Jillaroos set to miss Las Vegas 2026 schedule in NRL shake up

The NRL is likely to strip back next year’s Las Vegas schedule to three matches, following a 10-hour marathon that left fans feeling footy fatigued.

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Peter V’landys has conceded that the NRL are likely to strip back next year’s Las Vegas schedule to three matches, following a 10-hour marathon that left fans feeling footy fatigued.

Both V’landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said that while ever-supportive of the women’s game, the Jillaroos 90-4 thrashing of England’s Lionesses would likely lead to the NRL staging next year’s Las Vegas season-opener with two NRL matches and one English Super League match.

“The first year to me was a bit of a haze, and so the second year was a real learning curve,’’ V’landys said.

“I learned a lot more this time than I did the first occasion because we were in with the unexpected in the first year.

“Four games was probably too much.’’

In a disappointing sight, there were a mass of empty seats for the fourth and final game of Penrith and Cronulla.

“I think we’ll go back to three games. I think four was too long. You could tell because the fans left their seats, so when their game was over there were empty seats,’’ V’landys said.

“You want them to stay there and I think if you had three games they probably would have.

“With four games it’s a long day. I got there at one o’clock and left at 11 o’clock, well that’s a long day for anyone.

“As passionate as I am about rugby league, it’s still a very long day.

“You want to shorten that a little bit and have the three games.

“We really do want to keep the Super League partnership because that worked exceptionally well.

“It generated a completely new atmosphere and a vibe that I’ve never seen, so that probably continues.

“We look, we’ll go home, do a post-mortem, and we’ll just see how we do it next year.’’

Asked if the review of the scheduling could come at the cost of a women’s game, V’landys said: “I’m the biggest supporter of the women’s game, so I don’t want to discount them.

“Australia were just too strong. It just shows that when you have a professionally run semi-professional rugby league competition, you’re gonna be that far ahead of anyone else in the world, and we have the best NRLW competition.

“It’s professionally run, the women have reached a level at this stage of their evolution that I’ve never seen.

“They are so far advanced, they’re so good, so skillful, they’re so brilliant that the poor old English never had a chance.

“In saying that, I was proud to show them off, to show how good our women are, the entertainers they are. They didn’t let me down.

“Unfortunately the English competition isn’t NRLW and it will take some time to catch up to us.

Abdo added: “International football for the women’s game is important and we need to think about how we help other countries with their development and growth.

“We will have a review and think about what the right opportunities are to showcase the women’s game to an international audience.

“We’ll review it and get feedback from our customers and partners. It was a long day but a great festival.’’

The Jillaroos are likely to be scraped from next year’s fixture.

HERE TO STAY

V’landys spoke boldly when asked about the success of the NRL’s second instalment of their season-opening extravaganza in Las Vegas.

“I’m more confident than ever that we’ll be in America for the long-term, absolutely,’’ V’landys said.

“It will just grow and grow. Already the Las Vegas tourist bureau has asked us to extend our contract.

“The beauty of it is that they have made us a major event in their calendar.

“A rugby league weekend is a major event in their calendar, we’ve brought $100 million in economic stimulus, so to be put on as a major event with the likes of the NFL in the space of two years is extraordinary.

“The other thing that I’ve learned is how to penetrate the American market. These experts have come out and basically told us what we’ve got to do.

“And the beauty about rugby league is that we have the ball in play for 60 minutes and NFL have the ball in play for 10 minutes, and rugby union has the ball in play for 30 minutes.

“What they like about rugby league is it’s fast, entertaining, consistent action. There’s so few stoppages, and the younger demographic here in America, that’s what they’re looking for.

“They’re looking for fast entertainment, they don’t want to be sitting around for three or four hours with a ball in play for 10 minutes. And that’s nothing against the NFL.

“I’m just telling you what the younger demographic wants.

“We’ve got the perfect game for that.’’