- Peter V’landys has praised the NRL’s American venture
- The Vegas blockbuster went down well with fans
- V’landys says the NRL will be back for more
A delighted Peter V’landys says there is more to come for the American public after the NRL made a sensational start to their venture on American soil.
More than 40,000 fans attended the Las Vegas extravaganza at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday as the Roosters, Broncos, Manly and Souths showcased the best that rugby league has to offer.
Aside from an argument between Ezra Mam and Spencer Leniu over an alleged racial slur, the games went off without a hitch, and a proud V’landys said there is so much potential for future growth.
“We’ll be back,” he said on Fox League. ‘These are just the basics.
“It’s like building a house: we’ve laid the foundation, we’ve set a benchmark, we have to improve from here next year.
Peter V’landys has praised the NRL’s blockbuster performance in Las Vegas
More than 40,000 people attended the presentation of the new season
‘The results must reach American viewers. It’ll be interesting to see how we did tonight on Fox 1, how many viewers we got. We need to see how many subscriptions we sold to WatchNRL.
“It’s not going to happen in the first 12 months, it’s going to take three or four years, but I’m more confident than ever that we can make tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars for the game going back to basics. and the Hindy and Fletch Show.”
More than half of the Allegiant Stadium crowd is expected to come from outside Australia and England, according to NRL sources, in an early stage of success.
And locals got to see high-quality matches, even if some in the back of the Allegiant Stadium press box had to label the match they witnessed as “barbaric.”
As Manly put up 36 points against South Sydney, Garrick celebrated with a pre-planned ‘Gronk surge’, hoping to earn a shout out from the NFL’s legendary tight end.
The play of the day belonged to Manu, who produced a wild no-look flick pass to set up winger Fetalaiga Pauga on the right wing and help the Roosters to their 20-10 win over Brisbane.
Manu’s move came in a nearly identical spot to where Kansas City quarterback Mahomes threw the Super Bowl-winning pass to Mecole Hardman in overtime just under three weeks ago.
“I didn’t know it was that corner,” Roosters coach Trent Robinson joked.
“But Joey Manu, he was here to play tonight.
“I think it’s great that we can show that skill. Joey is one of the guys who can do that and make it happen.”