League returns to Vegas; tries galore, big hits and a cliff-hanger finish

Rugby league returned to Las Vegas yesterday [Macau time]  in its continuing mission to convert Americans to football without pads, drawing 50,000 fans to Allegiant stadium where the grit of the quintessential Australian sport mixed with the glamor of the entertainment capital.

Curious locals mixed with traveling fans of teams from Australia, New Zealand and England on a day that saw four matches: two from Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), one from England’s Super League and a women’s international between world champion Australia and England.

The day delivered tries galore, big hits and a cliff-hanger finale.

The NRL has committed until 2028 to play regular season matches in Las Vegas as part of a strategic plan to win an international audience for the sport.

Australia has been courting the US market since 1987 when it played a State of Origin match between New South Wales and Queensland in Long Beach. Sunday’s crowd was an improvement on last season when 40,746 people watched the Manly Sea Eagles play the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters play the Brisbane Broncos.

Raiders rampant

Seb Kris scored the first try of the 2025 season after six minutes and added another as the Canberra Raiders eased to a 30-8 win over the New Zealand Warriors.

Xavier Savage also scored a double and Matthew Timoko added a try from a sharp, well-directed Raiders attack. Kurt Capewell and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scored tries for the Warriors who made too many handling errors to produce a sustained attacking threat.

The Warriors also were lax on defense, missing 40 tackles in the opening match of the NRL season.

Panthers win thriller against Sharks

Reigning premiers the Penrith Panthers delivered a cliff-hanger finale, producing a 75th minute try to Daine Laurie to clinch a 28-22 win over the Cronulla Sharks.

The Panthers led 12-10 at halftime and 22-10 after 52 minutes with tries to Isaah Yeo, Izack Tago, Laurie and Paul Alamoti. But the Sharks rallied strongly with second half tries to Kayal Iro and Addin Fonua-Blake to cut the lead to two points.

Laurie’s late try allowed the Panther’s to celebrate coach Ivan Cleary’s 55th birthday in Vegas.

Jillaroos excel

Halfback Tarryn Aiken pulled the strings as the Australian Jillaroos crushed England 90-4 in the women’s international.

Aiken produced an extraordinary play-making performance, picking England apart and laying on five tries for Tamika Upton, including a first half hat-trick. Julia Robinson and Jessica Sergis also scored hat-tricks in a 17 tries to one victory. England’s only try was scored by Georgia Roche 34 seconds from fulltime.

England prop Vicky Whitfield was taken to hospital after a second half head clash with Sarah Togatuki which stopped the game for 10 minutes.

What happens in Vegas

It wouldn’t be NRL Las Vegas without some naughtiness. Raiders players Hudson Young and Morgan Smithies were forced to apologize after being temporarily evicted from their hotel Thursday over a scuffle involving an inflatable baseball bat.

“Obviously things got a little bit out of hand on Thursday night,” Young said. “I’m embarrassed for myself, my teammates, the NRL and the game.” MDT/AP