Broncos to Las Vegas

DHA is working with NRL and US Embassy and Consulate. Don't worry. That's from a horses mouth. Communication on this has been happening since day 1 of the Vegas Promotion. I am told it is not an issue and will be all clear - unless some lunatic politician in the states has a melt down.
 
If Walsh and Haas are refused a US visa it will be because they have been in trouble with the law. You can't blame the NRL for that. Nor can you expect the NRL to give up on big ideas because it's a safe haven for delinquents.

It's worth noting neither Haas nor Walsh have criminal convictions, but they were found guilty and put on good behavior. I don't know what difference this makes in the eyes of the US Government but it is a distinction. They might not even have to declare it. But they might get bumped at the border.

I would have thought the NRL would have been ahead of this ages ago - it's US visas 101 - and had immigration lawyers on the case. You can certainly blame the NRL if they've left all this to the last minute.

Payne can get a visa exclusion without too much trouble.
The exclusions are Terrorist , muderer , drug conviction thats where Reece might have to get Uncle Peter Vlandys to intervene .
 
The clubs have met with PVL, who has agreed to boost the funding towards their “acclimatization camps” which could cost up to $400,000. They assert they need a good week in the US for prep. He's also agreed to expedite the visa applications, especially for the ex-cons like Reece and Payne who are barred from ESTAs. He's also secured them pre-match venues for captain’s runs.

The Broncos will take 40 to Vegas, including 23 players, basing themselves at the LA Rams HQ. The first few days of the camp will only include light training and recovery.

Donuts:
“We appreciated the opportunity to meet today, it was a very productive meeting that allowed us all to work through the challenges involved in delivering our US game. Now that’s been resolved, we can all get on with our final preparations. We’re all looking forward to being part of rugby league history.”​

Blake Solly:

“We’re grateful for Peter and Andrew’s approach to the meeting. The clubs have always been realistic about the scale and ambition of this event – and the challenges that it creates for everyone. Peter and Andrew gave us the support we needed around financial assistance for acclimatization camps, medical insurance, accommodation and training venues in Las Vegas. The clubs absolutely want to focus on making the event the success it deserves to be. This is a huge opportunity for rugby league and we’re committed to creating the best event we can in Vegas.”​
 
Hmmmm if clubs are denied the availability of having certain players in their team for an official NRL round, with points at stake, just wondering what the ramifications are for that?
Was literally talking with a guy at work about this today.

The NRL AND the clubs for not being way ahead of this. It beggars belief that no one anywhere in this chain had thought through the visa process. You don't turn up to work in a foreign country without a visa. Every entertainer goes through this, and no profession relies on recreational drugs more than entertainment. The same applies to the media covering it.

I swear I read something when this all exploded that the clubs had been hassling the NRL about this from day 1. I think Abdo was on holidays or something?
 
I swear I read something when this all exploded that the clubs had been hassling the NRL about this from day 1. I think Abdo was on holidays or something?
Media beat up. It was approached from the get go by the NRL.
 
So was it planted by Vlando so he could come in as the saviour 🤔🤔
No i just think the comms from NRL HQ was more concerned about the media promotion rather than address the potential entry problems. They locked it in late and went full beans on promo. Other sides of media/social wanted to jump on things and be dramatic - hence the questions re players and their history.

As i said earlier DHA has been working with US on entry for the permits and my information says it wont be a problem. Happy to be wrong, but spoke on the phone today to someone involved.
 
No i just think the comms from NRL HQ was more concerned about the media promotion rather than address the potential entry problems. They locked it in late and went full beans on promo. Other sides of media/social wanted to jump on things and be dramatic - hence the questions re players and their history.

As i said earlier DHA has been working with US on entry for the permits and my information says it wont be a problem. Happy to be wrong, but spoke on the phone today to someone involved.

As if that someone involved is going to come out and say, yeah man we screwed this up so bad.
 
If Walsh and Haas are refused a US visa it will be because they have been in trouble with the law. You can't blame the NRL for that. Nor can you expect the NRL to give up on big ideas because it's a safe haven for delinquents.

It's worth noting neither Haas nor Walsh have criminal convictions, but they were found guilty and put on good behavior. I don't know what difference this makes in the eyes of the US Government but it is a distinction. They might not even have to declare it. But they might get bumped at the border.

I would have thought the NRL would have been ahead of this ages ago - it's US visas 101 - and had immigration lawyers on the case. You can certainly blame the NRL if they've left all this to the last minute.
The potential for Visa issues should have been the very first thing considered, so the clubs invited can make a decision based on all the facts. If DD was told the Broncos were being invited to play the Vegas round but might be without Haas and Walsh, it gives him the chance to say no thanks.

Outside of it just being a bad idea (as that is a matter of opinion) the glaringly obvious issue here is the whole thing has been done in a huge rush. The day it was announced my first thought was 'dumb idea' and my second thought was '"What? 2024? Did I hear that correctly?" The timeframe simply doesn't allow proper planning and due diligence. The day it was announced it should have been announced for 2025.

And yes, I definitely can and will blame the NRL for this.
 
The potential for Visa issues should have been the very first thing considered, so the clubs invited can make a decision based on all the facts. If DD was told the Broncos were being invited to play the Vegas round but might be without Haas and Walsh, it gives him the chance to say no thanks.

Outside of it just being a bad idea (as that is a matter of opinion) the glaringly obvious issue here is the whole thing has been done in a huge rush. The day it was announced my first thought was 'dumb idea' and my second thought was '"What? 2024? Did I hear that correctly?" The timeframe simply doesn't allow proper planning and due diligence. The day it was announced it should have been announced for 2025.

And yes, I definitely can and will blame the NRL for this.
It's an ambitious venture, and I'm happy to credit V'Landy's for having the nuts to attempt it. He also gets the blame if it goes tits up. Let's reconvene in Round 2.
 
Subsequent to Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo assuring us our ambassador would pull some strings, shifty ex-PM and Australian Ambassador to the USA, Kevin Rudd is passing the buck to recent hire, Tanya Bennett:

“Our consulate-general in Los Angeles is called a consulate-general because they deal with consular matters. They’re all over this stuff. On the detail of it, I’ve left it to the colleagues to handle. We comply with the laws of the United States like everyone else does, so we’ll work through the processes. If there are problems, we’ll seek to address them. If problems are unaddressable – well, that’s just life. But we’ve got a very competent consul-general in LA who’s got her hands all over this.”​
 

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