Weekend Read: NRL CEO Andrew Abdo vindicated as rival codes watch on in Las Vegas envy

The NRL is making noise in the US and while rival codes dismiss it as one-off, Las Vegas shapes a history defining moment that will permanently alter the sporting landscape, BRENT READ writes.

(L-R) Patrick Delany CEO of Foxtel Group, talks with ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys during Fox League's NRL Las Vegas Launch. Picture: AFP

The most relaxed bloke in Las Vegas lumbered into Chez Bon Bon at 10.30 on Thursday morning (AEDT) and started to unpack a journey that kicked off more than two years ago, during the height of Covid.

Ever since the day ARL chair Peter V’landys offered up the idea of playing a game in America, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has been the man at the coalface. And it hasn’t been easy.

The old chestnut is that rugby league is a rollercoaster. If so, Abdo has ridden it the entire way. There have been plenty of knockers and endless doubters - some no doubt within his own building - but as this column is being written, rugby league stands on the cusp of history.

Something special is brewing in Sin City. Ticket sales for the season-opening double header have soared north of 40,000, there are rugby league jerseys on Las Vegas Boulevard and the reaction has been nothing but positive.

Even The New York Post has a sent a journalist to cover the event. Mark Cannizzaro normally follows the New York Giants and Tiger Woods - he has covered the US Masters for the past three decades.

On Thursday afternoon (AEDT), he was interviewing the Trbojevic brothers and Latrell Mitchell. The buy-in both from Australia and overseas has exceeded even the NRL’s wildest dreams.

V’landys may have pushed the envelope recently when he suggested rugby league was the No.1 sport in the country but after a few days in Vegas, maybe it isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.

AFL fans and officials must surely be watching with envy. As for rugby union, it scarcely matters any more. These are heady days and surely Abdo feels a sense of vindication given the flak he has copped in recent months.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo at the official launch in Las Vegas. Picture: Grant Trouville

There has been talk that he is under pressure to keep his job and, at times, the speculation has appeared to wear on him. He has cut a frustrated figure but this week, he has wandered around Vegas with a broad smile on his face. The cat has swallowed the canary.

“I think we have made a bit of a noise and people are looking,” Abdo said.

“That is what we wanted to do. This wasn’t going to be an overnight exercise of converting people to become rugby league fans out of nowhere.

“But they are registered and they are looking in. That’s what we wanted to do. We never wanted to measure this by how many people attended the game because this is not a one-off.

“It is not an exhibition. It is a long-term goal to acquire fans.”

Abdo is quick to point out the journey is far from over. The initial commitment is five years but you get the feeling that the NRL won’t stop until it has captured a slice of the US market.

Talks are ongoing with Fox Sports to have a game of the week on their main channel and wider exposure on some of their other networks.

“There are multiple measures but ultimately it is how many American fans are engaged in the competition,” Abdo said.

“It has been a great journey with him (V’landys) to navigate through stabilising the game, reorganising ourselves and being in a position where we can grow.

“This can only work if the clubs come on board. They have really embraced this. The players have been great ambassadors. “The logistics of this have been like nothing we have done before - whether it is visas, freight, grass, time zones. I am not at the point where I am thinking about any reflections or personal emotions because I am focused Saturday.

“It is the final 10 per cent that really matters.”

Fans wait to get in to Fox League's NRL Las Vegas Launch at Resorts World Las Vegas. Picture: Getty Images

When the initial five-year commitment is up, there are furtive plans to explore other options. Why stop at Vegas when there is a big, wide world to conquer?

“Ultimately this is about taking the NRL competition and rugby league to new markets permanently,” Abdo said. “But the commitment to doing the double header season opener in Vegas is for five years. It is not just the US. “We would be crazy not to think about the UK because we have a fan base already that follow Super League. In my view there is a huge amount of potential in working with Super League and showcasing the NRL to fans in Europe.

“Why wouldn’t you (look at) England.”

That is for another day. As he sips on an overpriced coffee in one of Vegas’ more salubrious hotels, Abdo’s interest is only on the here and now. He and the game have come too far to let it all fall apart at the 11th hour.

“It is a big moment for our sport …. this is not a one hit wonder,” he said. “This is not about a double header or 40,000 people in the stadium, it is about how we get people following the competition week-in, week-out. “We want games of the week showcased on Fox Sports One. We want to think about how do we potentially get games on Fox Network, how can we work with Fox to try to get equivalent free to air access for one or two games a week.

“Then you open the funnel wide.”

* * * * *

(L-R) Patrick Delany CEO of Foxtel Group, talks with ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys during Fox League's NRL Las Vegas Launch. Picture: AFP

Foxtel boss Patrick Delany was in the audience on Thursday afternoon (AEDT) as Fox League launched their season adjacent to The Strip using the set that had been front and centre on the Super Bowl telecast a fortnight ago.

Few have been as supportive of the NRL’s sojourn into America as Delany and News Corp. They have thrown all their resources behind the season-opening double header and deserve plenty of plaudits for helping rugby league pull off the American dream.

Fox League and Kayo Sports will telecast both games, including exclusive coverage of the opener between Manly and South Sydney. They have flown over a battalion of commentators and experts. They have put their money where their mouth is when it comes to rugby league and their commitment to the sport.

“It is not unusual for us to back our sport partners on innovation,” Delany said. “We love that the league last year reinvented itself with another team in Brisbane after so long, that they went to all the effort of getting Wayne (Bennett) in there. “It was unbelievably successful at the start of the season. This is more of that. I am satirised already because the amount of hubble-bubble that is going back on in Australia about the league - every sports fan in Australia is talking about league.

Fox league commentators Lara Pitt, Michael Ennis and Bryan Fletcher talk on stage during Fox League's NRL Las Vegas Launch. Picture: AFP

“The ones in the southern states who are AFL fans - they will be watching. We’re about selling stuff. Every year you have to reinvent yourself and have another reason why someone should have a look.

“This is the type of stuff that does it. I couldn’t think of a better place if you are going to showcase this sport to America than Las Vegas. This is the world capital of show business. We are not going to get lost like we would in LA and New York. It is a masterstroke. “That is why we are backing it. We back every sport we are in and that is why we go hard. We have brought our full broadcast team over.

“We have all our commentators, all of our personalities.”

Delany’s view is that if you are going to do something, do it properly. That means supporting V’landys and Abdo in their quest to win over America.

“If you’re in, you are in,” Delany said. “You have to back everything and give our subscribers the best of the best. To get the US fans involved is clearly in our interest as well.

“This is a new country to sports wagering and Peter knows that better than anyone. It is the start of the journey. In America, sometimes you don’t have to make it big to be big compared to our country.

“Over here, MLS is a very, very small sport in America but it is big compared to our sports. You have to do the hard yards and you have to keep coming.

“As one of my previous bosses used to tell me the world is run by people who keep turning up. So if we’re going to do this, we have to do it with conviction and keep turning up.”