Phil Gould is set to travel to Las Vegas on a scouting mission to recruit two American athletes for the Canterbury Bulldogs.
With the NRL season opener at Allegiant Stadium just a week away, rugby league is preparing to make its mark in the sporting capital of the world.
A group of 25 male and 25 female elite athletes will take part in trials to assess their potential to play in the NRL.
The Bulldogs aim to sign one NRL and one NRLW player from the program to join the club in 2026. Interest in the trials has been high, with hundreds of American college football athletes eager to test their skills in rugby league.
Participants will be put through a series of tests, including running, passing, tackling, and overall toughness.
Every year, thousands of talented college footballers in the U.S. finish their careers in their early 20s, with less than five percent making it into the NFL. Gould believes some of these athletes could successfully transition to rugby league.
"There's no doubt there are a lot of fine athletes over there, and I want to run my eye over them and see if any would adapt to league," Gould told Nine News.
The combine is one of several events leading up to the NRL's season-opening double-header in Vegas on March 2 (AEST).
In the 1970s, former NFL player Manfred Moore became the first American to play in Sydney when he signed with the Newtown Jets.
Gould is hoping to find the next American rugby league star as he embarks on his mission to recruit new talent for the Bulldogs.
