The Rocket

Look I`m all for honesty and avoiding rubbery figures but I do think we are selling ourselves short here. That Broncos/ Roosters game could have easily drawn 35k as a standalone match back in Oz and even the other match may have pushed 30 000 at Accor.

The chances of a super rugby match being shown in the coach`s box of an NRL game, about zero I`d say.

I just don`t get this only counting this Las Vegas crowd once, two separate games, two sets of unique views. When people sit down to watch 3 games of League on a Saturday afternoon on Foxtel they aren`t counted as one viewer, but as three separate views, I can`t see why the double header isn`t viewed in the same manner when calculating crowd figures.

You`ve already said that.

Lots of gnashing of teeth, panicking and finger pointing amongst fumbleball fans over the NRL`s Vegas extravaganza and corresponding media saturation the last couple of weeks so I don`t think there was ever any doubt that every fumbleball cultist in the country was going to show up for this weekend`s meet. Written and spoken by Unapologetic Pedant on behalf of the Get Rid of the Bunker Party.

Fumbleball has been left looking small time and sillier than ever after the NRL`s Las Vegas adventure and desperate to grab a few positive headlines in trying to look relevant in the northern states. The suns averaged about 13 000 last year, the Titans over 17000, I suspect there was a lot of free tickets and doing just about anything they could to get that crowd number up, to try and make themselves look important, because it was way out of the norm. a) anecdotal (and from a fumbleball propagandist) & b) fumbleball HQ participation figures are about as useful as #### on a bull.

Cronulla Sharks secure $5 million windfall after a big night in New York | The Australian Sharks powerbrokers have detailed an extraordinary 48-hours in New York that has resulted in an immediate $5 million cash injection from one of Australia’s most influential businessmen. Flying from the NRL season launch in Las Vegas to New York last Sunday, Sharks chairman Steve Mace and CEO Dino Mezzatesta met with Mike Dorrell, the CEO and co-founder of US$61 billion global investment firm Stonepeak. From a meeting with Dorrell at his plush New York offices, Cronulla’s most significant decision-makers were taken to dinner at one of the Big Apple’s most exclusive clubs. Born in Sutherland Shire with his father a teacher of Port Hacking High, Dorrell owns Stonepeak, an American investment powerhouse headquartered in New York City. The firm invests in infrastructure, with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, London, Sydney and Singapore. It is the largest independent infrastructure investment firm in the world. “This is for the Sharks club and fans,‘’ Dorrell said of his multimillion-dollar cash gift to the club. “I have followed the Sharks religiously since I was a young boy, from Steve Rogers, to ET (Ettingshausen) and Mark ”Sparkles” McGaw, to David Peachey and onwards. “I have watched and re-watched the 2016 Grand Final, a game which gave every Sharks fan a near heart attack in the final minutes, followed by a multi-generational outpouring of joy when we won. “My dad taught at Port Hacking High School and is a Sharks fan. “My brother Simon played professionally. Rugby League is in our blood. “I can’t speak highly enough about the current players and management. “Let’s not wait 50 years for another premiership.” Mace said Dorrell’s investment in the Sharks was validation for the club’s trajectory. “Mike’s support and involvement with the Sharks will undoubtedly bring a significant boost to our reputation and financial standing,” Mace said. “Both Dino and myself are delighted to welcome lifelong Sharks supporters into the club’s family. “We didn’t know what to expect. We hit it off immediately with Mike, Lucas and Ben. Like old mates with a shared love of the game. “The collaboration with the Dorrell family is expected to provide invaluable support to the Sharks and further elevate the club’s stature.”

You`ve really got your fumbleball hard-on this morning, a couple of big crowds for the midgets and the suns and you lose the plot. As of Thursday evening: Only 144 tickets left on sale at Commbank for Saturday evening: 74 in gold 39 in silver 12 in bronze 1 in alcohol free 17 in platinum 1 in premium Early Friday a.m. Match officially a sell-out. No tickets available. WTF.

Literally tens of thousands of Victorians migrate permanently out of Victoria every year looking for a bit of decent weather, Queensland being one of their favourite destinations. Many Suns fumbleball fans would be expat Victorians.

Not only Fiji, but the whole Pacific. NRL 2024, Jersey Flegg, Kaiviti Silktails matches to be broadcast free to air into Pacific region, PacificAus TV | NRL.com In a huge boost for rugby league in the Pacific region, all of the Kaiviti Silktails' 26 matches in the Jersey Flegg competition will be distributed by PacificAus TV in 2024 to over nine Free-to-Air broadcast channels across the Pacific, whilst FBC will be the exclusive free-to-air-broadcast-partner in Fiji. Starting with this Saturday's clash against Wests Tigers at Lidcombe Oval, all of the Silktails' home and away matches will be shown on Free-to-Air channels across the Pacific, bringing more rugby league content to the region. Silktails chairman Petero Civoniceva added: “This broadcast deal is not just a win for the Silktails as a club but a massive win for our code in Fiji. “This broadcast deal will allow these young players to showcase their talents playing for the Silktails on television across the Pacific. “On behalf of everyone at the Kaiviti Silktails a big Vinaka Vakalevu to all of the key stakeholders that have put this landmark deal together.”

Taree City Bulls. Would love to be the benefactor that helps them win their first Group Three Rugby League premiership in nearly 20 years.

As V`landys has said ad nauseam, we`ll look at the results across the board from this year and work out what and how we can improve them next year. I dare say there will be a lot of thought being put into improving those television viewing figures over the next period. Television viewing figures which I thought, like the whole week, were a pretty good foundation to build off.

I didn`t read the article but I think the look on Benji`s face in the photo attached to the article gives a pretty clear impression of what the author thinks. Nup.

Not one word, c`mon. Even if you do strip away a certain amount of fawning because you believe they were paid to, the underlying or base sentiment was very positive.

Drew @DadahUniforms · Follow Just a heads up: the NRL games are being replayed right now on FS2 in America, in Sunday night prime time. @NRL #NRLVegas #NRL 2:18 PM · Mar 4, 2024 from Paradise, NV

Mate, yes that would have been marketing genius to say Oh, btw the way this isn`t going to cost us a cent, $10m is a much better headline without going into all the details of the actual financial breakdown.

This was never ever going to cost them $10m, even before a ticket was sold I`d suggest that sponsorships and deals was going to cover a very large chunk of it. You can add to that now the reported $3m in ticket sales, so it may well in fact end up not "costing" them a cent.

Some of the reactions in there are pretty funny. What the Americans said about NRL's Vegas invasion (msn.com) The reaction to the games was that of confusion and amazement from the American audience, with one New York-based writer running a live blog for The Guardian. "One of the Bunnies chokes a Manly player, but this seems to be fine. Nobody seemed to get too upset about it," David Lengel wrote at one stage. After both Tevita Tatola and Lachlan Croker were shown on the broadcast sporting nasty cuts to their face and head, Lengel described it as "human cockfighting". "ANOTHER player is bleeding! Is this normal?" he asked.  At the conclusion of the first game, Lengel - who predominantly covers sports such as NFL and MLB - praised the physical and exciting nature of rugby league "If this game came to New York, and they didn't price gouge me out of the place, I'd go and watch, no question. I`d think there would be a market for our game in that country, the question is, how do we get people to know about it.

Sounds like a mate of yours.

Two words...obesity epidemic.

Look the idea has merit, I just don`t think you`d want to dilute the travelling market by having them on the same weekend.

Mate if you`d seen the press coverage over here you`d understand, it`s been mental. So mental in fact that that idiot union apologist ftzsmmns has written another article in today`s Herald bagging it: "I think the NRL opening round is this weekend, yes? If only there had been a little more coverage! " It is just the ludicrous hyperbole that goes with it which grates" " grates" it`s really getting under his skin, meanwhile union super rugby magic round goes unannounced and unattended. But back to your question, even if it achieves not much more than what it has then I don`t think that will be a bad thing. One interesting development that seems to be coming out of the Nines being held the last couple of days has been the number of female players that have caught the eye of NRL scouts for the NRLW, given the much smaller player pool for women over here perhaps we may see the USA being a useful scouting ground for that comp, what an interesting twist that would be if we started to see decent numbers of American players in the NRLW.

NRL's Las Vegas journey the start of a 'huge win' (nypost.com) And,’’ Delany (chief executive officer of the Foxtel Group) went on, “just speaking to you (The Post) and you guys talking about the NRL in America is big.’’

" exceeding all expectations" NRL draws 5000 to Vegas launch as crowd hopes soar | The West Australian "As ticket sales went beyond 40,000 for the match on Thursday (Friday AEDT), 5000 fans converged in downtown Las Vegas to meet with players. "The crowds prompted Latrell Mitchell and other stars to compare the build-up to that of NRL grand final week, with the night far outranking any crowd for non-match-day events in Australia." Las Vegas TV networks covered the night, while there was a smattering of Americans in attendance in the crowd. "It's round one, but it feels like a grand final at the moment," Mitchell said, adding he wanted to turn Allegiant Stadium into "Trellegiant Stadium". "It's a great turnout, we appreciate it. This is why we love the game." Mitchell was not alone in his summation. Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds also compared the vibe to a grand-final week where Broncos players were treated as rock stars last year, as did Australian captain James Tedesco. NRL fan events in grand final week usually attract closer to the 1000-person mark, and none has matched the atmosphere at Fremont Street on Thursday night. Nearly 3000 fans have also travelled from England. Get a Pommy team over there, that number might be 10 000.

I remember quiet clearly you saying the 9 million the NRL were spending on the Vegas adventure as being, quote "pathetic" as well, now we are possibly (being reported in the Herald today) looking at a crowd of 45 000 plus. As long as the money is spent well and targeted carefully, 23 million could be worth multiples of that. A successful day on Sunday would be a pretty good start. HST, I`m sceptical as well, but we`ll just have to wait and see how it goes and trust that the people attempting this are probably a little more dynamic than ourselves.