The NRL has once again tried to reignite the code war with the AFL following the release of a promotional advert for their season 2024 launch.
The poster claimed the NRL as Australia's "biggest sport" as it advertised two games to take place in Las Vegas next year.
The NRL plans to showcase two games in Vegas in round one of season 2024 next March at Allegiant Stadium, also known as 'The Death Star', the $2.6 billion venue that is home to the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.
The cheeky poster advertised the games as "Australia's biggest sport unleashed in Vegas", which sparked plenty of debate amongst former NRL and AFL legends.
The bold claim was perhaps best summed up in comments by former Hawthorn premiership hardman Campbell Brown, as well as former Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes.
"I agree that NRL is the biggest sport in Australia - if you are an ear, nose and throat specialist. Got to get those cauliflower ears sorted, and the broken noses," Brown said.
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"I think it is laughable. If you're living anywhere outside of NSW or Queensland you know that's just completely inaccurate. The AFL, I don't think they've got too much to worry about whatsoever.โ
Cornes echoed his sentiments, labelling the poster 'delusional'.
"It's delusional to promote it as Australia's biggest sport. That cheeky boast is inaccurate, they've got it wrong," he said.
The potential for the NRL to have success, however, would sting the AFL, given their repeated attempts at international expansion, with the AFL first taking exhibition matches to the UK as far back as 1916.
Yet, the first real foray of AFL home and away matches was across the Tasman, with a handful of games played in New Zealand, the first of which was between Sydney and St Kilda in 2013, drawing a respectable crowd of 22,546.
In the following two years however, things fizzled, as the Saints would again play in New Zealand against the Lions in 2014 in front of a crowd of just 13,409 and then against the Blues in 2015 in front of just 12,125 people.
With the crowd numbers underwhelming, possibly due to sending over teams that were, for the most part, rebuilding or not in contention for the premiership, the AFL turned their attention to China, hoping for a different outcome.
Sadly, the results were worse, with the games not garnering enough interest to continue the spectacle every season after Port Adelaide played against the Gold Coast in 2017 and 2018, and then against the Saints in 2019.
With the logistical issues facing the AFL, not to mention the lack of local interest and the overall poor quality of the games, the experiment was culled after 2019, and with Covid wreaking havoc for the following two seasons, the AFL is now consolidating in Australia.
With that being said, as the league eyes further expansion within Australia, there is little doubt that our shores are where their ambition will end. It will be an interesting watch to see where overseas the AFL next attempts to showcase the only truly national game.
