Phil Rothfield’s highlights and lowlights Las Vegas special: Referees revealed as new goalposts create shock

In a special Las Vegas edition of highlights and lowlights, BUZZ ROTHFIELD lifts the lid on referees for the season openers and the goalposts set to create a surprise for NRL fans.

Phil Rothfield reveals his highlights and lowlights from the week including Las Vegas refs, new goalposts and the woeful Wests Tigers.

HIGHLIGHT

Wyong Leagues Club has launched a fantastic junior rugby league subsidy program in which they will contribute $100 towards the registration fees for every boy and girl from under-5s to under-13s at every Central Coast club. The leagues club has budgeted to spend $300,000 on 3000 participants – a wonderful gesture for families struggling under cost-of-living pressure.

LOWLIGHT

The terrible refereeing/use of the bunker at the World Club challenge. Penrith train their backsides off all summer, make a 34,000 kilometre round trip for the event – and then get dudded.

LOWLIGHT II

Trial match injuries. Poor old Dolphins forward Tom Gilbert suffered a season-ending ACL injury against the Warriors on Saturday. It is such bad luck for an outstanding player who was returning from shoulder surgery and an injury he suffered in Origin last year.

Adam Gee will referee in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS REFS

The NRL has appointed Adam Gee and Ashley Klein to referee the two games in Las Vegas. We hope Klein learns from Gee’s performance in the grand final and allows the game to flow in front of a new audience.

SPOTTED

You could be mistaken for thinking this picture is taken from the plumbing aisle at a Bunnings hardware store. It’s actually inside a factory in Las Vegas where the goalposts are being made for next weekend’s historic double header at Allegiant Stadium. The posts will be NFL-yellow to connect the event with the local market.

Goalposts for the Las Vegas NRL games in NFL yellow.

SPOTTED

A rugby union competition started over the weekend. I only know because someone sent me the TV ratings. Apparently, the Queensland Reds played the NSW Waratahs – and rated just 150,000 nationally on Channel 9.

SPOTTED

The Sydney Roosters Harold Matthews side flogged the Penrith Panthers 40-16 on Saturday, a remarkable result in that the Roosters have the smallest junior league in the game and the Panthers the biggest.

It shows how much work the Roosters have done in elite junior development. The Roosters also beat the Panthers 22-16 in SG Ball.

SPOTTED

Every club needs halves depth to challenge for a title. Penrith had it last year when Jack Cogger filled in so stylishly for Jarome Luai.

The year before Sean O’Sullivan covered for Nathan Cleary. The Manly Sea Eagles have it in Jamie Humphreys, who will no doubt be called upon when Daly Cherry Evans is on Origin duty. He is an impressive young playmaker.

Teams from the famous 1974 Amco Cup final.

50-YEAR REUNION FOR LEAGUE’S GREAT FAIRYTALE

It’s still regarded as one of rugby league’s greatest fairytale stories.

The night TV Ted Ellery and his Western Division bush footy players won the old Amco Cup midweek competition in 1974.

Next weekend Dubbo will host a 50-year reunion for all the surviving players.

In front of a crowd of 16,000 at Leichhardt Oval, Western Division beat Penrith 6-2, a Panthers side that included Tim Sheens in the front-row and the great Englishman Mike Stevenson at hooker.

The great old journalist, author and historian Ian Heads wrote a book about this incredible story — The Night the Music Died.

A classic story of a sporting underdog winning against all odds.

The reunion at Dubbo RSL will no doubt be a ripper … especially if they party as hard as they played.

PUNTERS LOOK TO CASH IN ON WOEFUL TIGERS

Wests Tigers are the new favourites in the ‘Most Losses’ market with TAB and have also taken over from the Dragons as the team at longest odds to win the NRL premiership.

Benji Marshall’s Tigers are being backed for the spoon. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

The Dragons had been $3 favourites to finish the season at the bottom of the ladder but are now $3.25 while TAB traders have wound them in from $101 to $81 to win the title.

The Tigers have been trimmed from $3.50 to $3 favourites to be wooden spooners while Wests have also switched places with the Dragons as $101 longshots to claim the premiership.

“That wasn’t a trial to install a lot of hope in the new Tigers regime and TAB punters had already been jumping on them at $3.50 to finish the season at the bottom of the ladder, now they’re $3,” said TAB’s Rohan Walsh.

“They hold close to 45% of the money in TAB’s Most Losses market, almost twice as much as the Dragons.

“We have flipped them in the Premiership betting also. The Dragons had blown out to $101 after opening at $67 but are back into $81 with the Tigers now $101 outsiders after going up at $51 on grand final night last year.

“Remarkably though, both the Dragons and Tigers both hold more outlays to win the title than Gold Coast, Canberra and the Dolphins so far, but it could be a long season for all five of those clubs.”