NRL News: Next four Vegas sides locked in, Abdo to 'consider' radical switch for Origin kick-off timeslot

Three-time premiers Penrith will headline the NRL’s next venture to Las Vegas but the Storm have pulled out of the running.

The ARL Commission is close to ticking off on the final list of four sides that will head to Nevada to kick off the 2025 season after the Broncos, Roosters, Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles played an historic double-header at the start of this year.

While the Panthers are keen to head to Vegas, even if they also have to fit in a World Club Challenge contest in their pre-season, fellow premiership heavyweights Melbourne have indicated they will not be nominating after previously being considered one of the frontrunners.

The Warriors, due to the Kiwi expat population in the United States, are certain to be one of the four clubs involved with Cronulla and Canberra set to be announced as the other two combatants.

Fans gather for the NRL season launch at Fremont Street Experience on February 29, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

With the ARL Commission set to meet next week, it is likely the NRL will announce its plans for the Las Vegas 2025 fixtures by the end of the month.

The league is also likely to confirm a women’s fixture and Super League component to the event.

It comes as the Sydney Roosters announced their next step into the USA recently, setting up an academy for America’s west coast in Los Angeles.

Origin kick-off switch to be considered

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has claimed they would consider bringing State of Origin kick-off earlier in the next broadcast deal from its current 8.05pm timeslot on a Wednesday.

Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans floated the idea that he would love to see a radical switch for the midweek matches to be brought forward to 6pm so that more children could watch Origin on a school night.

Such a move would be shot down at the negotiating table by Nine or any other free-to-air broadcaster when the next TV deal is negotiated for 2028 onwards.

“I think a 6pm kick-off would be even better for Origin,” Cherry-Evans told NewsCorp. I would love to see the NRL change the kick-off time so the kids wouldn’t have to stay up so late.”

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Abdo responded by saying Nine would have to agree to change the kick-off time for any year in the current broadcast cycle which runs another three seasons after this one.

Nine reap in millions in advertising revenue from the later kick-off time and would laugh any suggestion to bring it forward out of the room.

“It’s something that will be considered by the (ARL) Commission in the new broadcast cycle,” Abdo said.

“At this particular point in time, there’s no plans to change it, but that’s something that can be considered and we would have to work within the commercial arrangements that we have.”

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The series opener last month brought in a huge viewership of 3.44 million people in Australia, the biggest for any event in 2024 with 934,000 in Sydney, 809,000 in Brisbane and 287,000 in Melbourne.

Ratings figures for game two, particularly in Victoria with the match being played at the MCG, are tipped to be even higher.

Nine scored a massive share of more than 48% of total viewership during Origin I.