NFL-sized fields to be used in NRL Pre-Season Challenge games

Three of the four teams heading to Las Vegas for the opening round of the NRL will play on smaller-than-usual fields in their Pre-Season Challenge matches this week.

GIO Stadium in Canberra and FMG Stadium in Hamilton have both been modified to feature NFL-sized fields for their upcoming trial clashes.

The Raiders are set to host the Sharks in the Australian capital on Thursday night, while the Warriors will face the Storm in New Zealand on Saturday evening.

The grounds will go from the standard NRL dimensions of 100m by 68m to the smaller NFL distances of 94.5m by 63.1m, matching the Allegiant Stadium field on which the Vegas-bound teams will play in round one.

Canberra skipper Joseph Tapine is looking forward to the smaller dimensions, as he believes it will produce more contact.

“I am excited because it means more contact,” he said on Tuesday.

“They marked out the field at training, and it feels really tight and short.

“It will be good just to get a feel for how we want to play over there.

“Good footy teams adjust to how big the field is or how you play, so we will adjust accordingly I guess.”

• NRL ALL STARS TEAMS: PONGA SET FOR LONG-AWAITED MAORI RETURN

The match will not be Tapine’s first on a reduced field, with the Kiwi prop having played against England in Denver seven years ago.

“I played in Denver and we had to play on an NFL field as well,” he said.

“But this is going to be a whole other level.

“The other difference in Denver was the altitude.

“After 15 minutes I felt like I had played about 50 minutes.”

Tapine’s counterpart at the Sharks, Cronulla captain Cameron McInnes, does not think the dimensions will make much of a difference.

“To be honest, it doesn’t make much difference in the middle,” he said.

“I was in the Origin arena last year with the Souths, Manly and Roosters boys, and Payne [Haas] from the Broncos.

“They all had varying opinions about it.

“The questions I was asking were more around training than the game itself.

“The Roosters went to LA to start with, which is what we are doing as well, whereas Manly went to Vegas the whole time.

“What I would say is that the Manly boys and Roosters boys had a better time than Souths and the Broncos, and that’s because they won.”

NRL bookmakers have the Sharks listed at $1.50 to win their trial clash in Canberra, with the Raiders paying $2.60 to salute on home soil.

Meanwhile, the Warriors are $1.44 favourites at Marantelli Bet to beat the Storm, who are at lengthy odds of $2.80 despite leading outright betting markets for the 2025 NRL Premiership.

Sports news