The Manly Sea-Eagles, Brisbane Broncos, South-Sydney Rabbitohs, and Sydney Roosters should all be getting packed and ready to leave, but with under a month until they are set to jet off to America, there has been a halt in the NRL‘s plans.
The four clubs have requested an urgent meeting with Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys, citing a lack of information surrounding visas, medical insurance, training venues in Las Vegas and rising costs.
On December 16, the chief executives of each of the clubs wrote to NRL acting CEO, Andrew Abdo requesting a meeting to resolve the issues. With Abdo on a promotional tour of Vegas, the clubs received no response and have now demanded that V’landys also attend the meeting.
“As we get closer to the match, we felt the preparation needed Peter’s energy and unique ability to ‘get things done,” said Rabbitohs chief executive Blake Solly.
The situation boiled over last Friday when the advice surrounding visas changed dramatically. The NRL emailed the clubs involved to tell them that players now had three options, each of them graded in relation to how easy it would be to enter the US. It also warned that players previously arrested by the police in Australia could face challenges getting into the US.
So what is the issue? Too many players crucial players have prior convictions. Just last year, Rabbitohs superstar Latrell Mitchell faced court alongside teammate Jack Wighton after the two were allegedly involved in a fight outside Fiction nightclub in Canberra. The charges against them were dropped, but the pair remain a part of a large group that might struggle to be granted a US visa. Potentially leaving the Bunnies in Vegas without their Origin-winning playmaker.
Solly said that the four clubs still supported the campaign to launch the game in the US market but that they required the issues to be resolved as soon as possible. “An ambitious project of this nature is always going to have its logistical challenges, like the visa issue. Ideally, these logistical issues are solved ASAP, so we can focus solely on promoting the game and working with the NRL to ensure this event is the success it deserves to be,” Solly said.
Abdo told The Sydney Morning Herald, “Anything new like this is going to have its challenges. We’re working really hard to resolve some of the issues we’re facing, given the scale and magnitude of this. I’m confident the appropriate solutions will be in place as a matter of priority in the coming days and weeks”.
“I understand their frustrations,” V’landys said. “However, I’m 100 per cent confident all the matters will be resolved very quickly. I appreciate their strong support for the concept. We’re all on the same team promoting this. If it succeeds, it could be one of the greatest things to happen to the game”.
The NRL Vegas games are set to kick off on Sunday March 3rd. Late last year it was announced that the games would be broadcast live in the US on Fox Sports 1 giving the game a huge audience boost of up to 137 million.
