Why speed, kicking, field position will be key in Vegas match ups
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Broncos coach Kevin Walters has revealed that rookie winger Deine Mariner earned the nod over veteran Corey Oates for the historic season opener in Las Vegas because he believes speed will be a factor at Allegiant Stadium.
The 65,000 seat stadium hosted the Super Bowl just three weeks ago and while it has been transformed into a rugby league field, the logo of the Kansas City Chiefs is still visible on the turf.
To adjust for the smaller playing field, the Broncos, Sea Eagles, Rabbitohs and Roosters have all been training on modified pitches but none of the teams had seen the ground until Friday’s captains runs.
Watch the NRL Las Vegas field come to life
“We've probably had our last seven sessions on this type of field and being here now the width of the field doesn't look too bad,” Manly coach Anthony Seibold said.
“What actually does feel a little bit tighter, and I think it's because the seats are right on top of you, is the length of the field. It looks like you're going to be able to roll down the field reasonably easily.”
With each 10-metre line actually being 10 yards, or 9.45m, there are likely to be more 40/20 kicks.
The 63.1m wide field, reduced from 68m, is expected to limit opportunities for breaks through the middle because of compressed defences.
Walters, whose team will play Sydney Roosters, believes speed will be a valuable asset at Allegiant Stadium and said that was the reason he had chosen Mariner over Oates, despite the 20-year-old having played just NRL matches.
“It was just the speed of Deine, and I believe it's going to be a fast game,” Walter said.
“The grass over here is a lot harder and a lot a lot faster so that probably suits Deine more so than anyone in our team.”
The Sea Eagles also boast speed out wide through the likes of Tolutau Koula, Jason Saab and Tom Trbojevic, while captain Daly Cherry-Evans has one of the best kicking games in the NRL.
Seibold believes field position will be crucial and he will be looking to Cherry-Evans and new five-eighth Luke Brooks to pin Souths down on their own line.
Brooks: Everyone is talking about being over here in Las Vegas
“They've got a great kicking game with Lachlan Ilias’s long kicking game and Cody [Walker’s] short game, and we've got Daly Cherry-Evans and Brooksy, who are both decent kicks as well. who is a decent kicker as well.
“I think the kicking game is going to be important and definitely field position is the key. If you think about the field here, playing down the other end of the field is going to be a big part of that.”
The Sea Eagles transformed Brookvale Oval to the dimension of Allegiant Stadium for their last week of training before travelling to Las Vegas, where the team has been training on an American football field.
Siebold said the players had performed training drills to help them adapt to the narrower field.
“Our very first session we did on the field was almost like giving the players a couple of problems, which is a smaller size field, and trying to get them to get a feel for what might work and what might work," he said.
“I think the middle third is going to be so important because the defence is probably going to be a little bit more compressed.
“For us, it's about trying to disrupt what guys like Cam Murray, Damien Cook and obviously Trell and Cody do."
The Sea Eagles training was attended by NASCAR drivers Ryan Blaney and Scott McLaughlin, who exchanged shirts with Tom Trbojevic and Lachlan Croker after the session.
