NRL in Las Vegas was a Success But What's Next? (An American Perspective)
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
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The NRL’s first trip to Vegas is in the books and while it wasn’t a jackpot, overall, it can be classified as a net positive. A winning hand at blackjack so to speak. A nice advertisement for the game and a chance for Australia to take over Sin City.
The NRL in Vegas was a success although probably not groundbreaking. And the sport plans on making bigger inroads in America, well, it needs to fix a huge problem that will hamstring growth.
Overall, the games had all you could want. Hits, physicality, action, excitement, speed. Well, everything apart from Jason Saab getting caught from behind by Lachlan Elias. Seriously, Joey Manu throwing a Heisman-quality stiff arm before busting out a Jason Williams level behind the back pass is something no other sport in the world offers.
What’s next for the NRL? How about fixing the biggest thing that will recent new fans in America from following the sport for the rest of the season and beyond, the comically overpriced Watch NRL subscription.
Here’s the deal, good app, with lots of good content. Not worth the $150 US dollars. Not for a sport many folks aren’t going to be able to watch live most weeks. It is sheer lunacy that the NRL wants so much money for this.
At $50-60 a year, sure, it’s worth a punt. Bundled into something else. Hell yeah. As a standalone product. Get out of here. You want NFL money for a product that has a tenth of the following or understanding.
Beyond that, it is important for the NRL not to lose sight of the Australian fanbase. Building up the US market is cool but going crazy with expansion and playing games overseas. One of the reasons overseas fans, such as myself, enjoy it is because of its distinctly Australian feel. It just hits different from US sports.
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As a Vegas local who had never even heard of the NRL until a week ago, I thought it was great. Tickets were as cheap as $19, so it’s crazy that the streaming service is $150. that definitely needs to change. Also more advertising should be done here stateside other than a few billboards along the freeway… Looking forward to them coming back next year - I’ll definitely be there
My question is how many of the crowd were Americans ? It looked like most of the fans were Aussies .
That’s awesome mate! It will definitely fill the hole between NFL seasons. I warn you though it’s addictive, and you haven’t even watched State Of Origin yet!!!
@@geeselandonlake Next to none were.
And the OP is likely to be some BS artist Aussie league bogan moonlighting as an American.
@@muntjunk-plk3171 Ahahahaha “definitely”.
I hope I remember this when this funny fantasy of yours still has not eventuated in 5 years time.
Americans will never get into NRL. It has failed to even make any impact beyond 2 states of Australia not New Zealand so why would Americans be anything except less receptive to this rubbish?
It is so good to hear from someone in the US about this, I keep banging on about getting local people involved....sure, British and Aussie and Kiwi ex-pats and tourists will go, but where is the enticement for local Americans?
As a American rugby player, fan, and rep. of Rugby League in America Podcast, this event was a win for the game in the American market and is only the first step towards a much better event. This event more doubled then doubled the previous rugby league attendance record from the 2018 England-New Zealand match in Denver. This is also one of the busiest rugby weekends in the history of the US; you had this, LA Sevens, and Week One of Major League Rugby.
For the Karens out there, I play both Union and League and I am a fan of ALL rugby. That is a common thing here in the US because league is not as popular with players as union because union has an established youth, high school, and collegiate presence.
The fact you don’t realise that this was an entirely different sport to proper rugby shows up your lack of expertise.
@@danieleyre8913 Irrelevant and you sound like a complete wanker for bringing this up.
@@danieleyre8913 can you read? when did he say that? how can you assume he did
@@illchaylad7176 Gah DUH! In his first sentence he says he’s both a rugby player and a league rep (which is bs as there is no such thing for the USA) and then he talks about how it was part to a big rugby weekend in the USA.
@@danieleyre8913 yeah and none of that is a lie, they literally were the ones that commentated and broadcasted the NRL Vegas 9s. Whether it was league or union it’s still considered rugby to most US fans.
It's part of a 5-year plan. The goal was NOT people attending the game it was to introduce America to the game and the following years to get some regular TV viewers and gambling dollars.
The standard of the first game was sensational.
Standards were fine, but tv rating were wort than poor and it lost millions of dollars, plus no new teams....
150 US is outrageous! Hope NRL change this asap
thats crazy like 270 AusD?
$150 to watch 8 matches a week for 27 weeks your essentially paying 69c a game and there's 216 matches.
For 150 US I'd rather just use a VPN and then stream it when it's on free to air in Australia
it is what the Americans charge, I doubt if the NRL have much choice in the matter
I actually think it's a pretty good value for all you get. You get all the NRL games plus Fox League live stream. They charge the same price for WatchAFL also.
I was pissed about the basketball game running over. And I'm a Georgetown fan! But I'm a bigger Rabbitohs fan
RiP in peace,I'm a manly fan tho :)
Go parra
The crowd was something you would hear in a normal NRL match
This last superbowl was the first full NFL game I'd watched in years. Normally I just watch highlights of Falcons games. I was surprised by how quiet the crowd was most of the time. I assumed it was bad audio until this dude mentioned it too. I think NFL crowds are more chill cos it's a more plodding, strategic game. Rugby league/union crowds are more amped because, given the free flow of play, we know something big might happen at any moment, especially since offence and defence aren't split. Your most lethal attackers are always on the field ready to strike against the flow of play if there's an intercept or knock on.
It was meh
@@danielstockley5631 It was quite because it was the falcons bruh they been a mediocre team since their Superbowl choke 😭. When it comes to the NFL it depends on the team and how well they doing. Nobody got time to waste on a trash team that's not gonna give it they all so we just save money and watch the game from home
Superbowl is more a treat for the wealthy and corporate social types. Many grand final game atmospheres have been ruined because the ground isnt filled with true fans. Has been overtaken, sold out by the $$$@@danielstockley5631
The TV coverage sounded louder than the Perth double header last year
If only the feild was the correct width.Thats why the far majority of both games where played down the middle. Rarely seen any plays going any further than one or two passes from the ruck. It really eliminated the skill & flair of any back line movement's normally seen regularly in all other NRL games.
disagree...
@@bubblesnz1059Disagree with what? Did you not watch the games? It was obvious that all team's game plans where dictated by the shorter width.
@@bubblesnz1059 The field was 5 meters narrower & 6 meters shorter, on top of that there was absolutely no room from sidelines to the stadium wall.
Not only did it stop back line movements it also prevented a lot of line breaks considering wingers,centers where right in the thick of it defensively. All in all it took a lot of usual spectacle out of the games.
@@brentdavis3102 I thought it felt more like finals footy and the game plan was possession and trying to assert dominance through the middle. Thats like the more risk averse approach for a big game with little prep for some of the players. Not gonna lie now that ive had a few hours to simmer on it, id say its probably a bit of both
@@bubblesnz1059 Coaches even stated in interviews that they'll have to cater their game plan around the fields size restrictions.
This is probably the most truthful and accurate review of the weekend and great to see from an American perspective. Agree with pretty much everything you said! Kudos!
Thanks for kind words!
In regards to the crowd, AC Milan V Barcelona drew 39k, the official crowd for NRL was 40k. Most NRL fans would be happy drawing the same. And totally agree about the over priced app
Crowd was probably 95 percent Aussies
14k Aussies
There’s a big difference there.
Very few Spaniards nor Italians went all the way to Las Vegas to watch that game between AC Milan and Barcelona. The crowd would’ve been entirely American soccer fans.
Barely any Americans have even heard of Rugby league. The entire crowd of this flop were Aussies with not a lot of sense who made the trip especially.
@@flaminjamin That would mean that the crowd was actually only 14,000 people then.
No Americans went to this.
I can categorically say that there were plenty of Americans at the game. Lots of people wanting to shit talk this event from people that weren’t there.
The NRL season runs March to September and the US is such a huge market, they wouldn't have to win many over percentage wise to make it profitable. If they're going to make inroads, it's going to hinge on the level of promotion from Fox. If it's sold as something to do while NFL fans wait for the combine instead of grinding out a 10-0 midweek baseball game it could be a massive winner.
The situation you described is exactly why I got into the NRL in the first place. There are points in March, July and August when I just want something that's not regular season MLB, NBA or NHL. I watch some arena football but a spring football league can't seem to get off the ground.
For me, the NRL is just the perfect sport during the NFL/college football dead period.
@@thetouchback, can you explain your pricing for the NRL over there. Was that $150usd per year? Over here we have 2 broadcasters. Free to Air television (basically normal local free TV) and Pay TV. The pay TV side of things over here is really just FOX, and it's is available in a few ways, full FOXTEL subscription which could is around $100AUD a month for the sports package (which is ESPN, FOX ETC, but you do get the other 100 channels you will never watxh), or you can get an app called KAYO that costs around $25AUD a month for the basic pack. I had KAYO for last year only because it cost me $5AUD a month with my phone, but cancelled it when it increased $20. KAYO didn't work over here on a VPN, so its probably the same overseas.
Overall, if you have the chance to watch live games overseas, and you TV has the ability to pause it during live play, I highly recommend getting the ABC DIGITAL RADIO APP, for your handheld device and pausing the live TV feed to sync with the radio broadcast. (TV and radio are up to 30 seconds different in delay). The ABC GRANDSTAND commentary team is head and shoulders above the television broadcast commentary.
Anyways, keep up the good work reporting on sports.
Maybe the new UFL(XFL/USFL) can merge with the CFL and go to Rugby League rules plus you have a international ascept as well.@@thetouchback
NRL should’ve prepared for a State of Origin Game inUSA
Call it State of Oregon lol
Done that about 1987 at Longbeach, game 3
Nah keep origin in Australia
Bud, it’s called *STATE OF ORIGIN* this means the games will be held in the two states that started and solidified rugby league, it will always be held in Australia unless they want to lose their founding audience.
Thats like saying they should play the super bowl in Sydney. No way
So to answer your question what a completion is;
When a team first gets the ball they have 6 tackles in a set to play with. The 6th or the “last” is when the team generally takes an opportunity to kick the ball and this is done in order to give their team an opportunity to apply pressure on the opponent, by rushing up and tackling their opponent deep inside their territory. You are constantly fighting for the best position on the field. You don’t have to wait till the last ball in the set to kick either but it is a general rule that’s followed. The completion rate is how many times the teams got through a full set without an error or penalty. A poor completion rate amounts to pressure on a team and generally reflects on the score board too and mistakes.
An example would be if team A at the end of the game has 85% completion rate as their opponent team B has 65% then it would likely show on the scoreboard as something that would like like, 24 points to 6.
Hope this helps. 🙂
The official count in stadium was just over 40k for the Broncos game. Not too bad. Most frustrating issue was there was no tackle count on the score board. Sound in the stadium was also terrible. Could not understand anything the ref was saying.
LOL c’mon we all know the actual crowd was about half of that.
Not sure what you're working off. I've been at plenty of US college football games with that many and it was abut the same. Definitely a lot more than 20k. I was there. The stadium seats 65k. The lower bowl was full (largest section), and middle bowl about 75% and the upper bowl (much smaller, pretty much empty). It made sense. So it was definitely around 2/3 full. The official attendance was also announced and put on screen during the broncos game.@@danieleyre8913
A much needed realistic assessment. Thankyou.
Solid breakdown. Well played following the game from the states too mate
I think for a first hit out it was a success. 40k crowd was respectable and hopefully grows next year. NRL should take a hit for a few years on broadcast rights and give fox sports to play more games each week.
I think the same as others (once NRL adds one more team) in making round one a 3 day magic round with all teams heading over. That would bring crowds from Australia and UK and get the US emersed in the game
I'll give you that, the $150 a year to watch the NRL in the States is s***house, V'Landys should do something about that.
get a VPN and sign up for Kayo sports it's 30 australian bucks a month but at least you get a heap of other sports with it
$30aus is only $20usd anyway thanks to our lousy exchange rate
@@peterweaver7596 Kayo is the worst sports app I've ever seen.
@@peterweaver7596VPNs don't always work as some sites have worked out ways to block it, one way I have bumped into is they check payment method and if your bank details are not registered within the region they won't accept it. I tried that to get Discovery +
I'm sure you can pay monthly as well.
Some good reflections and thoughts. As an Australian living in the US, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought the NRL did a brilliant job here. We’ve seen other attempts to play Australian sports overseas, but they’ve generally been shambolic and lacking strategy - I’m looking at you AFL and your one off Shanghai event that got around 5,000 bemused and confused spectators (something that has been quietly forgotten about since it tanked). The broadcasting issue was unfortunate, but that’s something the NRL can work with its partners on in the future and with a 5 year vision I think they can really build on this. Heck, if this really becomes a fixture and Americans start to enjoy it and these games get closer to a sell out, within a decade the NRL could look at taking the holy grail - State of Origin - to the US for one of the 3 games. As for the NRL app - I think basically what they need is to add tiers, with one or two cheaper options with less content/games/functions. Personally, I don’t think the $160 isn’t all that expensive in the scheme of things… the sport runs for 32 weeks of the year, so basically 8 months of content, making it about $20 per month. But you’re 100% right that with the time difference catching the game live will just be too hard for a lot of people.
This will be canned before 2027.
@@danieleyre8913 I doubt it - to do as well as they did in their first year is astonishing. They even had to contend with a rare weather event that made Las Vegas partially shut down. Plus, Vlandys is a dogged SOB. He goes hard at long term ambitions like this and doesn’t waiver.
The biggest problem the NRL has is that 80% of the US population lives in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. Their game are on in the middle of the night here. The other issue is that Rugby League has almost no following in the US. It's almost all Union here.
It should be noted that Major League Rugby was on FS2 right before the game started. In fact it wasn't over and finished up on the App.
There was 41279 spectators at the games
reportedly - I agree with The Touchback, it didn't look 2/3 full when u saw all the empty seats esp on the upper deck
Knowing rugby league; there was probably half of that. But they counted the people who sat through both games twice.
@@patrickcollins6680the capacity structure of the Stadium lines up with the 40k announced. Levels 1, 2 and corporates add up to 40k. Level 3 is 13,500 and level 4 is 11,500. Level 1 and corporates were pretty much full. Level 2 was around 50% full, but those on level 3 would have been enough to bring level 2 upto capacity.
Tickets sold, not necessarily present. I reckon 35-38k but that's a good number even for a Sydney game.
@@lastpenny849 That’s a pretty pathetic turnout for such a showcase event.
I thought it was a good base for them to hopefully grow on in the next couple of years. Definitely some mistakes and lessons, but overall I thought it was pretty good. Hopefully they keep going.
Thanks for supporting the game mate!
Russell Crowe ran the campaign explaining the basics a while ago, very simple to understand in regards to your question about how many tackles or downs you get.
Mate I think this is the most succinct evaluation of NRL Vegas. It has clearly been a success from our end but your points are spot on and I hope the NRL see this
Nice video,bro. Nice to see a non-Aussie/Kiwi/Brit taking an interest in the NRL which IMO is the most competitive regular season comp in the world - far closer than most European football leagues, etc.
Fingers crossed that this Las Vegas experiment can really expand like the NFL Europe games.
You might have seen in my vid that I compared the NRL Vegas weekend to Super Rugby's Magic Round that happened on the same weekend - there really isn't any comparison. The NRL absolutely smashed Super Rugby's Magic Round in all areas even though it's only started this year whereas Super Rugby have tried it for the last 3 years.
If you ever want to do a collaboration, I have an idea for a Super Rugby video on its failed global expansion. It's easy to forget now but they were looking at putting teams in the US.
I was there. It was great. Crowd was great. Didn’t feel empty at all.
It was good it was intense 💯
Good summation: yes subscription is very high $$$ for a very niche sport coming from another place. Also totally agree with not changing the product/brand to suit America: it is a AU/UK sport, though mainly NSW/QLD. Also you were spot on with the Broncos, they were very flat. The crowd was good and would have been much better but because of herrendous weather.
Putting all that to one side: the games were of a high standard, not your end of season defensive efforts, early season standard: good ball handling and plenty of big hits and yes the Manu pass (which amazingly wasn't forward). For an American, you know your product. Over the next 5 years, Australians will fill Allegiant Stadium (this year was wait and see).
As a fan for the last 50 years: if they just stick with the double-header for opening round, it will absolutely grow the game as eyeballs on TV. Syd AU
Fair and accurate assessment. Thanks bro, glad you enjoyed overall.
I thought it was dumb, I’m Australian. The nrl has failed to take over Australia, yet then they decided to take games to Vegas. Meanwhile the Australian football league is a national sport. As a member of an nrl team and afl team I just felt the nrl priorities are wrong, even tho my team is more then likely to be in Vegas next year, it’s just bonkers to make fans travel across the globe to watch our clubs play.
Really good to see an informed American perspective on the NRL, appreciate this brother
Good video mate. They needa make it easy to watch. Shoulda been ironed out before we came. I wouldn’t even spend that much on it. Crowd was pretty tame at first but they got more into it as it went on. The games were pretty conservative, but that’s cause the field is smaller and it’s the first games of the year, they’re usually about defence and completions. So they did pretty good to make it more exciting.
16 teams should play the opening round in Las Vegas, just like in magic round. Have a week break to recover from the after party, game, & travel before resuming the competition back in Australia.
Would you do it all in Vegas or spread it around the West Coast? Three games in Vegas, three in LA and two in SD would be awesome. San Diego and LA have stadiums that could work well too (I think, width may be an issue).
@@thetouchback Yes, it might be best to spread it around except for the worry of crowd attendance? I would think perhaps two locations to start with? If I were the NRL I would also consider taking two woman teams of high quality..perhaps a state-of-origin pre-season event. I think that would capture the imagination of an American audience.
What is the population of the Vegas area? My view would be to take to somewhere where travel is easy and population is rather large, Vegas has had its dash and was suffering from over saturation in the last few weeks. Probably an expensive town for a 3 day trip, and not worth it for a 1 day event to get interested followers to come. That said, Vegas is America to the majority of non-USA citizens, so I guess its something of a win.
that would cause a huge issue with when the games are shown back home the two vegas games were played saturday night local time / sunday afternoon back in australia which is fine for two games but eight would be a scheduling nightmare some games would have to be delayed for hours or shown live in the middle of the night
@@peterweaver7596 unless they kicked them off on a Friday or even Thursday night..I'd say 50 thousand Australian/Kiwis/ internationals would travel and that would raise an eyebrow with Vegas tourism which would put millions into the promotion of it, when you get Americans involved in promoting it, it will go to another level.
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Thanks for sharing. I couldn't watch it in real time because of a schedule conflict and I didn't record it, but I'm hoping to at least stream the highlights on RUclips. Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music/Sacred & Secular (and sports fan)
Completions are completing a set of 6 tackles.. They are important because you want to use all 6 tables to make as much metres as possible.. Usually on the 6th tackle the team will kick to make more metres
Rather play in a smaller stadium packed out than a huge stadium looking half empty. 🤔 Food for thought! 👍🇦🇺🤠
as an aussie nrl fan to an american👏🏽👏🏽 well done on making this showing some positives about the sport..theres room for people to enjoy all sports. as an aussie i try watching nfl & nba as much as i can. i even try my best keeping up with mlb. its not that hard to keep up with multiple sports with modern day technology 🤷🏽♂️ as for the completions. i think most aussies are confused with nfl completions..so u run out of bounds with the ball and its completed. u drop the ball and its completed. nrl completions are simple when u get tackled thats 1st. u get up play the ball. next tackle is 2nd. you get 5 tackles til the last. i think the whole of australia agrees with the pricing its like that for all our sports. than the food at venus about $20 for chips & a drink tickets are about $30-$50+pp depending on where u want to sit. when i first started following in the 90s as a kid tickets were like $15 less for a child. food was like $10-$12 for a drink chips burger.
great insight!
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WMH Team - Australia 🇦🇺
Thx great review from "the other side" I loved it, cept Broncos lost, but hey Im used to that !! LOL
Completions/completion % @thetouchback is the amount of times you get to your 6th play of your possession. Each time you have the ball that is a possession to where you get 6 attempts to get point by a drop goal or try (touchdown). As an American who has played the most USA rugby league games I can verify this statistic is massive. If that percentage is higher than your opponents the more likely you are to have won the game. The equivalent Stat to this in the NFL would be the turnover ratio, to put it in perspective. Hope this helps brotha. PLAY ON! You earned my sub. Thanks for your coverage.
Much respect. Here's hoping rugby league activities in the States pick up as well. We made it to a few World Cups and hopefully, these games can help build a local foundation for the sport as well.
@thetouchback I hope so. Do I thinknit will? No, the current administration does not know how to market, influence and ultimately grow the game. Lots of ideas and folks have raised their hands only to be shot down just because of a "who do you think you are attitude" meanwhile they sit back and do next to nothing. This is why I many I sit on the outside watching and waiting.
@@CCunz-ot2xq It would take vision and investment but there is no reason to think a rugby league can't reach a similar status to professional lacrosse or even arena football in the States.
You have actually got me thinking about how I build rugby league efforts in the US. It may be a video I get around to making one of these days.
@thetouchback tag me when you doni would watch and share. Me being involved in the most USA games both as a player and manager, I would if your ideas would differ much from mine. I know who I would get involved. It would be people I know who were involved in the past when we were ranked 9th in the world in 2013 and also major business minded people with the tech and knowledge to grow something like this. Also being in the biggest market in the USA, New York, NY
I agree with a lot of what was said including the overprice of the app. I do wish to say that the overprice applies to us Aussies who have to pay hundreds of dollars for NBA, NFL season game apps. The concept of the Las Vegas hosting NRL is to market and promote our sport to Americans but also get a tiny piece of the pie, being the multi-million dollars broadcasting brings through Fox and other media partners. Plus it would fit nicely as the Super Bowl (NFL) season finishes in February, while the NRL (Rugby League) starts in March. If more Americans watch/subscribe to nrl games than that brings tens of millions of dollars to the Rugby League
Having lived overseas, you are spot on about the NFL Game Pass which they now moved to DAZN and made even worse. Pricing for the NBA was like $100-ish the last time I subscribed, which I felt was fine. Totally agree about the calendar point as well. It's why I got into the NRL in the first place.
WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS!!
Plus it was NASCAR weekend
NRl is so underrated best sport by far
great perspective. very objective from an American nrl fan. provided good feedback and iSight. I hope the nrl or arl sees this
Many thanks and I have a question for you. What would you like to see happen with the NRL and PNG? Do you think an expansion is a good idea?
@@thetouchback all good mate. Keep ‘em coming. I think PNG NRL Bid needs more work done with the juniors. Particularly in the Highlands and New Guinea Islands regions of Papua New Guinea. These two are known breeding grounds for talent and are never used or not enough funding is given to these two regions where there is a lot of talent and hunger for the game. I think PNGRFL needs to invest heavily in Schoolboys and Juniors. Junior competitions and Referee Training is a key. Coaching development as well. There is a whole host of issues, such as facilities and equipment. But there is a lot of talent and a humungous appetite for NRL. The new team of based in Port Moresby won’t have a problem with sponsorship or funding, support and membership money will be crazy. Id say junior development is the highest issue
I’d say they’ll probably host matches in California next but weather in winter is a mixed bag here.
The big challenge is the NRL plays the less popular code of rugby football. But league has more potential to catch on the US than union, because there are parallels with gridiron football (aka American football)
The other worry is had after the last Vegas opening games were that some of the fans that attended were actually from Australia even tho the crowd that was being targeted was intended to be americans
Over 90% of the crowd were Australians with less brain cells than money. Few Americans have heard of this.
Remember, this is the first game of the season. Once the teams become battle hardened, then you'll see some action.
I'm an Aussie and I thought the attendance was great, no expectations of a full venue as the NRL doesn't have a big fan base in the U.S plus there were other events happening in Vegas on the same evening, it was more of promo to give Americans a look at Australian footy.
Barely any Americans watched this.
@@danieleyre8913 Really? The last I checked, apart from just over 41 k people at the stadium, ratings showed 838,000 viewers.
@@Genesis-007 That’s just Rugby league lying as always. Just like when they claimed that the event wa already sold out a couple of months ago, that’s clearly not true.
Go and look at US newspapers and see how the only one mentioning it is the Las Vegas local paper. And it’s it on the front page.
Of course no Americans watched this. It was the same bogan Aussie audience as every other season and the crowd numbers were half of why they claim as the mostly empty stadium can’t hide.
@@danieleyre8913 if you have a problem with the ratings numbers go take it up with the person who published them, if you hate Australian football go watch another video more to your liking 👍
@@Genesis-007 Hahaha I’m not the one with any problem here. And no I have no less right to be here and laugh at all of this than you do so it’s you who needs to leave if you can’t handle reality.
I reckon the number one priority for NRL in the USA is a return on investment. The revenue generated potentially from this can fund programs both in North America and the pacific region.
Surprises me how Americans don't like rugby league, it's so fast paced, intense and hard hitting, everything NFL isn't.
They’ve never heard of rugby league.
But hey you clearly don’t live in reality anyway…
Nfl is intense and hard hitting. I'm a fan of both sports and they have a lot of crossover. NFL is just let down by ads
@@Jp-do9ny and 5 minute stoppages every 20 seconds.
@@Jp-do9nycompletely agree. I'm English and primarily a rugby league fan, but I'm a big NFL fan too. I would expect NFL fans to like rugby league though. Just the pace of it alone, the ads in the NFL really bug me
@@crawfs83 As opposed to a guy rolling the backwards with his foot every tackle…
I read recently about the NRL wanting to expand the number of teams but a lack of local competitive talent. Would be great to see if some of the American football talent could translate if they put some scouts on the hunt
That would be interesting as a pathway for football players assuming they could go over, learn the game and eventually get some experience in the NSW/Queensland Cups. There is obviously a transition which means NRL teams would be playing guys for years knowing they aren't ready for first grade.
AFL (Or Collingwood I guess) has been known to target college basketball players with Mason Cox being a good example of what's possible.
Mason Cox is pretty much an exception though, most non Australians playing a in the AFL are former Gaelic footballers from Ireland. Because the GAA is amateur and Gaelic footballers therefore don’t get paid, the AFL can pick up some of the biggest talents.
NRL won’t be able to pick up the biggest talents in American football of course but the pool is big enough that you’ll still find a lot of talent I reckon, and out of those talented players, some may be able to successfully make the switch to Rugby League.
Definitely a good idea the NRL should think about.
NFL fans should love this game, especially with the seasons not really overlapping. It’s a good fast game to watch with plenty of brutality, and it’s great too bet on, and also has a thriving fantasy community.
I don’t like talk of “taking over”, it’s never going to and doesn’t need or want too. Just like Gridiron will never take over Australia,NZ and UK. Plenty of NFL fans in these 3 countries for the spectacle and drama.
It also has one of the greatest sports rivalries in the world in State of Origin, and various other Representative “super teams” matches like a Pro-bowl. Although they are contested much more furiously.
Any US based fans out there don’t think it’s a decision between the two, just enjoy it for the carnage and skill. Once you understand what’s going on it’s a sensational game.
I recently saw they have started doing a draft-style fantasy for the NRL. That would be amazing. I have no interest in the EPL-style fantasy games but one that is similar to the NFL is exactly what I've been looking for.
Most fans of the NFL and NCAA college football will see this as an inferior mimic of their game.
@@danieleyre8913 I disagree. I think NFL and College Football fans are smarter then you give them credit for. Most love the creative and free flowing attack, and judging by reaction vids on RUclips they love the 10m retreated defensive line, and the big boys winding up on the charge. None of them however seem to be impressed by lifting blokes up by the shorts to catch a soccer throw in, or the way the referee determines so much of the result in Rugby Union. It’s just not as exciting, best leave it where it belongs, in the schoolyard at Cambridge or any of the other Chardonnay sipping Toff factories that still enjoy it
@@muntjunk-plk3171 Ah no. They’re smarter than YOU give them credit for. Because they’re smarter than rugby league fans.
They’ll look at it and say: “Hmm, half the game is some guy who looks like a prison inmate rolling a ball backward with his foot. Then he some other charges straight up into a lines-up defensive line. Then they collide and he gets wrestled to the ground. Then it repeats until a kick after 6 tackles. Yaaaawn!!!!”.
They’d be joining the vast majority of people who looked at this rubbish and saw it for what it is.
P.S. Thanks for showing up your inferiority complex by mentioning rugby Union. Yes yes those bogan trash rugby league fans are so much smarter than Union fans (en sarc).
@@muntjunk-plk3171 No.
They are smarter than YOU give them credit for. They will see though what a boring a limited and ball backward rolled with foot this is.
Is the NRL shown in the USA ? How would someone watch it other than the app ?
There is a game or two a week shown on FS1 or FS2 and a couple more on Fox Soccer Plus.
Interesting you make the point of the NRL Keeping its Australian identity. As an Australian Soccer fan I feel the Premier League is becoming a stale sterile product. As of NRL in Vegas I think getting them in competition game is a real winner, cause I tell you what, you would not be getting the best product if it was some Mickey Mouse pre season or off season tournament. Sucks they moved it to fox 2 for a mid College Basketball game.
The Premier League is not a fun watch these days. And agreed with getting real games as opposed to trials or some postseason kickabout. The fact points were on the line made it important.
@@thetouchback plus knowing league players they didn’t come into the games after a 3 day bender, providing good footy and presenting Americans with a top product.
Premier league as in A-league in Australia of the EPL?
@@mysteryhombre81 premier league in England, the crowds are filled with tourists, commentary is too polished. But Aleague as well now you mention it. With recent incidents in the Aleague, the media and are up to their old tricks to make it sterile as possible. I can’t stand the paramount commentary as well.
Good comments. Pretty spot on.
Most people in America don't really know that there's two types of rugby
You would be surprised how much rugby union is played at US universities. But league, for whatever, is non-existence.
The best analogy for the two is Rugby Union. It's like chess, while Rugby League is like Checkers.
@@juanayala4560not quite, Rugby League is faster, more exciting game. The only thing more technical in Union is the line outs. The rucks and scrums breakdown so much that it’s annoying, and most field position battles are just kicking contests while everyone in the middle stand around.
@@muntjunk-plk3171 don't forget the penalties.
@@juanayala4560 Ah, no, Union doesn't involve more mental elasticity than Leagueplay. Just different structures.
Completion percentage % by my understanding is the usage of the multiple sets of 5 tackles by the offensive team without any forced or unforced errors like a knock on, drop ball, forward pass, obstruction play, grappled and forced into touch, a line drop out, incorrect play of the ball and a one on one strip of the ball.
Yeh you’re correct. It refers to completing a “set of 6” tackles. A higher completion rate, say above 80% is a good general indicator of the teams offensive performance, meaning they held on to possession of the ball ( which forces the other team to tire in defence as much as possible, maximise your battle for field position and ultimately and gives you the most opportunities to score.
@@muntjunk-plk3171 The fact that any team spills the ball more than even 10% let alone 20% of the time underlines what low skill pilfer jt really all is.
Great breakdown! 🇦🇺 🇺🇸
Unreal im in Sydney love my NRL they have done a great job moving this to Vegas and many more years to follow indeed. Action plenty and both games were the best of the start of a new season.NFL must be joking all the gear they wear lets get into the real world hard contact sport with class looking forward to next year and i will be in vegas love it there so much.
Let's get the British teams out there when our season ends this year
Wigan are world club champions, Saints were last year's world club champions. KR, Hull, Warrington Leigh and of course Cats would all be good enough and big enough to go out there.
@@galinor7 i disagree that Warrington should go out there. I'd say Leeds instead but I agree with everything else
@@galinor7 Leigh 🤣 Wigan, Saints, Catalans and Leeds are the biggest clubs in England by some margin I'd say.
@@jackmorgan8684Catalans aren't from England
No we're a bit nauseated of the Brits being all me me me, give it a rest, every time Aussies gain any attraction in America the Brits start becoming starved for attention.
Completion means completing the set of 6 tackles when the team goes offensively. So if a team makes 5 or 6 tackles and it’s changed to the other team, thats a completion. Also it’s a kinda a big deal because it basically shows u the percentages of the offence team having the ball. So if they have a really low percentage, it implies they keep messing up in offence and they would likely be more on the defensive role more often which is bad because u dont want players defending all the time or else the other team will find a way to break through.
But wouldn't average starting field position and time of possession be more accurate reflections of that. I remember a game a season or two ago where the Bulldogs (I think) had a 100% competition percentage in the first half but never crossed the halfway line.
@@thetouchbackyes, like all sports it’s about the combination of high KPIs. Completions percentage is a good leading indicator of performance relative to a team’s potential, and “yardage” (or metres gained per set) would be another. The former without the latter will see you play a lot of defence in your own territory, and likely lose. The latter without the former will see your opponents have more offensive possession than you, exhausting your defence over time, and similarly you’d expect to lose.
@@thetouchback Completion percentage is a stat that the media loves but has been consistently debunked as being much value.
Feel free to ignore it.
Provided a team is completing at slightly over 60%, which is very low, they are still in the game.
Total meters gained is a much better indicator of who is playing better.
Anyone who went to the game in Vegas where did you stay and was it where the players stayed also what deals did you get and what Travel agent you saw in sydney please.
I went with Trip a Deal, a direct flight from Sydney to Vegas, stayed at the cheapest hotel they offered, the Flamingo, and got a seat neat the halfway line, about 20 rows from the ground.
5 night for $5,500.
The Flamingo is near the High Roller giant ferris wheel, and the Sphere giant screen.
Its 2 ks to Allegiant stadium, I cheated and took the monorail which takes you half way.
@@markallen1782 cheers if u have more info please tell me
@@markallen1782That is great love Vegas indeed have not been back for at least 10 years would love to see the game next year and spend time in Vegas again.Trip a Deal did it all yes who did you fly with are you in sydney cheers.
There was almost 41k in attendance
I went to Roosters games at the old Aussie Stadium in 2003. Attendance for regular season games was about 15000. Higher when they played the bunnies who also played home games there. Only ever full for playoff games
You explained the game so well for an American… seriously, well done 👍
Many thanks.
brilliant take mate. Hope the NRL listen to an American who isn't selling something to them.
Hopefully the US NRL games build in attendance over the year. Can see Rabbitohs playing often due to the Russell Crowe connection, but would love to see Storm/Panthers go over
I agree with everything in the vid except for the importance of set completion percentage. Coming from an Aussie, it is very important
I don't understand, how hard is it to turn to FS2 from FS1 ?
It's Fox, nothing is easy....
That price for watch NFL is the same issue the AFL streaming deal here has.
Great vid mate I love hearing the perspective of American fans I’m glad you refer to it as rugby league and not just rugby
That is a separate code and is completely different like baseball and softball similar but different 😂
But in Australia we call it footy and we are extremely passionate about it so you follow a side?
I live a breathe the wests tigers yes we suck but hoping for a big year
🤍🖤🧡🐅🐅🐅
I used to follow Super League Rugby too (even went to a Sunwolves in Japan) but that league has lost the plot. It did teach me the very important difference between league and union.
As for who I follow, that would be the Sea Eagles. I really liked their style of play when began watching a few years ago. Plus Brookvale Oval seems like a cool place to watch a game.
Hopefully, Benji can get things turned around for the Tigers. I still don't understand how Wests managed to beat the Panthers and then were so awful other weeks.
RUGBY LEAGUE AND RUGBY UNION..................2 GREAT GAMES !!
Thank you so much for this video, and explaining your reaction from a US sports fan point of view, I wanted to give my thoughts, having watched both games.
I'm from England, but I went to school and lived in Sydney, back in the 80's/90's, it is interesting for me to see how an American fan of Rugby League would react to the NRL.
Knowing that you are a US rugby league fan, you will admit that the NFL will make it as difficult as possible for any other sport to invade their territory.
They are OK with rugby union...it is a jolly old chap college game, played by people called Tarquin with Ra-Ra scarves, the Downton Abbey of sport.
Footy, league, is different....it is, as you know, a "working class" sport from North of England, and that scares and annoys them.
Rugby league doesn't fit the narrative of how and why it began, from a Netflix/Disney point of view.
NFL are scared of the game, just as baseball is scared of T20 cricket....and so, they shunt the games to inadequate places, no sensible promotion, and let college basketball or baseball take precedence.
The same thing is happening with the T20 cricket World Cup that will be played in USA this summer, there is no news or advertising to get Americans involved....it is a game of India vs Pakistan, and baseball can sigh a relief. The only thing they have tried to do is to get the Irish team involved, because in USA, you will support an Irish team.
And thus, i suggest, the only way to get footy off the ground in USA is to have the Irish National Rugby league team play in NY or NJ, and go up against an ageing England team, and win with Guinness and Riverdance.
Why is there no co-ordinated, genuine advertising of the sport? There must be plenty of players who could visit a school for a day, take the kids out and show that tackling doesn't hurt, and that the game can be fun, get them started by playing tap rugby as we used to call it, so the girls can play without their Mothers worrying (I know....we have to let the girls play or they start complaining). As a League fan, I want to ask one question....the scrum was always a joke, 5/8ths feeding the second row....but at least there was some attempt or effort to fight for the ball....now, the scrum seems to be an opportunity for the forwards to kiss and make up...what has happened to the art of the scrum?
I'm a huge NRL and AFL fan in the Midwest. I believe they are both the two best leagues in the world.
Mate..maybe play the world club challenge over there it might bring in more crowds..but what i wanna hear is how did the yanks actually receive the game as a whole and despite traditional gridiron is it something the US could embrace
No Americans paid attention to it.
@@danieleyre891340,000 turned up to watch live. They paid attention, or are you saying that they weren't Americans.
@@danieleyre8913 You obviously did you miserable repetitive wretch. And I don't mean watched it. Just whinged about it.
Players who don't make the NFL could have a path way in both Rugby Codes be it UK, France, Australia and Japan.
@@chrisr5499 You are living in fantasy land.
The skill set for American football and rugby codes are far from identical. And there are many more lucrative other career avenues for players who miss NFL drafts.
If this was ever a goer; it would have already been happening for years.
State of origin generally have a high aggression rate, and more leniency towards the biff
An incomplete set means the attacking team knocked on or dropped the ball. It shows a lot if the two teams are 20% apart. A completed set means the kick landed in play and the game continued to the oppositions 1st tackle. If it goes dead or caught on the full in goal, it's an incomplete set.
As someone who attended both games, I have to say that the crowd & atmosphere was great. I also enjoyed shopping at the kiosks for NRL gear inside Allegiant Stadium & hopefully the NRL sets up an online store here in the US where fans can buy gear & not have to pay import taxes. Now when it comes to growing the NRL as a TV product in the US, I think the league needs to move away from Fox Sports & move their games to NBC who have tons of experience with covering rugby (though most of that is with rugby union) or to the Warner Bros Discovery networks of TBS or TNT which apart from AEW Collision on Saturday nights have very little in the way of live programming on weekends. Doing a deal with TNT/TBS would allow the NRL to have more games on basic cable as well as put games on Max which is in need of more sports programming.
Only minor points but , first time out of the gate …. Thought that they could have found some American fans and asked them about their experience at the game….. and a pan around the ground after a try to see the crowd reactions…. Apart from that a great day.
Some good constructive feedback here. An Aussie here and I agree - 150 year subscription service... should make that 40 or 50 a year for the first few years at least then build once they have reached a targeted amount of subscribers.
Hey "The Touchback" i'll guarantee you that next year the crowd will be even bigger, mark my words!
I would be very happy with that.
Yeah, more Aussies travelling over
Complete a set of six tackles
I agree about the Watch NRL cost... I stopped my watch NFL because it was way too expensive. Seems like a common problem for the streaming services of these games
More times than not a jackpot isnt struck on the first spin, but yes a netpot for sure. Foundation is set, time to build. But the turn out was really good i must say & the games themselves wernt too bad. The Wahs would entertain the fans alot more thou (bias opinion) lol, but hopefully we get a shot next time they go.
That Joey Manu pass was forword
$150US for the app to watch weekend games is less than most charge down under at $10NZ a week or $39.95 a month to watch 8 games a weekend between 16 teams bar the 3 to 2 byes mid year.. each team has.
Hey man I really like your perspective on league (you know your stuff) I'm a Kiwi rugby league fan but on the off season I love watching NFL (Patriots fan ... sorry 😂) I'm actually watching your football vids because it's real informative and helps me with my perspective of the NFL, which is awesome. I like to think I think like you, because I think rugby league is better, but I respect your view as I know you do mine. Regardless I will watch and follow football in our off season. With regards to NRL in Vegas, hmmmm it will be interesting to see how it pans out in the US. I don't think Americans dislike league. But to be honest I really think the NRL should have invested in bringing American youngsters to Australia or even the UK and paying them of course. I know Americans, their naturals at both rugby codes. So in my opinion, until we over these ways actually get Americans playing league, and creating teams and star players etc, it will remain a novelty to the average American sport fan. Just my opinion. Much respect.
The one thing I think NRL could do is go to Universities in the USA and get college kids playing the sport. Many colleges already have union club teams (a few even have Aussie Rules teams) and that is where League can build support at the grassroots level. And thanks for the kind words! Every Kiwi I know that is a sports fans always knows their stuff.
Can you please do something on USA AFL and ground. I think. What NRL need seed what states ex pack live in Vegas and two tames from two states or states could he fans in
I've been looking into AFL in the States. I know a team from Sacramento actually had one of the women head to Australia to train. I'm not sure if anyone from the USA AFL's exchange program has actually appeared in a top-flight game, however.
everything you say is perfect in summary but lets just keep it simple nrl was not meant to take the world by storm but hopefully creep up on americans over time i mean we dont have a taylor swift to inflate the numbers lol let the product speak for itself but at least we have a foot in the garage door. heres a thought when i was young in nz nzers fell in love with the game cos it was free to watch. maybe they should do that for certain games in america same for wwe and wcw was free. thats what brought it to our attention. not saying live but televised
You say 150 dollars is a lot, I wish that’s all we paid in Australia. So kayo is now 35 a month which equates to 210 aud. Which is 322 usd.
Weather was horrendous and we still got over 40k. Next year will sell out.
They either need to get the Canberra raiders as it’s Las Vegas raiders over there next year or take a magic round 4 day weekend over there
Was there amazing great games big hits and fast not like NFL stop start for 3 hours
Completion rates in a nutshell. They’re crucial. Higher percentage means higher chance of winning. If you’re not up around 80% plus then you’re most likely going to end up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
there was 25k that went from Australia, that can be more than a regular game some weeks, so if there was 40k, that's 15k from America/Canada, that in itself can be considered an average attendance in regular season games. I only watched from 10 min before half time of 1st game, and didn't watch the 2nd, what I saw gave a great 1st game to round 1.
Foxtel is a rip-off, even in Australia, apparently the free to air tv channel here, that also has rights to telecast some games, tried to prevent these games going ahead, because only Foxtel was getting anything out of it.
It would be a great experience for you guys, if they held a world cup there, having so many games in a short period, would give you a real taste of the sport in general, you do have a team to support (USA, can't recall if Canada has a team) and when the better countries come together, it can get really brutal and/or exhilarating action
oh and only stumbled on channel because of your title, was curious to see an American talk about it and thought you did a great job covering every aspect.
after watching your video, I watched "The Greatest Day in Rugby League History as the NRL Takes Over Las Vegas", it's 2 ex NRL players talking about the 2 NRL games and promoting league in USA, would be interested in hearing your take on what they say, you would be best watching it 1st, as has sections that are irrelevant to the US games
Much appreciated. I'll take a look at the video you recommend as well!
Over 90% of the crowd was dumb Australian bogans.
Very few Americans bothered with this.
The All Blacks vs Fiji 🇫🇯 n America later this year to make sure you Americans go watch.. I would love to watch an NFL game in Australia that would be cool
how did the big heads at NRLHQ fumble that up so bad and not see the benifite ...shit i thought of it and i just fumble with myself for a living.....
90% of the crowd were
X Pats and people who travelled overseas to see the game, now if it was 90% American crowd then yes you could say it was a success. It is a novelty match which they should take worldwide.
The question is how many problem will make that trip a second time next season when the novelty has worn off?
Rugby League is a great sport. The games were a great success. The rugby was great. The standard was great. The spectacul was great. Biscuit ball is meh. Real men play Rugby. NRL isn't a sport. RugbyLeague is the Sport. SuperLeague is the UK version and is pretty good too.