When the NRL moved its season opener to Las Vegas in 2024, ARL chairman Peter V’landys said the 13-man game was looking to expand the sport’s audience in the US and tap into the country’s growing legalised sports betting market.
Three years on, V’landys’ gauge on what it takes to capture the attention of Americans has changed.
“It’s going to take a lot longer than we thought it would,” V’landys told The Sydney Morning Herald earlier this year.
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There is no doubt that the recent games in the US were well watched in Australia, with 2.1 million viewers taking in the action, an increase of 7 per cent on last year’s event.
And more than 130,000 fans have descended on Allegiant Stadium throughout the past three years to watch the NRL’s season-opening festival in a clear sign the code’s existing fan base has latched onto the idea.
Jordan Mailata looks on in the Paddock prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Australia. Formula 1 via Getty Images
Super Bowl winner Jordan Mailata is in a unique position to understand what the NRL wants to achieve and how they should go about it.
The Eagles offensive lineman was a South Sydney junior, before making his way to the International Pathways Program, and is still fond of the game, calling NRL players “the best athletes in the world”.
Speaking to Wide World of Sports through a promotion for Amazon, Mailata said he watched the Dragons v Bulldogs round one game in Vegas and noticed one thing that may hold back the NRL as a product in the US sports landscape.
“I was watching that game actually, and I was like, ‘you know – they’ve got to let the boys play’,” he said.
“They just gotta let them play, man.
“So much officiating, it’s hard. If they want to grow the game, especially for Americans or the new audience that they’re trying to pursue, then they just got to let the boys play.
“I will say the game has evolved into a much faster sport now. But in a way, I couldn’t keep up with that these days.
“I guess as the game evolves, you kind of got to play into that market of how you want to expand and the direction you want the game going.
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Jordan Mailata #68 of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts as he walks off the field following an NFL Football game against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field on November 14, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)Â Getty
“If it’s heading into that college football kind of league, it’s about player health and safety.
“That’s probably why the officiating is so hard. It might be the smartest choice, honestly, if you think about it from a player health and safety aspect.
“And right now they think growing it internationally is probably the smartest move for them.
“I love the initiative that they’re trying to do, grow the game. It’s exactly what the NFL is doing.”
Haas and Carrigan could play NFL says Mailata. Getty
The goal to seize the attention of US punters has pivoted towards a broader international expansion, in which London is almost certainly the next destination for the league to stage games.
Mailata believes the international games are the best way to showcase the athletic talent in the league.
He declared several NRL players have the athletic ability to play in the NFL and that professional Australian athletes have an edge, due to the amount of sport they’re exposted to as children.
However, the real test comes with memorising plays, retaining information in the huddle and then executing. That’s what makes gridiron “harder” to master, Mailata contends.
“Pattie Carrigan could make a great tight end. He could probably also play linebacker if he knew how to backpedal. He can be a really good linebacker,” Mailata said.
Jordan Mailata spent the week in Sydney Supplied
“Payne Haas, he’s a little bit of a tweener he’s too small to play offensive line. So he’d probably play the D (defensive)-line.
“So you probably chuck him in, play him a 3-tech, maybe defensive end too, because he’s so fast.
“I’ll put it this way. He’s not fat enough to play offensive line.
“Dave Fifita would also actually be a monster defensive player. He would be awesome.
“Tino – he’s a dog, he’s got a lot of size too. Put him as a tight end.
“I say football is harder, but NRL, rugby league, rugby union. It’s more physical and more tough.
Mailata in his promotional campaign for Amazon. Supplied
“It’s harder because you’ve got that retainment issue to remember the plays, remember your technique, remember the concept, but you have to also remember the defensive plays, how that’s going to dictate your your reaction or your technique on that play. There is a skill to the retainment.”
As part of his promotional campaign for Amazon, the NFL star was fitted with a cardboard playing kit (pictured in the above photograph). He said he was unsure how long it took to build the costume.
“I arrived on set, it was already created specifically to my measurements. I’m assuming it took a day. It was pretty big,” he said.
“And also surprisingly fit me. It took 30 minutes (to put on). The only parts that took long were putting on the legs. And the top part was the easiest part. It was pretty impressive.”