Leeds Rhinos star's tribute to 'awesome' fans as confident claim made for Las Vegas game v Hull KR
After his second taste of Rugby League in Las Vegas, Leeds Rhinos’ New Zealand-born hooker Danny Levi has urged the British game to stage more big events.
Levi joined Rhinos in pre-season from NRL club Canberra Raiders, who played in Vegas last season. Leeds take on Hull KR at Allegiant Stadium tomorrow (Saturday) before Newcastle Knights face North Queensland Cowboys and Canterbury Bulldogs meet St George-Illawarra Dragons in NRL round one.
“I was here last year, but I wasn’t able to play,” Levi recalled of the sport’s annual excursion to the ‘entertainment capital of the world’, which is run by the NRL. “It is awesome, it is so good being on a world stage and that sort of stuff just fires you up and makes playing so much more memorable.
“It’s the sort of thing we should be doing [in Super League]. In the NRL they do these big events, but the English supporters love it - they sing their songs and get behind their team and they all come out and support. If Super League can get hold of more of these events it will do wonders for the game, because the English supporters are unreal. The support we are getting here is awesome. You see them walking around, all the Leeds jerseys, it is awesome to see.”
With around 6,000 having made the trans-Atlantic journey, Rhinos are desperate to make their fans proud on Saturday. Levi added: “All the glitz and glamour and the lights and things can be a distraction at times, but I think the boys have taken that in and it is firing us up.
“We’ve seen everyone coming to support, we are on a big stage and we want to make sure we perform to our best and come away with the win. We have got a job to do, but all this [build up] is doing is firing us up.”
Leeds will be underdogs against the newly-crowned World Club champions who now hold all four available trophies. “They have more than proved what they can do, but at the same time, we know what we can do,” Levi stressed. “We have got full belief and confidence in ourselves. As long as we go in with our head right, we are confident we can get the job done.”
Saturday will be the hooker’s fourth competitive game for Leeds. “I am loving it,” he said. “It has been unreal so far, the boys are awesome and there’s plenty of talent in our team so it is good to be around. I am really enjoying it and looking forward to playing more games.”
Levi got his first start with Rhinos in last week’s 46-14 win against York Knights. He admitted: “I like to start, getting into the game straight away is my thing. I have always been a starter so that’s what I enjoy most.
“Jarrod [O’Connor, Leeds’ number nine] is such a competitor, put him anywhere in the team and he’s going to do a good job for you. He works his backside off. When he does come on and both of us are on the field at the same time, it really helps us offensively and speeds the rucks up a lot. I think we can build a really good combination.”
The Yorkshire Evening Post’s coverage of Leeds Rhinos in Las Vegas is in association with Betfred Super League. Saturday’s showdown between Rhinos and Hull KR at Allegiant Stadium is an early highlight of a packed year of club rugby league action which also includes the Challenge Cup final at Wembley on May 30, Magic Weekend’s blockbuster return to Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on July 4-5 and the Super League Grand Final on October 3 at Old Trafford. Experience live Super League. League Hits Different. To guarantee your place, visit Super League | Tickets.