Bulldogs chief executive Aaron Warburton hasn’t booked his ticket to Las Vegas for next year’s rugby league extravaganza, but Phil Gould says he’s already bought his as speculation grows that the ladder leaders will be one of the four NRL teams involved in the season-opening showcase.
The NRL will announce on Wednesday who the four clubs are, but the early mail is that the Bulldogs, Dragons, Knights and Cowboys are the frontrunners to play in Vegas next year.
It’ll be the third year in a row the NRL has opened the season at Allegiant Stadium, with the Bulldogs pulling out of the race for the 2025 spectacle.
Gould flew to the US ahead of this year’s event and was impressed by what he saw, with the Bulldogs general manager of football all but confirming his team will be taking part in 2026.
“I know Aaron hasn’t booked his ticket but I have,” he said, telling media the club wants to do it for the fans, members and the Bulldogs brand to grow it on the international stage.
“I know they’ll have their motivations for what they want to do in the US, but I think for our game – right from the very first day that they went there and had that first weekend in Las Vegas – to see our game on that platform, on that stage and in that city and being exposed the way it was (has been great).
“Every club would like their fans to experience that, and we wanted to make sure that when we went there that we were strong enough to compete and do well and that we could plan it properly so that our members could come with us, enjoy the experience and put the Bulldogs on the world stage in the opening game of the season.
“It just shows the club what we want to be. It’s big and we want to be a part of it, and we’re going to be a part of it.”
While Gould has sorted flights for next year, Warburton has decided to wait until everything is made official.
“We haven’t booked,” he joked.
“We’re hearing what everyone’s hearing, but we were a frontrunner before the teams were even spoken about.
“I think I got a call from the NRL saying ‘congratulations for appointing yourselves as one of the teams’ because we were that confident at a point.
“All will be revealed tomorrow.”
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