By Adrian Proszenko and Michael Chammas
Sam Burgess has revealed his visa to travel to America was approved just four minutes before bookings for his flight closed.
Burgess wasn’t able to oversee Warrington training until Thursday morning (US time) after only flying in the night before. The Wolves coach admits he feared he wouldn’t arrive in time for the clash against Wigan at Allegiant Stadium, with the hold-up for visa approval linked to three driving offences he pleaded guilty to in Australia in 2021. There were no convictions, although he had to complete a traffic offenders program.
The former South Sydney forward spent the start of the week in an English hotel near the airport, ready to board a flight as soon as he was permitted.
Asked if he was always confident of arriving in the United States in time, Burgess said: “I don’t know, I was pretty nervous for a few days.
“I [was in a hotel] for three nights until we got it over the line. I just thought if I was there I’d have more impact and hopefully get things done. Anyway, it worked out.
“I literally got my passport and visa four minutes before the cut-off to booking the flight to get here yesterday. Four minutes.
“It was pretty tight. Otherwise, I would’ve been coming in later tonight and we’re going to miss all of [the pre-game festivities].”
Pressed on whether it would have been a great regret to miss the unique Vegas venture, the Clive Churchill medalist replied: “I don’t have to worry about that because it didn’t happen. It wouldn’t have sat too well with me.”
Burgess is committed to Warrington until the end of 2026, and the expectation is that he will return to South Sydney when his contract expires to succeed Wayne Bennett at South Sydney. The 36-year-old said he had a desire to one day coach in the NRL, but a Rabbitohs return isn’t inevitable.
“Not necessarily,” Burgess said. “I mean that’d be a great opportunity, but it’s not necessarily my main focus, I’m not just pigeonholed to go to South Sydney.
“There’s a lot of opportunity, and I’ll wait for the right one to come on and make a good decision.
“I’ve got a desire to coach in the NRL, I’ve been pretty open about that. It’s not necessarily about me testing myself against [other NRL coaches], it’s about me trying to achieve a goal that I set out to do.
“Whether that’s in the next two or three years or a bit longer, I don’t know. I’m probably not gonna rush into getting into the NRL.
“As much as I like you guys [the media], it’s actually quite nice in England with the freedom and there’s not a lot of external noise and pressure.
“It’s a really nice place to be for now with a young family. We’re not in a rush to do anything, but if the right thing comes along, we’ll have a look.”
FIFO love affair: Cleary’s quick trip to see Fowler
Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary was given the club’s blessing to embark on a 24-hour quick trip to watch girlfriend Mary Fowler play for the Matildas in San Diego on Wednesday night.
Cleary flew out of Las Vegas late Tuesday night to be with his partner, who was preparing for a SheBelieves Cup match against Colombia the following day.
Nathan Cleary headed to San Diego to watch Fowler play for the Matildas.Credit: SMH
The Panthers had a scheduled day off and Cleary didn’t miss any of the team’s football commitments. He returned to the hotel in Las Vegas late Wednesday night, following the Matildas’ 2-1 defeat.
Cleary’s trip came a few days after Triple M and Marty Sheargold parted ways after the radio host’s comments about the women’s national soccer team on Monday drew a furious backlash.
During his show on Monday, Sheargold said he would rather “hammer a nail through the head of my penis than watch” women’s soccer, before asking: “Got any men’s sport?”
Cleary attended a fan fest activity the following morning at Resorts World in Las Vegas and was asked about the comments.
“It’s pretty sad that people are still saying that sort of stuff,” Cleary said. “It’s just unnecessary.”
Cleary’s trip was pre-approved by the club weeks before heading to Las Vegas, and the Panthers No.7 returned to training as normal on Thursday as the team prepares for their season opener against the Sharks on Saturday (Vegas time).
No power, but passion
Former Canberra Raiders player Daniel Vidot, now a wrestler, was with the USA rugby league team watching his former club train in Vegas. The US were meant to play a Test against Greece the night before, but the match was abandoned because the lights wouldn’t turn on.
PVL the star of the show
All the big footy stars – including Nathan Cleary, Nicho Hynes and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck – posed happily with supporters during the footy fan fest at Resorts World. However, nobody had more photo requests than ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys, who was only too happy to oblige.
The world game
If further proof was needed that rugby league is a global game, then here it is. This press clipping comes from the Assam Tribune newspaper in cricket-mad India. A two-day local footy tournament made the sports section.
Maybe PVL should forget about Vegas and head to New Delhi for next year’s season opener – there’s a potential 1.4 billion league fans over there.
Rugby league in India
Mason’s new gig
Danika Mason has been appointed the new sports presenter for Channel Nine’s Today show.
Mason, one of the network’s most prominent rugby league figures, will replace former sports presenter Alex Cullen after he was stood down by Nine Entertainment – the publisher of this masthead – for accepting a cash prize in return for comments made on air.
Mason, who is in Las Vegas for Sunday’s NRL season-opening fixtures at Allegiant Stadium, will join Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo on the morning line-up.
Mason will continue to work on Nine’s rugby league coverage, including a revamped Freddy and The Eighth with Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns, which will move from the network’s digital platform to television in 2025.
Nine’s director of morning television, Steven Burling, said: “Danika has filled in many times on Today and has a fantastic rapport with the entire hosting team. We’re pleased to see her bringing a wealth of experience and passion for sports to our viewers.”
The Herald’s travel expenses to Las Vegas have been partly funded by the NRL.
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