From Las Vegas, JOHN DAVIDSON reacts to the event and assesses its significance for Rugby League’s future development.
IT’S hard to put into words how special it is to be in Las Vegas surrounded by thousands of Rugby League fans from all over the globe.
It’s like Magic Weekend with afterburners, Grand Final day on speed, Challenge Cup Final day on steroids.
If you’ve never been to Vegas before, it is of course a surreal place. Giant casinos and fountains and monuments adorn the strip.
You can see the Eiffel Tour and the Pyramids and other famous buildings all replicated in this crazy slice of desert. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty exist side by side. It has to be seen to be believed. You can easily get lost in this wild den of gambling, fun, entertainment and frivolity, and there’s nowhere else like it.
For decades the city has been known for musical shows, restaurants, nightclubs and betting. But slowly and surely it is now becoming a hub of sports entertainment as well. The UFC, NFL’s Raiders, the NHL’s Golden Knights and F1 are all hosted in ‘Sin City’.
Now we can add Rugby League into that high-profile, exotic and well-known mix.
Just having the ‘Greatest Game’ played in Vegas, on a massive stage, is a pinch-me moment.
Walking around the city in the days before Saturday’s quadruple-header, you had to keep checking whether this was real or just some wild dream.
As 2024 showed, when around 40,000 turned up at Allegiant Stadium to see Manly and the Roosters beat Souths and Brisbane, it was no dream. It was a brilliant reality. It was a party that everyone wanted to be invited to.
And twelve months later that reality is getting better. Four games instead of two in one day in Vegas was a gamble, but it largely paid off. Bigger is better when it comes to America.
The crowd grew and the buzz was definitely bigger. More media travelled to attend the game, especially local media. More English supporters crowded the city, and the atmosphere lifted. Those who attended year one commented that year two was better and much improved.
It was unfortunate that England against the Jillaroos was so one-sided, but it can happen. Australia’s women are a force to be reckoned with. They would give some men’s teams a run for their money. The gulf in class is stark.
But Wigan have shown the same grit in the men’s game. They are ruthless and took Warrington to the cleaners. The Wolves rallied in the second half but it was too little, too late. The contest was already dead and buried.
Then we saw the Warriors fail to ignite and Canberra take advantage. The Lionesses’ embarrassment followed, before Penrith and Cronulla shared a ding-dong battle. The Panthers emerged triumphant and remain the team to emulate down under.
Four games in one long day can be a hard sell, and you ideally want all the matches to be competitive and close contests. But you can only orchestrate so much, and Vegas 2025 did not disappoint.
Everyone could sense the feel-good factor flowing freely and they all wanted to talk about how special the Nevada experience is in this unique location. From Ivan Cleary to Cam McInnes to Matty Peet, Isaah Yeo, Craig Fitzgibbon and Sam Burgess, all were effusive in their praise for the organisers.
“It’s just incredible what they’re pulling off,” commentator Andrew Voss said.
“They’ve got big balls, the NRL.
“They are having a real crack in a market which is just flooded. There is so much on but Rugby League has a place. In terms of exposure and the vibe, there is no doubt Vegas has this halo effect for the game.
“It’s now being experienced in the UK. Two rounds into the Super League season, suddenly you’re having sell-outs. It’s because Vegas was coming. They’ve got prime-time coverage of Wigan vs Warrington.
“There’s no doubt people are full-on into Rugby League earlier in the season because of Vegas. It is a countdown to Vegas.
“Fox League’s pre-season games have never had bigger ratings. People are watching Rugby League and it’s still summer.”
To be frank, the whole Vegas experiment is less about cracking America and more about boosting the NRL and Super League’s own profiles. It’s about making them look cool and desirable. It’s about giving them a platform. It’s about making their partners and fans more engaged. It’s about exciting their broadcasters.
The NRL already did this in 2024 and record crowds, revenue and viewers followed. Now it is Super League’s turn. The competition needs a better TV deal with Sky, and events like Las Vegas will help it at the negotiating table.
Voss wasn’t the only figure talking Vegas up big-time. Wigan coach Matty Peet was another.
“Every club has their own circumstances but as a competition we must have a presence here,” he said.
“There’s so much going on and so many eyes on the sport and so many relationships being made. It’s really important that we’re part of it.”
Rugby union has tried to break into America and had little luck. Cricket has also struggled. And it took football decades to build a stronghold.
Rugby League has flirted in the American market in the past, with State of Origin in Long Beach in the 1980s, Wigan vs Warrington in Milwaukee in 1989 and with the Toronto Wolfpack to varying levels of success. But nothing was continued, nothing was maintained, nothing was built upon.
But this is here to stay. A foothold is building in Vegas. We all need to get on board and support it.
Peter V’landys is the man with the courage and charisma to make it happen. Sure, he has his critics, but he gets the job done and leads from the front. Few in Rugby League have his kind of chutzpah.
V’landys insists Las Vegas wants to extend their deal with Rugby League and the NRL.
“I think our fee will be a lot bigger now, and they’ll probably have to give us a kidney,” he said.
“I’ve learnt more this year than I did last year. Last year was a bit of a haze. This year, I’ve sat back and watched everything we’ve done, and I think we can do so much better.
“We’re making enormous progress, but we’ve had some very big guns in America, experts in sports management, that have come to us and given us more confidence with how we can break into the American market.
“So I’m very confident that by year five, we’ll have a major impact here in America. I’m more confident now than I was last year.”
Super League has to stay involved as well and keep working on its relationship with the NRL. Only good things can come from it.
In Vegas anything seems possible, and often it is. That can only be good for Rugby League.
