Like him or not, you just can’t bet against Peter V’landys’ global vision
Sounds like an idea out of a Cornflakes box, doesn’t it?
The first inclination is to ridicule the “Global Round” proposal, which was leaked on the eve of Australia’s match against England at Wembley much to the surprise of broadcasters, clubs, and players.
How much is this going to cost? Wouldn’t the money be better spent on grassroots football or lowering membership prices? And are they really gagging on the streets of Miami for rugby league?
The second inclination is to assume the proposal is in direct response to R360, the rebel rugby union competition that also wants to play matches in exotic locales around the world.
After dismissing it as a concept found in a cereal box, the ARLC has threatened to ban players and agents for 10 years if they even consider joining the league. Now, an alternative has been tossed up for those players wanting to scratch the itch of playing in far-flung cities.
“Miami would be cool,” Kangaroos halfback Nathan Cleary said when asked about Global Round. I’m sure it would be.
The third inclination will surprise; to praise V’landys for his vision and devout belief in the product he’s selling, as fanciful as some of his ideas often sound.
You mightn’t like the way he goes about business, nor the way he makes himself the centre of attention, but he believes in rugby league and its ability to become a global sport, something rugby union snobs will scoff at while the AFL can only dream of having something to sell outside of Australia.
Successive NRL administrations have for years undersold their code. They’ve never allowed the game to shrug off the cliché of being popular in just NSW and Queensland. They’ve never allowed the game to reach further than a handful of State of Origin matches in other states, let alone entertain the idea of playing them at Auckland’s Eden Park, or Wembley Stadium in London.
They toyed with the idea of playing an NRL match on the US west coast but never had the ability, nor the courage, to get it done.
V’landys’ crash-or-crash-through style of leadership achieved what they could not: opening the season in Las Vegas, at Allegiant Stadium as part of a five-year deal with Nevada’s tourism arm.
I was as sceptical as anyone when it was first flagged. I still think the notion that Americans will stop watching NFL and college football and fall in love with rugby league is a nonsense. So, too, the idea that the talent combine will turn discarded running backs into hard-running edge backrowers in the NRL.
Then there’s the cost. The NRL says the exercise is turning a profit, and that subscriptions to its Watch NRL app are up, although none of this detail has been provided to the clubs. As for partnering with wagering behemoths like FanDuel or DraftKings, those deals are yet to materialise.
Nevertheless, the Vegas experiment has been a wonderful advertisement for the game. It’s created publicity and excitement that’s lingered all season. (For the record, this isn’t paid opinion. I paid my own way to Vegas earlier this year).
Where V’landys fails is his hubris. He steps off the plane in Sydney and declares, “The only thing they’re talking about in the US is rugby league!” I suppose some people are stupid enough to believe it.
You can pinpoint the moment when he became a rugby league internationalist: Magic Round three years ago during a conversation with International Rugby League chairman Troy Grant.
The pair are close. When Grant was NSW Racing Minister a decade ago, he forced through tax parity with Victorian racing, delivering millions to Racing NSW, of which V’landys is the long-time chief executive.
At Magic Round, Grant told V’landys about his experience at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. You could readily buy Wallabies and All Blacks jumpers in Tokyo while, in Australia, it’s a struggle to buy a Kangaroos jersey at any time of the year.
Obsessed with creating new revenue streams, V’landys started to think about opportunities outside of Australian, well beyond selling some extra jumpers but the game itself.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo pushed hard during the last collective bargaining agreement negotiations for an international window at the end of the season for the Pacific Championships involving Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Cook Islands.
Pasifika players make up more than half the NRL – with that number growing – so why wouldn’t the NRL make the most of that?
The scenes at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, as Tonga and Samoa fans created an Origin-like atmosphere, shows the value in leaning into more structured competition involving Pacific nations.
Many will argue international footy is where V’landys should be directing his energy and the game’s funds, not a pie-in-the-sky Global Round that will cost a bomb and ostensibly gain only a handful of new fans.
The IRL disagrees. It says it is regularly contacted by representatives of Dubai and Abu Dhabi looking for content to attract overseas tourists, and that it’s easier to sell club brands than internationals.
How many rugby league fans are prepared to travel to these locations to watch their beloved team remains unclear. Just like the Perth Bears, the taxpayer-funded Papua New Guinea Chiefs, and even the season openers in Las Vegas beyond the current deal, I have doubts that any of this will work.
But I’m not running a red line through any of it yet. Whether you like the guy or not, it’s unwise to bet against Peter V’landys.
Which member of England’s touring party was Mitchell Starc’s first Test wicket?
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys wants to start the entire 2027 season overseas with teams competing in London, Hong Kong, Dubai, Miami, the south of France, and possibly Botswana.