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Opinion
Rugby league, welcome to fabulous Las Vegas. One of the latest brain bubbles from ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys is to kick off the 2024 season with a double-header in the glitzy gambling capital of the world.
While the concept is still in early stages, some of the clubs in the mix for participating include the South Sydney Rabbitohs, to use the link with Russell Crowe and also the Manly Sea Eagles, to capitalise on the popularity of Hugh Jackman.
This opportunity, should it be realised might cost upwards of $15 million. It’s certainly not where I would choose to spend that huge amount, but I’m not running the game.
Growth of the game internationally is something I’m extremely passionate about, but I have to admit this Las Vegas double header doesn’t excite me at all.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Say what you will about the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, but there were a number of positives for the game internationally – it was most watched tournament of all time.
With the women’s and wheelchair tournaments running simultaneously for the men’s game for the first time ever, there is new interest in the wheelchair version and in the women’s game, we have seen a plethora of internationals signed for the upcoming NRLW from Papua New Guinea and England (with more rumoured to come).
To me, the World Cup was an opportunity to consider how to grow the international game and for the relevant nations to work together and come up with a strategic approach.
There may be an opportunity in the United States, but this isn’t it.
When V’landys talks about this opportunity, his focus is on wagering content. He sees an opportunity to provide wagering content outside the usual US time zones. The idea being that if you are betting on a product you are more likely to watch it.
This makes me really uncomfortable. Instead of a strategy to grow the game internationally, the focus is on the provision of wagering content and further linkage to the gambling industry. This is an industry which is under scrutiny right now.
Each year the NRL makes millions of dollars in gambling revenue. There is a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and the number of gambling ads featured during the coverage wasn’t really acknowledged as a concern.
Instead of taking heed of that, and potentially taking notice of the many sporting teams and sports moving away from wagering, the NRL is deciding to lean in.
But if I’m honest, I’m sceptical of this getting off the ground, because to be honest when I look at the NRL now I see a lack of strategy.
Each week, V’landys seems to be in the news with a new idea and they all seem to be reactive. Concern around the way the ‘Pride jersey’ was launched at the Manly Sea Eagles? Let’s do a ‘Respect Round’ (whatever that means).
The AFL announcing a new team in Tasmania? Let’s have a second team in Melbourne (noting that in my view there is a distinction between expansion and more teams, but that is a story for another day).
Rugby Australia poaching an NRL player? Let’s set up a war chest to encourage and support clubs to poach Wallabies.
Concern around player welfare and ‘hip drop tackles’? Let’s make changes to the rules throughout the year or have ‘crackdowns’ where everyone is unsure about what we are actually trying to crack down on.
Additionally, the chatter about a game in the US happens constantly with very little action. I understand the need to be innovative and to always be on the search for new and different ways to do things, but aren’t there things in Australia that require immediate attention?
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Just a reminder that the Collective Bargaining Agreement has not been finalised, despite in principle agreement having been reached back in March. NRLW players are entering into ‘interim agreements’ given pre-season is just around the corner, but the CBA is still not finalised.
According to V’landys, he and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo will head to Las Vegas in two weeks to suss out the deal. V’landys has said that he won’t be doing this to fail and needs all the jigsaw pieces to fall into place.
There are much more opportunities to legitimately grow the game of rugby league internationally through participation and growth of the sport, rather than further linkage to an industry that already makes many sports fans uncomfortable.