Trbojevics v Kelces: Why Americans will embrace NRL stars

NFL pioneer Colin Scotts has compared Manly siblings Tom and Jake Trbojevic to the Kelce brothers, Travis and Jason, and believes Americans will embrace rugby league after the NRL season opening double-header at Allegiant Stadium.

Scotts, who was the first Australian to earn a gridiron scholarship and to be drafted into the NFL, said the similarities between the two codes would make it easy for American football fans to follow the NRL action.

He compared the roles of star Sea Eagles fullback Tom Trbojevic and Travis Kelce, who is the centre of attention in Super Bowl LVIII because of his on-field partnership with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and off-field relationship with Taylor Swift.

My goodness, the guy is dating Taylor Swift - the number one music sensation in the world.

Colin Scotts on Travis Kelce

Manly forward Jake Trbojevic, according to Scotts, is like the recently retired Jason Kelce, who played center for Philadelphia Eagles and has become a cult hero because of his antics while watching Travis spearhead Kansas City to the Super Bowl.

“American football is exactly the same as rugby league,” Scotts told NRL.com. “You have the big guys, and they have to dominate.

“You can't control the game when you're going backwards so you have to have your big guys, just like in rugby league They take the ball up and try to get over the advantage line and create momentum.“

"Then you have the show boaters and the show offs - the multi-skilled and brilliant runners, who get all the glory.

“You look at Manly and you look Jake and Turbo, the two brothers. It’s a perfect example. Jake doing all the hard work in the front, doing all his tackling but not getting the glory, whereas Turbo's getting all the glory in the back.

“It's exactly the same with [Travis] Kelce at Kansas City and his brother Jason, who just finished a 12-year career with Philadelphia Eagles.

"[Jason] was in the trenches and never got any glory. You never even knew he was playing unless he made a mistake.

“Then you've got Travis, his brother, who's in the back [as a tight end] getting all the glory and the showbiz.

"I mean, my goodness, the guy is dating Taylor Swift - the number one music sensation in the world, and good on her too.

“People are sort of bagging her out, but she writes the songs, she sings beautifully, and she plays the guitar, so that's talent and I respect it.

“It’s a perfect storm for the NFL, having her involved and now going into the Super Bowl with her boyfriend. I think it's a fairy tale."

Many of the questions for Travis Kelce at the NFL's media day ahead of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium, were about Swift.

The Trbojevic brothers will play at Allegiant Stadium just three weeks after the Super Bowl when the Sea Eagles face the Rabbitohs in the NRL season opener on March 2.

The historic clash will be followed by the meeting of the Brisbane Broncos and Sydney Roosters in the second match of the historic double header.

Scotts, who forged a career in the NFL as a defensive tackle with St Louis Cardinals and Houston Oilers after being drafted in 1987, said Americans would understand rugby league because of the similarities of the two codes.

"I used to have State of Origin parties in America and they loved it," he said. "They just love the collision and the continual action and no stopping ... so I genuinely believe that it will catch their imagination.

"When we break it down, rugby league is a simple game. As I've said to a lot of Americans, it's six downs and we usually kick after the fifth down, whereas American football is four downs, and they have the forward pass.

"We kick and they have the forward pass, and we do laterals to go forward. Once they know that it's easy to understand.

"After the college game [between California Golden Bears and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors] at ANZ Stadium in 2016, about 300 [Americans] who came down here went to the Roosters-Rabbitohs game and they loved it."

USA women's soccer great Carli Lloyd, who attended last season's Eels-Panthers match at CommBank Stadium while in Australia for the FIFA Women's World Cup, is a convert and posted this week about the double-header.

With the double header being broadcast in the USA on Fox Sports One and the ARLC committing to playing in Las Vegas for five years, Scotts said the audience for NRL would grow.

"We're bringing the greatest game in the world to such a big market. We've just got to be smart in our marketing, smart in our education, and just tap into it.

"There's going to be mistakes, there's going to be a few lessons learned, but that's all part of being a pioneer.

"I think the smartest thing the NRL done has done is playing two games and it's not preseason. This is the real deal.

"We've got the greatest game in the world and we've got the greatest leadership in the world, so there's no reason that this is not going to be a major success."