Fast Sport, No Padding

The Daily Telegraph | March 3, 2025

Rugby league lived the American dream on a balmy night in Las Vegas, where the game hit a 15-year attendance high and had the Papua New Guinea government wanting urgent top-level talks.

Mr Hockey was another blown away by a week culminating in the four-game extravaganza broadcast across America on the Fox network. “It’s good for Australia, great for rugby league,” he said.

“The thing is, unless you arrive in the US with a presence you have no presence. Well, the NRL has captured not only Las Vegas but achieved plenty of coverage elsewhere in the US. The messaging this year – fast sport, no padding – was a great story. You need that five-second line in the US if you’re going to get cut through.”

Mr Hockey said patience was still required. “The US is 50 different countries,” he added. “It takes time. You’ve just got to find a niche and then overnight it could be, all of a sudden, bigger than even Australia.”

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