'We were disruptors then and we're disruptors now'

Yahoo

05-03-2025

THE staging of a Super League match in Las Vegas is another example of the kind of principles upon which rugby league was born.
That is the view of Warrington Wolves chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick and his Wigan Warriors counterpart Kris Radlinski, who between them were the driving forces behind the competition's first ever game to be played on American soil.
Of course, there had to be a winner and a loser and from a Warrington perspective, Fitzpatrick admits to being 'very disappointed' at how his club's enjoyment stopped when the action started as Wigan ran out convincing 48-24 victors at Allegiant Stadium.
However, he says the desire to be different which saw the sport founded back in the 19th century was in full view throughout the week.
'It's been an absolutely incredible, phenomenal week,' he told Sky Sports after the game.
'Ourselves and Wigan were among the founding fathers back in 1895 – we were disruptors then and we're disruptors now in 2025.
'We've broken new ground and we've put our fantastic sport on a global platform.
'Obviously, we're very disappointed in terms of the performance as we wanted to reward our loyal fans who had travelled over, but overall it's been an incredible experience.'
The NRL – the organisers of the second Rugby League Las Vegas event that was successfully launched last year – invited Wigan and Warrington to face off as part of an expanded weekend having been impressed by the number of English fans that travelled to watch the action in 2024.
And with more than 10,000 supporters heading over from the UK this time around, it was confirmed post-match that a Super League fixture would once again grace Allegiant Stadium in 2026.
After some difficult times for the sport in recent years, Radlinski was delighted they could give the English game a moment in the sun while he also paid tribute to the thousands of fans who travelled.
'There will be a lot of headlines about the scoreline, but I wanted this for Super League. We want what we deserve,' he said.
'We've had some difficult times – I think back to the CEO meetings during Covid when we were fighting to try and keep the sport alive.
'This is for all of our clubs, even the volunteer clubs on a Sunday morning.
'This is achievable in our sport and I'm so proud – I'm so proud of all the Northerners who have travelled to the other side of the world.'