Argonauts (Canadian Football) and we're part of that.

"We hope to have a higher profile now we're on a higher stage. It's just a fantastic story.

"Super League needs to be able to sell a final to some potential investors or a TV deal which says it's going to be competed for by big city teams because in five years' time if the Super League or the Challenge Cup finals are still competed for by small towns in the north of England - Featherstone are a magnificent story and so are Salford - but who are we going to sell that to is the interesting point.

"If we're competing for a final in five years and we're sat around a table with the TV deals and the mega sponsors and we're saying one of our teams starts with Toronto and the other name of the team starts with London or Barcelona or New York, that's how the game grows.

"I know there's a few people opposed to us being in the comp but we can't please everybody."

McDermott, who guided Leeds Rhinos to four Super League Grand Finals, has taken Toronto into the big time in his first season and is excited by the potential of the Canadian club, who drew a record crowd of 9,974 to the Lamport Stadium for Saturday's match.

"It's brilliant and it's a different story," he said. "You can't compare them.

"The experience and the event here is out of this world. It's a different part of the world, it's different weather, the fans are different.

"I had this feeling when I coached London for five years, you knew you were involved with something that was very big.

"It's a special day for sure. You can't ignore what's going on here. It's not just a manufactured product, it's absolutely a strong brand."

Former St Helens and England forward Jon Wilkin is confident the Wolfpack will make a major contribution to Super League.

"I hope people watch this and realise what Toronto has got to offer the game," he said.

"This isn't fake, this is genuine. There's an amazing atmosphere at this ground and I'd love for Super League teams to bring a thousand fans here."