NRL Las Vegas: Who is playing and what time is kick-off?

Rugby league returns to Las Vegas for the second consecutive year, with the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) season kicking off in the United States once again, and this time with two additional matches on the schedule. Here's everything you need to know ahead of Sunday's games (Australian Eastern Daylight Time).

The number of teams participating in the Las Vegas games has increased this year. When the NRL made its first foray into the American market last year, only four men's NRL teams participated in two matches. This season, the Canberra Raiders will play the Warriors in the first game at Allegiant Stadium, followed by a match between the reigning champions Penrith Panthers and the Cronulla Sharks. Furthermore, the Australian women's national team, the Jillaroos, will also travel to Las Vegas to compete against England.

In addition to the NRL events, the English Super League champions, the Wigan Warriors, have also journeyed across the Atlantic to face the Warrington Wolves. With a total of four matches, Las Vegas will host a full day of rugby league festivities. Here are the kickoff times for each game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (all Australian Eastern Daylight Time): Wigan Warriors vs. Warrington Wolves (8:30 AM); Canberra Raiders vs. Warriors (11:00 AM); Australian Jillaroos vs. England (1:00 PM); Penrith Panthers vs. Cronulla Sharks (3:30 PM).

Fox Sports and Kayo will broadcast all four matches live, while ABC Sport will provide online blog coverage and radio commentary of the events. Free-to-air channel Nine will only broadcast the Jillaroos match and the Panthers vs. Sharks game. The NRL anticipates a live audience of 50,000, with over 45,000 tickets sold in the week leading up to the matches. Allegiant Stadium has a seating capacity of 65,000, but only 40,746 fans attended the games last year.

The two matches held in Las Vegas last year were both NRL events, featuring the South Sydney Rabbitohs against the Manly Sea Eagles, and the Brisbane Broncos against the Sydney Roosters. These season openers will rotate, with different teams signing up each year. After Sunday's Las Vegas games kick off Round 1, the two teams that participated last season – the Roosters and the Broncos – will begin their season at the Sydney Football Stadium on Thursday night at 8:00 PM.

On Friday, the Wests Tigers will face the Newcastle Knights at Campbelltown (6:00 PM), and the Dolphins will take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Lang Park (8:05 PM). On Saturday, the St. George Illawarra Dragons will play the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Jubilee Stadium (5:30 PM), followed by the Manly Sea Eagles against the North Queensland Cowboys at Brookvale Oval (7:35 PM). Round 1 will conclude on Sunday, March 9th, with the Melbourne Storm hosting the Parramatta Eels at AAMI Park (4:05 PM).