The wonderful opportunity to promote the NRL in Las Vegas ahead of the historic season opener at Allegiant Stadium has not been lost on Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Coach Anthony Seibold.
The majority of the Sea Eagles playing squad and coaching staff flew out of Sydney this afternoon for Las Vegas with a layover in Fiji before spending 11 days in Las Vegas to promote and prepare for their clash against South Sydney on March 2. The rest of the squad and staff depart tomorrow.
South Sydney, Sydney Roosters and the Brisbane Broncos will be based in California before arriving in 'Sin City' a few days before the double header at Allegiant Stadium.
Prior to their departure for San Diego, South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou said he would happily put some money behind the bar for Sea Eagles players to enjoy themselves in Las Vegas before the match.
“It would be nice if the Bunnies came and promoted the game in Las Vegas,” Seibold said today.
"One of the reasons why we’re going there 11 days beforehand is to promote the game.
“The NRL wanted to take the game to Las Vegas so we’re doing our job. All our training sessions are open sessions, so supporters and the media are more than welcome to come to all of our sessions.
“We’ve got a number of corporates, members and supporters coming across so we want to do the right thing by the game.
"We have come up with a really good strategy to minimise any distractions but we also want to give the guys a life experience. They're adults, we are going to treat them like adults.
"The whole idea is to promote the game for the NRL. We feel obliged to do that and part of that obligation is to go and spend the whole time in Las Vegas.
Seibold said he wasn't concerned about what the other clubs were doing.
“Every team has their own way to prepare, but we feel obligated and obliged to promote the game in Las Vegas where the game is being played,'' he added.
“There have been some comments from others, but that’s okay. We know what we need to do to minimise those distractions. We’ve got a fantastic group of adults in our squad and there’s a lot of trust.
“We want to try and promote the game and be visible in Vegas. We want people to get interested."
Seibold also said he was looking at the bigger picture outside of the hype and excitement of the matches in Las Vegas.
"Although the game has been painted almost like a grand final or a State of Origin, it's round one,'' Seibold said.
"There's 23 other chances outside of this game. We expect to perform and perform very highly.
"Our best 80 minutes of the trip will be those 80 minutes. We also understand that there is a bigger thing in play and that's the 24 games we are going to play throughout the season."
Seibold confirmed the team had been training on a smaller marked field at 4 Pines Park to prepare for the adjustments of playing on an NFL ground at Allegiant Stadium.
"At the end of the day, the same mindset of when you are playing on a 68 metre wide field will be quite similar,'' he said.
"We need to make sure that defensively you are really strong to start the game and need to make sure you are playing with the footy down at the right end of the field.
"That won't change regardless of the dimensions of the field."
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