‘I blame Zelensky’: Peter V’landys on Donald Trump, Dana White invites and White Ribbon response
Let’s get it out of the way now: Donald J Trump didn’t make it.
In the end, ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys’ very ambitious and public invitation to the sport-loving US President to attend the quadruple-header at Allegiant Stadium didn’t even earn a response from the White House.
“I blame Zelensky,” V’landys joked between games on Sunday AEDT, referring to Trump and Vice-President JD Vance’s ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.
V’landys has adopted a Trump-like approach in promoting these matches in the US: say anything, do anything, as long as someone hears it and sees it and keeps talking about it.
The NRL’s decision to invite Trump, while also using UFC boss Dana White in its promotions, backfired when the anti-domestic violence charity White Ribbon said days ago it was severing ties with the league.
Trump was found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of journalist E Jean Carroll in a civil case in 2023 while White was caught on video slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve after she had struck him.
“We admire White Ribbon’s cause, but I believe it was a cheap publicity stunt that they didn’t need to do,” V’landys told me.
“Their objective – to protect women – is the most honourable I’ve ever seen. But our game has done more than other codes on this issue. Who else has a stand-down rule? If any player displays violence against women, he’s stood down.
“As for Trump, he’s the American President. Last year, I personally invited Joe Biden. We have a partnership with the UFC and Dana is the head of it. I wasn’t aware of that incident, but he hasn’t been convicted.”
Being ambushed and humiliated by an anti-domestic violence charity on the eve of an extravagant season launch in Vegas isn’t ideal, but it was never going to diminish the Vegas experience for the 50,000 people in attendance.
Sure, the early-season matches didn’t really set the stadium alight: Wigan flogged Warrington 48-24; Canberra always had the Warriors’ measure in their 30-8 win; and the Jillaroos could’ve declared at halftime, eventually beating England 90-4 in their women’s international.
The final match, between four-time defending premiers Penrith and Cronulla was played at a far different standard compared to the rest.
Penrith won 28-22 in a thriller, decided by a late try to winger Daine Laurie.
If the NRL can learn anything from this, it’s the importance of scheduling quality matches for its showpiece event. Melbourne is a must next year.
But it didn’t matter. We were in Vegas, we were watching rugby league, we were with our family and mates and colleagues and even the odd enemy, and we were having the time of our godforsaken lives even if it was costing us a bomb.
Fans watch sport to escape. They won’t really cop the suggestion they’re condoning heinous crimes against women because they follow a code whose chairman tossed out a throwaway line to Trump about coming to the footy.
For years, the NRL has tied itself in knots about what it wants to be and the boxes it must tick to appease its corporate backers and media elites who tut-tut about the way it goes about its business.
Coming to Vegas has worked for rugby league because it plays to its audience.
They’re here for the drink, the punt, the shows, maybe some Wayne Newton, most certainly several activities that can’t be mentioned in a family newspaper like The Australian.
On Friday, an elderly woman grabbed Fox Sports’ Matty Johns for a photo in front of the Bellagio fountain.
“I’ve got a pacemaker and I wasn’t supposed to fly,” she told him. “But I just had to be here before I die.”
The funny thing is the Vegas experience nearly didn’t happen.
Like NRL bosses before him, V’landys thought the only logical way of playing in the US was to play in Los Angeles. A dinner with US Fox executives at the home of News Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch changed his mind.
“The Fox execs said don’t go to LA,” V’landys said. “They said we’d get lost in LA because it’s so big. Nobody wants to go to LA. They want to go to a destination where they can have fun. Vegas was that for rugby league.”
“Without him [Murdoch], there is no Vegas,” V’landys said. “We would never have attempted it if it wasn’t for his support. He doesn’t think cracking the US market is an easy feat, but you are better off having a crack and failing than not having a crack at all.”
Murdoch, a noted Broncos fan, attended last year’s matches but wasn’t here this time. However, News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson was there along with Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.
Warriors supporters accounted for 32 per cent of the fans who attended the stadium on Sunday. For a club that traditionally finishes mid-table, save for the odd grand final appearance, being in Vegas can help grow its fan base.
As for American fans, the number was small. Nevertheless, they were curious.
“It’s like American football and soccer had a baby,” offered San Diego stockbroker Rashaad Shaw. “I can’t believe they play without helmets.”
When Canberra winger Xavier Savage intercepted a Warriors pass on his own tryline and then raced downfield to score, Shaw leapt to his feet.
“That’s hype!” he said. “A pick-six.” (In American football, a pick-six happens when a defensive player scores a touchdown from an intercept.)
How long can this Vegas hot streak last for the NRL?
The same tired, old commentators keep lashing the concept with the same columns that could have been cut-and-paste from the previous year, or any year for that matter, but there’s already whispers that the NRL could extend its five-year deal with the Nevada Tourism Commission.
Canterbury and St George Illawarra – two of the most-supported clubs in the NRL – are likely to play against each other next year, and you can bet there will be a scramble from others to be involved.
Like the city itself, you need to play in Vegas just once.
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