LAS VEGAS: The noise is different this year.
Everywhere you go on the famous Vegas strip the distinctive twang of a northern English accent can be heard. There's Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors jerseys all over the place and when a group of them get together it's not long before they start belting out a song.
At Wednesday's launch party at Resorts World Panthers skipper Isaah Yeo was booed. So was former Raiders playmaker George Williams, who now captains the Wolves.
The loudest cheer was reserved for Wigan skipper Liam Farrell, with Warriors fans then serenading him as the large contingent of Australian NRL fans watched on in awed silence.
Wigan Warriors players arrive during an NRL fan event at the Fremont Street Experience. Getty
It's estimated that 8000 fans have flown to Vegas from England this week, giving the rugby league festival a completely different spin to the 2024 edition, which still attracted about 1000 English-based fans even without a Super League match on the menu.
Sunday's (Australian time) four-match extravaganza kicks off with the clash of the two Super League powerhouses, with Rabbitohs legend Sam Burgess hoping to mastermind a win for his Wolves.
It looms as the perfect way to energise Allegiant Stadium and create a buzzing atmosphere before the Raiders face the Warriors.
The English fans have also been a hit with the NRL's top brass, with both CEO Andrew Abdo and ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys raving about them to the travelling media on several occasions through the week.
League fans took over Fremont Street on Thursday night with a throng of thousands of jersey clad supporters forming a mosh pit in front of the stage for several hours at an official function where each of the teams involved were introduced to the adoring masses by Nine's Zac Bailey.
The English fans were in the minority, but when their teams took the stage the noise said otherwise. Then the singing started again.
In the VIP area Abdo was wearing a huge smile.
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Warrington Wolves coach Sam Burgess greets spectators during an NRL fan event at the Fremont Street Experience on February 27, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)Â Getty
"How good are the English fans?," he asked a group of journalists as he walked past.
"You should buy the Super League, then you'd get that sort of atmosphere on tap," shot back one of the journalists, only partly tongue-in-cheek.
And this kind of week could clearly be a springboard for that discussion to get serious.
Only a week ago, as V'landys trumpeted a record year for the NRL that has put the game in its best financial state for many years and he chose that moment to confirm that a bid to buy the Super League was a possibility as he attempts to take the game to the next level and make it a $1 billion international force.
"We're looking at the UK," V'landys said.
"Never say never. That's if they want us. The first thing is there's always two people to an agreement. If they want us, we'll certainly look at it.
"At this stage they haven't approached us, but we're a firm believer in having a strong game in England and we're a firm believer in the international game.
"You can't have an international game without England. I don't want to breach any confidentiality, but it's important for us that the game in the United Kingdom is strong. At the moment, it's got its challenges."
Andrew Abdo and Peter V'landys are given the key to the city during the NRL Las Vegas media launch. Getty
Almost every Super League club posted a financial loss last year, potentially making the backing of the Australian competition attractive.
Warrington Wolves owner Simon Moran is friendly with Rabbitohs part owner Russell Crowe. The more you dig, the more synergies you find and if the NRL did buy the Super League it wouldn't take a marketing genius to strengthen ties between clubs and potentially make rugby league a 365 day a year game for fans on both sides of the globe.
A St George Illawarra fan in winter could be a St Helens fan in summer. A Castleford Tigers fan in the UK could don the same colours all year round and support Wests Tigers in the NRL.
It would take some finessing, but it's only a few years ago that a Vegas season opener would have seemed a pie in the sky idea that would never happen. In just its second year in a five-year deal, the NRL's Vegas venture is on the precipice of turning a profit.
V'landys has always been a dream big kind of chairman. The Super League might just be the next pipe dream to be realised.