Canterbury and St George Illawarra have approached the NRL to propose a blockbuster fixture between the two clubs to launch the 2026 season in Las Vegas next year.
Both clubs are keen to book their place on the plane to the United States next year and have petitioned the NRL to schedule the clash between the arch rivals at Allegiant Stadium.
The Bulldogs are considered one of the frontrunners to feature in the NRL’s third instalment of the Las Vegas experiment next year, and have joined forces with the Dragons to make it a reality.
“A Bulldogs-Dragons clash in Las Vegas would be epic,” said Bulldogs chairman Adam Driussi, who will travel to Sin City along with general manager Phil Gould and CEO Aaron Warburton this week on a fact-finding mission.
“With 2025 marking 40 years since our famous 1985 grand final win over the Dragons, what better way to showcase one of rugby league’s great rivalries to a new audience?
“Our fans would love the chance to support the team in Las Vegas and the atmosphere would be incredible. We’d love the NRL to make it a reality.”
The Bulldogs and Dragons want to play against each other in Las Vegas next year.Credit: Getty Images
Both teams have massive supporter bases and the idea has the backing of Dragons chairman and Nine Entertainment Co (publisher of this masthead) board member Andrew Lancaster.
When deciding which teams to take to Vegas for the season launch, the NRL will consider the wishes of its free-to-air broadcast partner. The Dragons wanted to be in Las Vegas this year but have now turned their focus to winning the nod for 2026.
“If the NRL is looking for a game that showcases rivalry and tradition, is attractive to domestic, US and UK viewers and guarantees a travelling crowd then they should go with Dragons against the Bulldogs,” Lancaster said.
“Round one with the Bulldogs at Kogarah this year will be a sell-out, as was the last time we played.”
The Dragons have one of the game’s biggest supporter bases.Credit: Getty
A potential sticking point is that the NRL will need one of the clubs to volunteer to be the home team. Clubs have been reluctant to claim home status in Vegas as it means missing out on the revenue from a genuine home fixture during the season.
However, an option under consideration is to make the Vegas clash a neutral fixture, meaning the clubs could potentially split the gate on their return match back in Australia at a neutral venue like Allianz Stadium.
The NRL has not rubber-stamped any teams for 2026 at this stage and is expected to request submissions in the next month.
“The Las Vegas season opening is becoming bigger and bigger,” NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.
“We’ve had great interest from fans and new sponsors because of the game. The clubs that we’ve taken have been great partners and there’s strong interest from the remaining clubs to partake in 2026, which is a great position to be in.
“Our focus at the moment is making sure 2025 is as successful as possible, once that is completed we will then request submissions for the commission to consider for the 2026 season.”
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