Super League chiefs heading to Las Vegas for NRL opener to explore opportunities

Aaron Bower
NRL logo & Jake Arthur (Manly Sea Eagles), Adam Reynolds (Brisbane Broncos), Alex Johnston (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Joseph Manu (Sydney Roosters) stood in front of the Las Vegas Nevada sign

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Rugby League Commercial chief Rhodri Jones and Matt Dwyer are bound for Las Vegas this weekend to strengthen ties between Super League and the NRL as they prepare for their blockbuster season-opener in the United States.

The competition will kick off its 2024 campaign with a bang, with two headline games featuring Manly Sea Eagles, Sydney Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Brisbane Broncos. And senior officials from the English game will be there on a fact-finding mission: and also to develop the relationship between the two elite competitions.

Jones and Dwyer had held tentative discussions about hosting the World Club Challenge in Las Vegas this year alongside the NRL’s bold season launch, but those talks began too late. However, Jones refused to rule out that happening for real in the future.

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“Matt and I are going to Vegas at the end of the month to see it and grow that relationship with the NRL,” Jones told Love Rugby League recently. “We were eight or ten weeks too late this year in terms of having a valid conversation surrounding Las Vegas and the World Club Challenge: but that’s not to say it couldn’t happen going forward.”

And this weekend, Dwyer and Jones will hold further talks with senior figures in the Australian game to learn how Super League can fit into the plans for widespread growth in the United States. Peter V’Landys admitted last week that English rugby league was included in the NRL’s agenda for the region, and Jones admitted that he feels Super League can bring plenty to the table.

He said: “There’s a genuine belief that if Wigan had gone to Vegas for the World Club, there’d be 5,000 fans going to help contribute to it. We’re going to go and build those relationship with the NRL; Matt has met Peter V’Landys so there’s a concerted effort to bring the two hemispheres together.”

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