LAS VEGAS — For the third consecutive year, the National Rugby League is kicking off its season with a doubleheader at Allegiant Field.
Each year, the NRL has brought four new clubs to Las Vegas to showcase the game.
This year, the Queensland Cowboys play the Newcastle Knights in a 9:15 p.m. ET game Saturday that will be followed by the Canterbury Bulldogs playing the St. George Illawarra Dragons at 11:30 p.m.
Of the four teams, the Bulldogs appear to be the most elite side based on last year’s NRL standings, finishing third in the regular season with a 16-8 record.
Their opponent, the Dragons, finished 15th in the 17-team league with an 8-16 record.
The first game pits the Cowboys, who were 9-14-1, against the Knights, who finished last in the league with a 6-18 record and a minus-300 point differential.
The Knights, despite their dubious place in the 2025 standings, completely revamped in the offseason and hired a new coach, Justin Holbrook, who used to play for the club.
They also brought in high-priced star halfback Dylan Brown, who was signed to a $13 million contract.
They will be searching for immediate dividends on their massive investment as Brown, playing alongside returning star Kalyn Ponga, hopes to further unlock Ponga’s stardom.
The Cowboys enter the game having won both of their preseason clashes, though they came against second-string Bulldogs and Panthers sides.
They will begin the season with a new hooker (a key forward in the front row, positioned between the two props in a scrum) in Reed Mahoney, whose performances will go a long way toward determining whether the Cowboys have an improved year.
The Dragons lost both their trial games, the second while playing their starters against the second-string of the Rabbitohs.
Matty Johns, a former NRL star who’s now one of the lead analysts for Fox Sports, broke down both matchups for The Post, and predicted highly contrasting games.
“The Knights versus North Queensland will be a really entertaining game because both are very good attacking teams,’’ Johns said. “For both sides, their idea of defense is basically ‘wait ’til we get the ball back.’ So it’ll be really entertaining.
“The other game will be a little bit more physical, the Dragons versus the Bulldogs,’’ Johns added. “The Bulldogs are traditionally really tough. They call them the ‘Dogs of War.’
“It’ll be more physical than the first game. There won’t be as much ball movement, but if you like physicality, you’ll love this game.’’
Johns’ Fox Sports colleague, Yvonne Sampson, another of the top NRL analysts, is intrigued by how Brown assimilates with his new Knights teammates — particularly with so much pressure on him as a result of the $13 million contract he was given.
“It was eye-watering money,’’ Sampson said of the Brown contract. “They bought him as a halfback, and he hasn’t really played a lot of halfback. And when there’s a big-money recruit, there’s pressure because people have a very low bandwidth for the failure when the price is so big, so they don’t give you a lot of grace.
“Plus, the team has struggled, so he’s supposed to be the golden bullet to make sure that the Knights get going. And I’m really excited to see him play with Kalyn Ponge because Kalyn really sort of been ‘the guy’ for them. Now he’s got, he’s got a sidekick, so a lot more to work with.’’
Johns said Ponge is one of those players in NRL who has had a terrific individual career, but needs to take the next step and lead his team to a better place.
“Ponge is a phenomenal talent, and it’s time for Kalyn,’’ Johns said. “It’s time for him to sort of really deliver and become that leader that he can be. He’s a very understated kid. But from what I’m hearing now, he’s starting to grow into his role, and that’s really important. At some point as a top player, you go, ‘What am I going to be remembered for? As a great leader who did this, or will people look on YouTube highlights and go, ‘God, he was talented, but he never won a title?’ He realizes that. That’s his next step.’’
Sampson, like Johns, expects the Bulldogs-Dragons match to be a rock fight.
“The Bulldogs coach, Cameron Ciraldo, has built everything on defense,’’ Sampson said. “They were the most successful defensive team that we had in the end last year. Once they started to bank wins, like hard things, ugly wins, the confidence came with the ball.
“They’re so uncompromising, and they drag you in and they make you play their kind of game, which is so stubborn.’’
Sampson said the Dragons coach, Shane Flanagan, is cut from a similar cloth.
“He is orientated on the hard stuff, no shortcuts,’’ she said. “He’ll milk and juice the most out of his team that you possibly can. Their roster is not as strong as the Bulldogs.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the Dragons with the way they played their preseason games. I think everyone was pretty disappointed in that. Now, whether they had one eye on Vegas, forgive them for that. But the Dragons have a lot to prove.’’
Johns called “all four of these teams here relatively close in terms of talent, but I think it’ll be the Bulldogs that will win it all this year. I’m tipping them to make the Grand Final.’’
