- Johnathan Thurston has confirmed that he is safe in Las Vegas
- Channel 9 report stated on Friday that he was “missing” in Sin City
- Thurston was the victim of a prank after arriving late to a TV Cross live show
- The champion halfback is part of Channel 9’s NRL coverage in the US.
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Football 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 missing.
On Friday, the free network’s Today Show posted a banner in its morning bulletin that read: “JOHNATHAN THURSTON MISSING.”
The story then added: “Las Vegas police on missing NRL star case.”
Thurston eventually confirmed the news report on Channel 9, which employs the champion halfback as an NRL expert commentator, was a joke at his expense.
Football great Johnathan Thurston 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 arriving late for a live TV crossover with Channel 9 ahead of this weekend’s double-header.
“Just kidding… I was late for my live cross,” he said. News Corporation.
While the ‘incident’ involving Thurston was all fun and games, two shocking late-night incidents left journalists fearing for their safety as they covered the run-up to Sunday’s NRL double-header.
A football reporter was bailed out by a knife-wielding man while working late into the night in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica as the Roosters and Broncos were based in the city before flying to Las Vegas.
The man accused the journalist of damaging his car but left when the Australian denied the accusation, News Corp reported.
In the other incident, a reporter and his television crew feared for their lives when they were surrounded by three cars during a night job in Westlake Village, a short distance north of Los Angeles.
They were filming their report when vehicles converged on them from different directions and cornered them.
The team managed to finish their report, and the journalist believed that one of his colleagues saved them when he made a phone call and possibly made the people in the cars believe that he was contacting the police.
“It was the most terrifying experience of my life,” the journalist said. ‘It was the first time in my life that I thought I was going to die.
“The honest feeling was that they were either going to rob us or kill us. He was really worried about not surviving.”
Elsewhere, representatives from the 13 clubs that will not be in Las Vegas gathered in Sydney on Friday for the official launch of the 2024 NRL season (pictured).
Meanwhile, ticket sales for the Sea Eagles-Rabbitohs game (1.30pm, AEDT) followed by the Roosters’ game against the Broncos (3.30pm, AEDT) are close to the 40,000 mark two days after kick-off .
With increased publicity and marketing already organized in the gaming mecca, the NRL expects at least 50,000 fans to flock to the venue which recently hosted the Super Bowl and can accommodate 65,000 supporters.
Elsewhere, representatives from the 13 clubs that will not be in Las Vegas met 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 center Cameron Munster and Dragons halfback Ben Hunt.
They were baffled by the images of the four captains in action this weekend in the US: Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles), James Tedesco (Roosters), Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs) and Adam Reynolds (Broncos).