Take Rabbitohs, Roosters in Vegas rugby twin bill

Distance, a steep learning curve and time-zone differences have made it hard for Australian sports to make an impact in the United States, but there’s been some gathering momentum in the past few years.

The Australian Football League (AFL) and cricket have slowly but surely begun to find footholds in the U.S., and this weekend the National Rugby League (NRL) is opening its season with a doubleheader at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The NRL is the most popular rugby league in Australia and differs slightly from Rugby Union. Rugby League is a quicker, more pace-oriented game compared to Union, which focuses on physicality and tactics. There are differences in scoring, too. A try is worth four points in League, the conversion (basically a PAT) is worth two and a dropkick is worth one.

The doubleheader gets underway at 9:30 p.m. ET with two Sydney clubs, South Sydney Rabbitohs and the ManlyWarringah Sea Eagles, doing battle before the Brisbane Broncos take on the Sydney Roosters at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET.

This is the opening weekend of a new season played in a neutral site halfway around the world, so there should be plenty of variance in these matchups.

However, ELO ratings (a catchall stat used to create power ratings) from Massey Ratings suggest there’s slight value on the Over 41.5 and the Rabbitohs moneyline in the first leg of the twin bill.

The ELO models like the Sydney Roosters and Over 39.5 in the second game.

THE PLAYS: Rabbitohs (-120) over Sea Eagles; Roosters (+150) over Broncos.