'Grand final feel': Stars overawed by fan turnout at Vegas launch

“It’s Round 1 but it feels like a grand final”.

That was Latrell Mitchell’s reaction after surveying the sea of supporters at the NRL Fan Fest in Las Vegas ahead of this weekend’s historic season-opening double-header at Allegiant Stadium.

In a massive show of support for the NRL’s decision to kick off the 2024 season in Las Vegas, 5,000 fans packed the Fremont Street Experience to see the four teams kicking off the season at the venue which hosted the Super Bowl just three weeks ago.

It's exciting, a great feeling,” Mitchell said. “It's a great turnout, we appreciate it. This is why we love the game.”

The South Sydney superstar was the first player to note the special atmosphere sparked by the NRL’s bid to break into the world’s biggest sporting market – but he wasn’t the only one.

"That's what the NRL are trying to do, right? Bring this game to America,” said Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans, whose side will take on the Rabbitohs in the first match of the March 2 double-header [US time].

“I was pretty hopeful this was going to be the turnout. It's definitely a unique experience.

"It's great to see all of the Australians here. They're obviously promoting it just as much as we are as players. If we can spark the interest of the Americans, that's the job done.”

There was strong support for all four clubs, but particularly the Brisbane Broncos, who play Sydney Roosters in the second match of the double-header.

Broncos captain Adam Reynolds, who has played in two of the last three grand finals, said: “It's unbelievable, it’s got a bit of the grand final feel about it with all the build-up.

“There's a lot of Broncos fans here, you could definitely feel the atmosphere when they mentioned our names. It's exciting to just get out there and start playing.”

Rabbitohs halfback Lachlan Illias, who took over from Reynolds after he left the club in 2022 to join the Broncos, added: “I've never seen anything like it. It’s a massive build up and I just can't wait to go out on Saturday’.

After months of planning, preparing and promoting the first premiership matches to be played outside of Australia and New Zealand, there is a feeling of anticipation that most can’t recall for the start of an NRL season.

Allegiant Stadium has been reconfigured into a rugby league field, about 40,000 tickets have been sold and you can’t walk more than a few metres in Las Vegas without running into fans wearing NRL jerseys.

The players on stage were played a message from the representatives of the other 13 clubs at the NRL season launch in Sydney and most spoke about their ambition to play in Las Vegas in coming years.

“It's definitely different,” Roosters captain James Tedesco said. “We're in a different country, playing rugby league. We're in Vegas, so we are not really used to preparing for a game over here. But it's cool. The excitement and the vibe is right up there.”