- Johnathan Thurston has confirmed he is safe in Las Vegas
- Channel 9 report stated on Friday he was ‘missing’ in Sin City
- Thurston was victim of a prank after he was late to live TV cross
- Champion halfback is part of Channel 9’s NRL coverage in the US
Footy great Johnathan Thurston has laughed off suggestions he was missing in Las Vegas and the subject of a major police manhunt.
Thurston, 40, is in Sin City ahead of the NRL double header at Allegiant Stadium this Sunday AEDT – and there were ‘concerns’ for his welfare after Channel 9 reported the Queensland Origin legend was unaccounted for.
On Friday, the free to air network’s Today Show program put up a banner on their morning bulletin which read: ‘JOHNATHAN THURSTON MISSING’.
The news item then added: ‘Las Vegas Police on the case of missing NRL star.’
Thurston eventually confirmed the news report on Channel 9 – who employ the champion halfback as an expert NRL commentator – was a joke at his expense.
Footy great Johnathan Thurston has laughed off suggestions he was missing in Las Vegas and the subject of a major police manhunt
The NRL premiership winner with the Cowboys confirmed he was the victim of a prank after he was late for a live TV cross with Channel 9 ahead of the double header this weekend
‘It’s a prank….I was late for my live cross,’ he told News Corp.
While the ‘incident’ involving Thurston was all fun and games, two shocking late-night incidents left journalists fearing for their safety as they cover the lead-up to the NRL’s double header on Sunday.
One footy reporter was bailed up by a knife-wielding man while working late at night in the beachside Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica, with the Roosters and Broncos basing themselves in the city before flying to Vegas.
The man accused the journalist of damaging his car but left when the Australian denied the accusation, News Corp reported.
The other incident saw a separate reporter and his TV crew fear for their lives when they were hemmed in by three cars during a late-night job in Westlake Village, a short drive north of Los Angeles.
They were filming their report when the vehicles converged on them from different directions and cornered them.
The crew managed to finish their report, with the journalist believing that one of his colleagues saved them when he made a phone call and possibly led the people in the cars to believe he was contacting the police.
‘It was the most terrifying experience of my life,’ the reporter said. ‘It was the first time in my life that I thought I was going to die.
‘The honest feeling was we were either going to be robbed or killed. I was genuinely worried about not surviving.’
Elsewhere, representatives from the 13 clubs not featuring in Las Vegas gathered in Sydney on Friday for the official launch of the 2024 NRL season (pictured)
Meanwhile tickets sales for the games featuring the Sea Eagles versus Rabbitohs (1.30pm, AEDT) followed by the Roosters tackling the Broncos (3.30pm, AEDT) are close to the 40,000 mark two days out from kick-off.
With increasing advertising and marketing already organised across the gambling mecca, the NRL is hoping to at least 50,000 fans pack into the venue which recently hosted the Super Bowl and can house 65,000 supporters.
Elsewhere, representatives from the 13 clubs not featuring in Las Vegas gathered in Sydney on Friday for the official launch of the 2024 NRL season.
Among those in attendance were Panthers co-captain Isaah Yeo, Melbourne Storm pivot Cameron Munster and Dragons halfback Ben Hunt.
They were flaked by images of the four skippers in action this weekend in the US – Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles), James Tedesco (Roosters), Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs) and Adam Reynolds (Broncos).