Las Vegas Confidential: Cooper Johns under fire as Las Vegas red carpet stunt over inflatable bat backfires

Cooper Johns took an inflatable bat on the red carpet of the Las Vegas fan fest to poke fun at the Raiders over their hotel stoush, but the stunt was a swing and a miss with NRL officials unimpressed. That and more in Vegas Confidential.

Former NRL player Cooper Johns has come under fire following a Las Vegas red carpet stunt with the Canberra Raiders that backfired.

Johns, son of NRL great Matty Johns, was filming content with media personality Hammy Goodman for Sportsbet, the NRL’s official gambling partner, at the Fan Fest on Fremont Street.

The duo took a Simpsons blow-up baseball bat to the red carpet, a reference to the Vegas hotel lift fight between Raiders duo Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies.

Young is believed to have been hit by the bat while Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was allegedly asked questions he found inappropriate.

The NRL is aware of the incident and making inquiries.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart wasn’t impressed. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Cooper Johns with his Simpsons inflatable baseball bat in Downtown Las Vegas.

Stuart was asked about Johns’ actions at his pre-game press conference.

“It’s each to their own and the types of ways they want to do their, I don’t know if he’s a journalist, but journalism,” he said.

Johns said he believed people saw the lighthearted side of the original incident between Young and Smithies and didn’t mean to offend.

”I’d never ask someone about an incident that was actually serious,” Johns said on Saturday morning AEDT.

“I think everyone sees it for what it is now — just two blokes hitting it each with inflatable baseball bats.

“I’m great mates with Hudson and chatting with him he found the humor in it and had a laugh.

“Obviously Ricky just wasn’t in the mood to joke about it at the time. I’ll still be joining in on the Viking clap come game day.”

The Raiders quickly moved on from the Young-Smithies spat a week ago by making the players face the media after the news broke.

They have since accommodated promotional opportunities all week, and have been focusing on Sunday’s NRL season opener against the New Zealand Warriors at Allegiant Stadium.

“There’s no worries with us, we see it as a joke,” Stuart said.

“I’ve been involved in those incidents and you get over it.

“You guys saw it for what it was worth and it died the sudden death it deserved.

“It hasn’t had one ounce of disruption for us.”

The Raiders have welcomed media into their inner sanctum and completed numerous promotional activities during the Vegas week.

“I want the players to talk to you guys and do whatever appearances so they can get experienced with it,” Stuart said.

“I hope some of these players become Origin and Test players and you have to become used to that type of media exposure, appearances and bright lights.”

TO’O BUSTS A MOVE

Brian To'o busting a move on stage. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

Penrith coach Ivan Cleary admits he was “freaking out” as he watched injured winger Brian To’o bust out some of his best moves on stage at the NRL fan-fest this week.

To’o was ruled out of the season opener against Cronulla with a hamstring injury but that didn’t stop him sending an estimated crowd of 10,000 into a frenzy on Friday morning (AEDT).

At one point, To’o did the splits before jokingly reaching for his hamstrings. Vegas Con is not sure Cleary saw the funny side .

Brian To'o goes vertical. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“I’ve got to be honest, I was freaking out a bit,” Cleary said.

“But he seems to have pulled up okay so that is good news.”

To’o is expected to be fit for the Panthers’ round two game against the Sydney Roosters.

COACHES RUN GAUNTLET

Coaches did a trial run into their box at Allegiant Stadium with one team clocking five minutes before their mentor made it from the dressing sheds into the comfort of their box.

The towering Allegiant Stadium grandstand has prompted the coaches to ponder if they need to leave before half-time is over to ensure they can address their team in time.

Others will have to leave the sheds early to make it to their seat in time for the second-half kick-off.

“I imagine I’ll still go up there,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said.

“I haven’t been on the sideline for a few years. Most of the time I don’t do anything at halftime anyway. The boys have all sorted it out by the time I get down there.”

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart is expected to take his usual spot on the sidelines.

There were plenty of antics during the team’s walk-through at the stadium. Most saw the venue for the first time.

Teams were allocated 30 minutes on the playing surface but no training was allowed.

Kickers had the option of attempting goals. Warriors half Luke Metcalf opted instead of mimicking his goal-kicking by lining up conversion attempts on the tee and wearing socks but did not strike the ball.

His Warriors teammates played mini American-football games while Dylan Walker had sunglasses on his head – inside the roofed venue.

The teams will warm up on synthetic turf at the back of the stadium and it’s about a three-minute walk to the dressing rooms before they can enter the field.

IVAN NOT FUSSED

Ivan Cleary and the Panthers are premiership favourites. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Panthers haven’t been installed as favourites to win the competition this season and Ivan Cleary couldn’t be happier.

Despite winning four consecutive premierships and boasting the best player in the game in Nathan Cleary, the Panthers are ranked behind Melbourne according to the bookies.

Cleary has no complaints, insisting he doesn’t see it as a lack of respect.

“All you can really do each year is look at a team’s roster and make your predictions,” Cleary said.

“Quite happy not to be favourites.”

RAIDERS LAND RAIDER

The Raiders Viking Horn is brought out for a test run at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Raiders have secured a local NFL player to blow their $10,000 Viking horn.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Tyler Manoa will perform the duties and start the Viking clap at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.

Canberra attempted to get UFC chief Dana White onboard but a scheduling conflict made them shift focus and they landed on a local with strong Polynesian links.

“We were trying hard to get a Las Vegas Raiders player to be our ambassador,” Canberra CEO Don Furner said.

“Our name came from the Raiders here and we’ve been lucky to secure Tyler Manoa, who is of Polynesian heritage.

“We’ve always had a proud history of Polynesian players with our club.”

HURRY UP

Warriors and Raiders players will have little time to mingle with family, friends and fans on the sidelines of Allegiant Stadium after fulltime.

That’s because they have to clear out of their dressing rooms within 30 minutes of the final siren to allow the Panthers and Sharks to move in.

The dressing rooms in the stadium will be rapidly cleaned and turned over between games.

A partition has been placed between an NFL dressing room to create two for the NRL teams, given they only boast half the amount of players.

But the Las Vegas Raiders’ rooms won’t be in use – they are strictly for the NFL team only and will remain closed for the NRL event.

FOX’S MARATHON MEN

Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany and Fox League expert Braith Anasta. Picture: Greg Grudt/Mathew Imaging

All eight teams competing in rugby league’s Las Vegas quadruple header spent time at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, but none of the players worked as hard as Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany and Fox League expert Braith Anasta.

The pair took part in a Satellite Media Tour from the venue to promote the NRL’s return to Las Vegas.

Delany and Anasta spent four hours fronting live TV and radio interviews via satellite link to sell the games to US audiences.

“We’re less than 24 hours out from the games and we’ve been spruiking the religion of rugby league far and wide across all corners of the United States as part of a press blitz to support the league,” Delany said.

“It was extraordinary to see the field rolled in and posts go up during these live interviews at Allegiant Stadium. American viewers got a little taste today and no doubt they will be blown away by what they see tomorrow.”

Anasta has been busy, fronting the live recordings of NRL360 that have been beamed back home on Fox League.

“This has been such an enjoyable experience trying to explain and sell the game of rugby league to various media outlets around the US,” Anasta said.

“We had some very funny conversations making comparisons to the NFL and other codes. They might not understand the rules of NRL just yet but they loved our passion and hopefully that translates into some new fans watching tomorrow.”

Originally published as Las Vegas Confidential: Cooper Johns under fire as Las Vegas red carpet stunt over inflatable bat backfires