The ones you climb out of hell to claim. The ones you are willing to die for.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe inches we need are everywhere around us,\u201d Pacino tells his team in the role of coach Tony D\u2019Amato.<\/p>\n
Like the NFL, rugby league is a game of inches. However, when the \u201cGreatest Game of All\u201d is showcased in the United States, it will be done so on one of the smallest fields ever for a professional match.<\/p>\n
The pitch at Allegiant Stadium, the $3 billion arena known as \u201cThe Death Star\u201d, is five metres narrower than a traditional ground. When you consider the length of the field is also four metres shorter, that\u2019s more than 1 million less square inches to steal or defend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think \u2018AJ\u2019 is going to be too happy about that, not scoring any tries in Vegas,\u201d South Sydney hooker Damien Cook joked about teammate Alex Johnston, the prolific winger on course to soon set a new try-scoring record.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Alex Johnston dives over for a try for the Rabbitohs.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cMaybe we can change it to 12 men per game, someone can get sin-binned straight away.\u201d<\/p>\n The NRL wants to showcase expansive football to the uninitiated, but will have less room to do so. Those five missing metres – the equivalent of three full-grown llamas laying side by side – is the width of the channel in which Johnston and the game\u2019s most acrobatic wingers come to life.<\/p>\n The most spectacular tries are those where they plant the ball down while defying defenders and gravity. But will they still have a sufficiently wide channel in which to produce that sort of magic in Vegas?<\/p>\n \u201cYou think about the wingers diving into corners like a normal-sized field, it\u2019s more narrow,\u201d said Anthony Seibold, coach of the Manly side that will take on South Sydney as part of the Las Vegas double-header.<\/p>\n Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things we will do leading up to that week, we\u2019ll try to find a field that has the same dimensions as what we are playing on.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll practice how we want to play our footy. There will be implications for our prep for a week or two leading in.\u201d<\/p>\n Seibold is well qualified to provide a perspective. Part of his playing career was spent at Hull KR, where home ground Old Trafford had almost identical dimensions to Allegiant Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was similar, 63 metres, the same size as the one we\u2019ll be playing on,\u201d Seibold said. \u201cThe kicking game is still viable and important, that doesn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n \u201cThe defenders are a bit more shoulder to shoulder due to the spacing, so we\u2019ll need to look tactically at what suits best.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will talk to a few guys who have played at Old Trafford, like Jake Trbojevic or Chez [Daly Cherry-Evans], who have played on some of those smaller-sized fields in the UK. You can draw on some of the IP of the guys who have done that in the past. Going back 20 years when that was my home ground at Hull KR, it was a bash-up.\u201d<\/p>\n The NRL will investigate whether the Allegiant field could be widened slightly, potentially by providing padding around the perimeter. Regardless, Seibold believes uninitiated American punters will still be treated to a quality, attacking spectacle.<\/p>\n \u201cThe athleticism of the players these days can create space on the edges,\u201d Seibold said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be different, five metres is a lot, but that\u2019s part of the experience, isn\u2019t it? You have to be a bit creative with how you play footy.\u201d<\/p>\n Stream the NRL Premiership 2023 live and free on <\/b>9Now<\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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