Key posts
Poll: NRL in Las Vegas, are you feeling it?
Joey’s preview: Why Raiders will win
The Raiders are a good chance for mine against the Warriors too, every year people underestimate them. If Canberra can stay healthy, I think they can compete with the top teams given their squad has been together a few years and all that time on the training paddock and in games is often underrated.
Raiders fullback Kaeo Weekes.Credit: Getty
Fullback Kaeo Weekes is in for a big year. He’s just everywhere on the field, sniffing around the ruck and popping up out wide around his halves when they’re in attacking shapes too.
He’s a great support player with lightning speed and if he can get off the back of Joe Tapine’s unpredictable offloads, Canberra’s attack really opens up.
As for the Warriors, James Fisher-Harris is just a warrior defined. Polynesian culture talks about mana, which is all about respect, influence and spiritual power. That just sums up James Fisher-Harris, and Tapine too.
It’s a big test for Luke Metcalf taking over at halfback from Shaun Johnson, who was such a dominant player for so long. But Luke’s a bit different and he’s more of a run threat than Shaun was at the back end of his career. I really rate him and as the season goes on, watch him grow and grow as a player. The Warriors will take a few weeks to get their combinations going and they can still be enigmatic, but also very hard to beat when it all clicks.
I think we’ll have a fast, open game with plenty of points, and an upset to start the season.
Joey’s tip: Raiders by six
First try-scorer: Ethan Strange
Man of the match: Joe Tapine
Move over Elvis, rugby league is in town
By Billie Eder
You know something is up when there’s more rugby league fans than Elvis impersonators on the Las Vegas strip on a Friday night.
But as I walked past the Flamingo, Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, looking for an Elvis for a fellow reporter (who shall remain anonymous) to snap a photo with, it was NRL team hats, jerseys and jumpers everywhere you looked.
An NRL promotion on the side of Resorts World in Las Vegas. Credit: Billie Eder
The NRL is hoping to attract 50,000 fans to the event, which would mean about 5000 people needed to buy tickets in the past 24 hours.
If the jerseys and loud ‘Up the Wahs’ wasn’t enough to peak Americans’ attention, the drive-by billboards on the back of trucks and giant advertisements on the side of Resorts World should have done the trick. Now we wait and see.
When Sticky’s players told him to pull his head in
Ricky Stuart has long thrived on a siege mentality. A frame of mind that reflects his often heightened emotional state. The highs are high, the lows are as you see them in press conferences.
A raider, by definition, is a person who attacks an enemy in the enemy’s territory.
Stuart is in his element as he tries to ignite the flame in his players. The passion is undeniable. But it’s that same passion that recently forced him to change his ways.
Ricky Stuart’s passion for the Raiders is undeniable.Credit: Getty
About three years ago, several senior players approached the coach about how his inability to handle losses was negatively affecting his players.
“I probably didn’t realise the effect I was having on a number of my players in regards to not being able to handle losing,” Stuart says.
“And it wasn’t until guys like Joe [Tapine], Papa [Josh Papalii], Elliot Whitehead and Jordie Rapana – those boys who obviously I very much trust – spoke to me about it, [that] I could see that it was probably hurting them. It was affecting those boys, affecting the team and affecting me.
“That’s the relationship we’ve got here at the club with players and coaches. We tell each other how it is. We try to help each other. I don’t like being around people when we lose because I know I’m cranky. I bring the atmosphere and environment down.
“So I stay away. I stay away from my mates, I won’t go and have a beer with them. I stay away for a couple of days because I don’t want to bring anybody else into it now.”
Read the full story here.
Q and A: You asked, we answered
And as we await that first glorious, merciful whistle of the NRL season, our journos have taken time out from the craps tables to answer a couple of questions from the masses.
The NRL announced record revenue of $750m for last season. Should the current administrators of the game do an audit on why the sports governing body never owned property, as an example, until a few years ago, on where the money went? Did previous league bosses have sticky fingers? – John Smith
How did the NRL come up with the minimalistic fine and suspension for Mam? It does not pass the pub test when Spencer Leniu got 8 weeks for calling him a [racist] name and he has illegal drugs in his system, driving unlicensed and injured a minor? – Stephen Harrod
Manly, Brisbane, South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters played in Las Vegas in 2024. None performed in the 2024 premiership as well as expected. One year is a very small sample. Let’s see how the Vegas teams go this year. – Phillip Kelly
Full-time: Wigan thrash Warrington
And in a game we prepared earlier, Super League champs Wigan have tha-humped Warrington, 48-24. The Sam Burgess-coached Warrington jagged a few late tries after Wigan put the cue in the rack, no contest that one but plenty of fun and enterprising play.
Former Eels livewire Bevan French looked too good for Super League, while Wigan’s 20-year-old back-rower Junior Nsemba showed what all the fuss was about – he palmed one poor defender halfway to Bakersfield during the first half. Wigan have him under lock and key for a reason, plenty of NRL clubs would love to get a crack at him.
Cronulla’s No.1 fan arrives in Vegas
By Billie Eder
You think you’re Cronulla’s biggest fan? I’m afraid you’d be wrong.
Meet Bowie, a goldendoodle (mix between poodle and cocker spaniel) from New York who has made the journey over to come and watch Cronulla play the Panthers. Bowie is a service dog, which means he’ll be watching from the stands at Allegiant Stadium with owner Pete, who grew up in Engadine and has been a lifelong Sharks fan.
Bowie, a service dog for owner Pete, wearing a Sharks jersey at Resorts World in Las Vegas on game day.Credit: Billie Eder
“I moved to New York in 2020 and I watch every Sharks game via the Watch NRL app, so when I heard the Sharks were playing in Vegas, I just had to be there,” Pete said.
“I moved from Engadine to Cronulla when I was 18 and became a Sharks season ticket holder, and would also travel to remote games in Newcastle, Townsville and Melbourne.
“I was also fortunate enough to attend the 2016 Grand Final, watching the Sharks historic win against Melbourne. Bowie is 18 months old, and is a bit of an adventure-seeker with his own Instagram account.
“He’s such an amazing dog; he wins hearts wherever he goes,” Pete said. “As I mentioned he has his own Instagram account (everyoneloves_bowie) … we’re actually just about to post Bowie meeting Mr Sharkie yesterday at the NRL Fan Hub, as well as other encounters in Vegas, so keep an eye out for that.”
Late Mail: Raiders, Warriors shake up packs
Raiders veteran Josh Papalii has been elevated to the starting side at the expense of Englishman Morgan Smithies, while the Warriors have also pushed Jackson Ford into prop. Co-captain Mitch Barnett shifts to lock while Erin Clark starts from the pine.
Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Savelio Tamale 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Corey Horsburgh 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Zac Hosking 16. Josh Papali’i Bench: 13. Morgan Smithies 14. Owen Pattie 15. Simi Sasagi 17. Ata Mariota 19. Trey Mooney 18th man: 22. Jed Stuart
Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Taine Tuaupiki 3. Ali Leiataua 4. Adam Pompey 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Luke Metcalf 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Wayde Egan 15. Jackson Ford 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Marata Niukore 10. Mitchell Barnett Bench: 13. Erin Clark 14. Dylan Walker 16. Demitric Vaimauga 17. Leka Halasima 18th man: 21. Eddie Ieremia
Blow that horn: Raiders enlist NFL help
Chammas: London calling for NRL, club sounds out Taylan May
The success of the Las Vegas season-opener has prompted the NRL to consider launching its season at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium from 2029.
The NRL are locked into playing the opening round fixtures in Las Vegas until at least 2028 but the incredible scenes in Sin City has the NRL convinced it has found the right formula to launch its season each year.
The NRL could be heading to London’s Wembley Stadium.Credit: Getty
The governing body believes hosting the season-opening double header in a major city is the correct blueprint going forward and is considering shifting the event to London in the hope of re-engaging with a market that is becoming increasingly disengaged with the sport.
The list of potential targets in the post-Las Vegas era also include other major United States cities like Miami and New York City.
INTEREST IN TAYLAN MAY
Which Sydney NRL club has made enquiries with the suspended Taylan May about his fitness and condition ahead of his court appearance next month?
May is due to front court on March 10 after he was arrested and charged with domestic violence offences against his partner in April last year.
The club, in a bid to protect themselves, will deny their interest until after the case is heard to avoid any public scrutiny given the sensitivity and serious nature of the matter in front of the courts.
Taylan May (centre) walks into a board meeting with the Panthers flanked by his legal team earlier this month.Credit: Steven Siewert
The domestic violence allegations occurred during his time at the Penrith Panthers, resulting in him being banned from playing in the NRL under the governing body’s no-fault stand-down policy.
The Panthers later served him with two breach notices; incidents referenced included swearing on social media, a video post showing May as the passenger in a car driving 96km/h in a school zone and allegations he punched a woman in the face and leg.
The Panthers moved to sack May but later agreed to provide him with a confidential pay-out after a lengthy legal battle over perceived wrongful dismissal.
Read the full Chammas in Vegas column here.
