The Rocket

NRL in Vegas was such a hit, my American mate wants a Canberra Raiders jersey (theroar.com.au) "If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I’d have friends in the small American town I live in asking me about how they could get their hands on a Raiders jersey, about how the Penrith Panthers were able to create a dynasty with a father-son coach duo – “dude how is that even legal” – or telling me about how electric they found Tom Trbojevic and James Tedesco to be I would have called you insane. "The simple fact that I, on a regular basis, see friends of mine watching NRL highlights is evidence enough that NRL Las Vegas has brought at least some people to the game. "Continuing the NRL Las Vegas will do wonders, but I also think holding NRL nines tournaments or international tests could do wonders, especially on the West Coast which has a decent Pasifika population." Interesting.

Not sure whether this has already been mentioned, I only found out yesterday. Warriors bar: Why club chose Kingsland site for themed pub as part of major investment strategy - NZ Herald The Warriors have found the location for their themed pub, which they hope will become the best sports bar in New Zealand. The club has bought the Holy Hop bar in Kingsland, which they will fully refurnish and refit, with an estimated opening date of August or September 2024. As revealed by the Weekend Herald in January, the branded pub is part of a strategy to diversify revenue streams – after the Covid period highlighted their massive reliance on NRL funding – as well as boost their visibility and footprint in the marketplace. As well as purchasing the business, the club has also bought the building, which houses a Domino’s outlet, a restaurant and a motorcycle accessories dealership (techmoto). The Weekend Herald understands the NRL franchise – through owners Autex – have spent close to $10 million on the venture. Seems the NRL`s push into diversifying income streams is inspiring the owners of the Warriors. The Warriors getting their own Gambaro.

For as long as I`ve been coming on here Irish you`ve been advocating for a concerted effort to develop Rugby League in the world`s biggest market. Intriguing thought your first sentence. I think you may have meant "simply the best" in your second, sounds better and I think I`ve heard it before somewhere.

Bernie Gurr was the Finance Director of the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the U.S. and resides now in the U.S. Joe Kelly spent three years in a senior executive role at Celsea Football club in the United Kingdom. The addition of Kelly and Gurr to the USARL board follows the NRL's recent appointment of John Vellis as General Manager - US Expansion in a sign of the NRL`s commitment to North America. These aren`t just anybody`s.

I don`t believe in coincidences so i think it would be unwise to underestimate the effect the Las Vegas venture is having on the optimism and excitement around Rugby League in the U.S. at the moment. It would perhaps have given those in the game over there a real focal point of something to aim for and the beauty is it has minimum 5 more years to run. A lot can happen in five years, especially in the U.S. These are two heavyweight appointments who I have no doubt done this in consultation with the NRL hierarchy. Who knows the growth in the local game and recruitment of the female players into the NRLW maybe two side benefits out of this whole thing we didn`t see coming.

Interesting interview with Nathan Cleary, touches on weight divisions for juniors, junior coaching and the Panthers` playing style. 'I don't agree': Cleary's insight into junior coaching | Watch (msn.com)

It`s interesting, I see a bit of Scott Hill in him. Tall, lean, classy five-eight for the Storm and later Harlequins, and who also played for N.S.W. and Australia, eventually moving into the lock position, a position where it has been touted Galvin will end up. Btw, I think at one stage Hill was described in the media "as the two-iron with ears".

It only holds about 19k now I believe due to restrictions on the hill. There was great concern that due to Saint`s form that this game may have hindered our ability to break the round record, but ticket sales were strong early and most crowd followers were very pleased with the turn-out.

If that`s Dodgy Dave I don`t think he made it.

I assume you`re are talking about a merger with the Central Coast, because the Bears` home ground problems are insurmountable and I severely doubt Bears` fans would travel in sufficient numbers across the bridge to Allianz to make that work. Central Coast Bears, possible, but a long way down the list, maybe if the competition goes to conferences.

Mate we do not need any more NSW sides in the (Inter)National Rugby League. The future is the Perth`s, the Christchurch`s, the Fiji`s, the P.N.G.`s, the Wellington`s et.al Let the central coast be absorbed into an existing team`s pathways.

Big news coming out of the North Sydney Bears AGM, appears non-negotiables are down to two now: Partner club must retain Bears Red and Black colours, and must retain/incorporate history of the North Sydney Bears into the new club. In addition it was mentioned that it would be desirable to have minimum one game a year at North Sydney oval. The big concession made though was that it appears the North Sydney Bears Rugby League club are prepared now not to own the franchise or the license to the new NRL team. This was a big sticking point for potential partner bids due to concerns that the franchise might be undermined with a plan eventually to get the club back to North Sydney. Another interesting development was that it was revealed that an official party from the W.A./Perth bid made a trip recently to Sydney to meet and discuss a joint venture. It also stated that the Bears are open to partnering with another entity, the most likely being a South Island New Zealand bid and that they must have plans for all contingencies - the hackneyed business term "nimble" was used - once the NRL reveal their preferred location for the new franchise. Interesting times.

Big news coming out of the North Sydney Bears AGM, appears non-negotiables are down to two now: Partner club must retain Bears Red and Black colours, and must retain/incorporate history of the North Sydney Bears into the new club. In addition it was mentioned that it would be desirable to have minimum one game a year at North Sydney oval. The big concession made though was that it appears the North Sydney Bears Rugby League club are prepared now not to own the franchise or the license to the new NRL team. This was a big sticking point for potential partner bids due to concerns that the franchise might be undermined with a plan eventually to get the club back to North Sydney. Another interesting development was that it was revealed that an official party from the W.A./Perth bid made a trip recently to Sydney to meet and discuss a joint venture. It also stated that the Bears are open to partnering with another entity, the most likely being a South Island New Zealand bid and that they must have plans for all contingencies - the hackneyed business term "nimble" was used - once the NRL reveal their preferred location for the new franchise. Interesting times.

In what has already been a record-breaking year for new sponsorship deals, the Warriors have signed a two-year deal with Arnott`s, the maker of New Zealand`s favourite biscuit. Warriors sign two-year partnership with Arnott's | Warriors

There`s was stats on the most popular sporting teams and players on social media recently, I think Reece was the only domestically based player in the top 10. A separate list showed he has more social media followers than every club in the NRL including his own. Unbelievable and priceless in today`s day and age. Given his profile I have to admit that I was surprised he isn`t getting more, Pongas`s on 1.4 and Cleary 1.3, Cherry Evans something similar. I imagine there is a lot of third-party deals which we aren`t hearing about here.

Very switched-on poster in Oz is predicting 46 - 48 thousand if the weather holds up and members attend. HST, the Bureau`s predicting 40% chance of showers, 43-44k if the bureau get it right.

Sorry mate had to laugh, I`m about an hour and a half from Newcastle, but not the Newcastle you`re thinking of. Hope you find something a bit closer to home anyway.

Yeah multi-cultural round and all, 8000 unsold tickets, how about giving some freebies to some different cultural associations around the area to give them a first taste of live Rugby League maybe.

Hardly an excuse though, Parra 30 000 members or something, Sunday arvo vs Manly, they should have filled that place themselves.

Yeah that crossed my mind as well, but there`s no getting away that the one million unique viewers over 24hrs is pretty amazing.

Good point, but a tricky one because I suppose one of the main points about the WCC was its accessibility to the fans of at least one of the clubs involved. not a lot will be able to afford to travel to Vegas. That opportunity for regular fans to see their champion team play in such a match was I thought one of its` main attractions due to the passions aroused. Speaking of dodos though, our pre-season Indigenous All-Stars match is facing a similar predicament, in its` case, being completely overshadowed by the Vegas hype. Which would be a damn shame to lose that because it offers something unique in Australasian sport.

Figures show NRL’s Las Vegas gamble may just come up trumps (msn.com) State of Origin-style television ratings at home, more than 100 separate pieces of media coverage in the United States and more than 10,000 Las Vegas-branded merchandise items sold in a week. The numbers are in after the NRL’s historic foray into Sin City, and they suggest the bold gamble may have paid off. The governing body has compiled all the metrics from the historic double-header, which marked the first time that a competition game has been staged outside Australia and New Zealand. The social media figures are of particular interest. Traffic to the official website also spiked: there were 1,045,270 unique users on NRL.com and the NRL App (up 43 per cent) in the 24-hour period covering March 2 (US)-March 3 (Australia). Of those, 40,870 unique users were from the US, a 185 per cent increase on the opening round of last year.

In partnership with the RFL. Try Tag Rugby expands to Newcastle and York (rugby-league.com) RFL partner, Try Tag Rugby, have announced the expansion of its leagues to two exciting new regions in 2024: Newcastle and York. Tag Rugby League is a fun and exciting minimal contact social sport suitable for all adults, no previous experience is necessary and it’s a sport that can be enjoyed by beginners and seasoned players alike. Anyone interested can Give Tag Rugby a Try before committing to a league by attending a free taster. Good stuff.

That`s a bit harsh, I think he`ll come good if he can get the confidence to take control of the team and confidence is a wonderful thing, we might then see what he is capable of. That`s not going to be easy though when your surrounded by 30 + year old stars who are set in their ways and at the back end of their career and might not be buying into the game plan as much as they should be, content to do it their own way. There was rumours circulating that he was continually being over called by those same more well established players. That is not going to help a young bloke trying to take control of a team.

Panthers are next level though aren`t they, the ball continually sweeping from one side of the field to other probing for weaknesses in defence, and not with a particularly large backline either, if their style of play (even with my misgivings about their lift and drag back defence) is the future of Rugby League, well bring it on. HST, Walters stuffed up with his interchange, had Tristan Sailor been on the bench rather than being 18th man we might have seen a different outcome or at least a more competitive Brisbane team, and Brisbane not being like Souths the week before with a second-rower in the backline getting torn to shreds.