Knights turn to secret weapon as Vegas planning ramps up

A former Sydney Rooster has emerged as the Knights secret weapon as they look to hit the jackpot in Las Vegas next year. 

Newcastle will take on North Queensland in the third iteration of the NRL's season-opening extravaganza, with officials eager to learn from the past two years. 

Former Roosters football operations boss Chris James has been placed in charge of the planning process after he joined the Knights earlier this year. 

Newcastle Director of Football Peter Parr revealed it's one of the biggest logistical challenges he's faced in more than two decades of rugby league administration but remains confident the club has found a winning formula.

The final few seats on the charter flights remain!

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The final few seats on the charter flights remain!

"There are so many logistics involved with the amount of staff you need to take and then there's a higher quantity of gear you need," Parr told NRL.com. "Then you have to find training venues so there's a lot of work involved. 

"We're lucky we've now got Chris here, he went with the Roosters in the first year so that will help us but for me it's the biggest logistical challenge I've been involved in. 

"Chris has learnt some valuable lessons over there, he knows what works and more importantly what didn't work so we'll be tapping into him to lead us. We're in good hands because he did a great job with the Roosters and he's a high-quality operator."

Interest for the Las Vegas event has grown with each edition, with flight and accommodation packages quickly snapped up when they became available last month.

The Knights clash with the Cowboys is one of three games to be played at Allegiant Stadium, with St George Illawarra taking on the Bulldogs and Hull KR will play against Leeds in a UK Super League contest. 

General public tickets go on sale on Thursday, with demand expected to be high from four of the most passionate supporter bases in the competition.

Parr was in Vegas for this year's game and said the atmosphere was like no other NRL match he's attended before.

"The build-up was like something you'd expect from a grand final or State of Origin," he said. "It will be a wonderful experience for our players because unless you've played in grand finals or State of Origin, you've never experienced anything like that before. 

"Every indication I've got is that there will be thousands of Knights fans heading over next year. Everybody here that I've talked to has been positive and we'll have a significant amount of people travelling over there. The whole town of Newcastle is buzzing and very excited for it."

Parr's focus on the field is on helping the Knights bounce back from last week's loss to the Dragons when they host Manly on Thursday night. 

Both teams have been inconsistent this season but Newcastle hope the return of Kalyn Ponga will lead to an instant turnaround. 

Off the field, James is leading the planning process for next year's season opener and drawing on the lessons learned in 2024.