The doomsayers got in early back in 2023 when National Rugby League’s original five-year plan to take its season opener to the bright lights of Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, was first revealed. Mad. Bad. Lunacy. A joke and a waste of money.
The Australian Rugby League Commission chairman, Peter V’landys, was hammered for his outlandish idea. Then the colourful V’landys and his NRL staff pulled it off, getting more than 42,000 fans to attend the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium, home of the American football’s Raiders, to watch Manly against Souths and the Broncos take on the Roosters in an intense and eye-catching bill.
