Revealed: Raiders fans set for special Vegas flight deal plus Ricky meets with pollies

Political power brokers, business leaders, actors and high-ranking executives converged on Parliament House for the annual Midwinter Ball on Wednesday night.

Colourful politician Katter was in the midst of a radio interview when alerted it might be time to start getting ready for the fundraising ball which doubles as a networker's dream - but he had other priorities.

"More importantly, I'm having dinner with Ricky Stuart," Katter told ABC's Canberra Drive on Wednesday afternoon.

"I don't know whether I should disclose that, but I'm a great admirer of Ricky Stuart, I can tell you, a great admirer."

Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation? In one corner you've got one of the game's most colourful coaches and one of the finest halfbacks rugby league has ever seen spinning yarns about premierships, pints and Big Mal.

In the other you've got one of Australia's most quotable politicians who is happy to let a thousand blossoms bloom - but, to borrow one of his more memorable lines, "he ain't spending any time on it because in the meantime, every three months, a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile in north Queensland".

The North Queensland MP is set to be immortalised in Parliament House with a portrait to mark his 50 years across state and federal parliaments.

Prime Ministers are given the chance to select their preferred artist for their Parliament House portraits. It won't be the case for Katter, not that it seems to matter to him.

"I don't know too much about the artists these days," Katter said. "I love art, my idea of a good holiday is to watch a rugby league game and go to an art gallery."

Imagine the sight of Katter joining Stuart in the Canberra Stadium coach's box when the Raiders take on Newcastle on Sunday. Maybe he has a way to stop mercurial Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga?

So, the Raiders are going to Las Vegas. The NRL has delayed an official announcement but it might just be rugby league's worst-kept secret. Worried about how much it is going to cost you to travel to Sin City?

In a Locker Room exclusive, we can reveal Canberra Airport officials are working on a deal for Raiders fans to fly out of Canberra on Fiji Airways, who were an official travel partner of the NRL for this year's trip to Las Vegas.

Fans would have to fly to the United States via Nadi, but it means you don't have to go to Sydney. No deal is done yet, but those that matter are looking into it. We hear an announcement is in the works once the finer details can be sorted, giving Raiders fans a cracking deal on flights to Vegas. Can you imagine a flight out of Canberra full of mad Green Machine fans? Hopefully the trip home is a happy one.

We also hear the game will be locked in for March 1 when the NRL can gets its plans in order.

A flight deal would be a huge incentive for Raiders fans, because if you want to book your flights today, you're looking at about $1900 if you're flying out of Sydney. Trust us, we've crunched the numbers, and you don't want to fly out of Canberra without this deal. Taking the bus up the highway will save you $500 you can take to the roulette tables.

You could cut your costs and spend less than $300 for two nights in downtown Las Vegas. But to borrow a line from a cinematic masterpiece dubbed The Hangover: "when you go to Vegas, you've got to go to Vegas". You're likely to fork out at least $800 for a couple of nights on the strip.

As for tickets, the cheapest option for this year's double-header was AU$29. All that before we get to the money you'll need for In-N-Out Burger, absurd pizza slices and a Raiders NFL jersey.

The NRL and its travel partners are expected to come to the rescue to encourage more fans to make the trip with the Raiders, Cronulla, Melbourne and New Zealand Warriors all bound for Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Tourism Authority invested in this year's venture. Deals were brokered with hotel, travel and flight partners to make a trip to the United States more appealing for Australian fans.

It might cost a pretty penny, but it's rugby league in Sin City, baby.

Corey Horsburgh is probably glad he's not a Super Rugby player this week.

The Raiders forward copped a three-game suspension for headbutting and punching in a NSW Cup loss to the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland last weekend. The same offence in rugby union would just about put him behind bars.

But the fiery forward will only miss two NRL games as part of the ban, with the Raiders' top squad getting a bye next week while the NSW Cup side travels to Penrith.

Horsburgh will be eligible to return in round 21 against South Sydney at Canberra Stadium in a match which will be critical to the Raiders' finals hopes.

You've heard of football coaches cutting out articles and sticking them to the change room walls for motivation - but this might be a first.

ACT Greens MLA Rebecca Vassarotti has printed a copy of a story labelling the party "economic terrorists" after they hatched a fanciful plan to demolish Thoroughbred Park for a new suburb.

"Awww you guys ... the horse racing industry always knows how to say the right thing," Vassarotti captioned a social media post holding the print.

The racing industry was blindsided by the Greens' election pitch to scrap racing in favour of building housing and a school on the expansive Lyneham site.

The Canberra Racing Club has its own plan to build 3200 homes at a redeveloped precinct and chief executive Darren Pearce said the Greens' proposal would waste time.

"I don't deal with economic terrorists. This is an industry we're talking about, that real people depend on," Canberra trainer Keith Dryden said.

Olympian Chloe Hosking has lashed AusCycling, accusing the governing body of failing to provide equal opportunities for female athletes and declaring she is "tired" of inequality gripping the sport.

"Why does it always seem like two steps forward, one step back," Hosking wrote in an impassioned LinkedIn post.

"When I was 16, I qualified for my first world championships. To prepare, my female teammates and I were sent to Adelaide to train. Meanwhile, my male colleagues were sent to Europe for a month-long racing stint. I didn't say anything then because I didn't understand the long-term impact of unequal opportunities."

But now Hosking has another reason to speak up after AusCycling announced a junior national team for this year's XCO world championships, including two under 19 men - a third declined a spot - and no under 19 women, "despite qualified women expressing interest and meeting the selection criteria".

"I assume the reasons behind this will be the usual: "There wasn't the same depth," "Lack of experience," etc," Hosking wrote.

"At what point will people stop relying on these tired justifications? At what point will they counter these excuses with the understanding that if women continue to be denied opportunities, they will continue to be disadvantaged? At what point will both equality and equity matter?"

Cam Rogers is already a cyclist you need to keep your eye on, and he enhanced his reputation with a big win at the Tour of Austria earlier this week.

Rogers, the nephew of former world champion Michael, is making waves in Europe and beat Filippo Ganna by one second in the Tour of Austria prologue.

"It was a massive shock when Ganna came in a second behind me. I didn't expect that. That was definitely the best race of my life and I can hardly believe that I'll be riding in the leader's jersey tomorrow," Rogers said.

Make sure you note down his name. It can't be long before he's knocking on the door at the grand tours. Oscar Chamberlain is another to watch, while Lauren Bates is carving up the junior women's categories.