Five Canadians are looking to make their mark in Las Vegas this week as Sin City showcases rugby league.
While top club teams from Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) and England's Super League are showcased at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, the Canadian players are taking part in the NRL Combine, looking to earn a paid trip Down Under to train with an elite team.
Canadian rugby league international Megan Pakulis was one of two women to make the cut from the first Vegas combine last year. After her training trip in Australia, she earned a contract with the York Valkyrie in England's Betfred Women's Super League.
Pakulis represented Canada at the 2017 and 2022 Rugby League World Cups, scoring Canada's first-ever try at the tournament. In 2022, the Canada Ravens vice-captain was named to the team of the tournament.
The other combine winners from last year included Kris Leach, a six-foot-six 247-pound tight end who spent time in the Denver Broncos training camp as an undrafted free agent, and Michael Woolridge, who played defensive back at Saginaw Valley State University. The other woman chosen was U.S. rugby league international MarCaya Bailous.
Petra Woods, another member of the Canada Ravens, returns for a second go at the combine, along with fellow Canadians Renee Gonzalez, Grace Campbell, Marcus D鈥橝cre and Cody Nhanala.
"I'm more than excited. I can't really put it into words," said Woods. "The opportunity is cool.
"We're also getting to meet some of the Australia coaches, players and staff. That part I'm extremely excited about, just as a rugby league fan."
But her objective is to turn heads on the field.
"I'm hoping that the scouts and anybody that's there in Vegas with us sees potential," said the 29-year-old fullback from Toronto.
The combine starts Friday with match-simulation testing, with performance testing to follow Saturday at the UFC Performance Institute.
Rugby league is the lesser-known rugby code, played 13-a-side instead of rugby union's 15-a-side. It's a physical game with powerful forwards and elusive backs each offering their own kind of threat.
Woods, who played with Gonzalez on the Ontario provincial rugby union team, was a U-Sports second-team all-Canadian at York University and represented Canada in union at the under-20 level.
Gonzalez has played for the Canadian rugby union sevens and 15s teams while Nhanala has represented Canada in sevens and D鈥橝cre in 15s at the under-20 level. Campbell played for the University of Calgary.
The NRL first came to Vegas last year, kicking off the season with a doubleheader that drew an announced crowd of 40,746 at Allegiant Stadium.
It was such a success that it is back at the same venue for an expanded four-game schedule Saturday, adding an English Super League contest and women's international test match.
The day starts with the Super League champion Wigan Warriors facing the Warrington Wolves (in a game that kicks off at 8:30 a.m. local time in Sydney). The first NRL game pits the Canberra Raiders against New Zealand Warriors, followed by an Australia-England women's test. The finale features the four-time defending NRL champion Penrith Panthers and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Australia-based Mike Castle, who has Canadian heritage through his father鈥檚 side, is in his second stint as coach of the Canada Ravens. His day job is pathways project manager for the NRL, so is involved in the combine.
The weekend will also see the debut of the Canadian men's under-19 rugby league team. The Young Wolverines are taking part in the NRL Vegas Nines in Las Vegas.
The Ontario Ospreys are back to defend their women's title at the Vegas Nines, along with the 小蓝视频 Storm and Calgary's Pro-X Rugby Academy. The Toronto City Saints and 小蓝视频 Bulldogs are in the men's field.
Gonzalez applied to take part in last year's combine but couldn't go after only getting the green light a week before its start.
She played rugby union at Lindenwood University and the University of Victoria, working her way up from the Maple Leafs developmental squad to the national team.
The 26-year-old from Toronto, who now calls Victoria home, has played flanker and hooker in the forwards and centre and wing in the backs. But she has never played rugby league.
"I've been watching and studying 鈥� This is sort of the first go at it and I'm a bit nervous but I'm very excited," she said.
"I got to go to Vegas last year just for my bachelorette (party), so this trip's a bit different, she added with a laugh.
Nhanala, a former captain of Rugby Canada's Pacific Pride academy, first heard about the combine from Castle who had seen game video of him
"I wasn't so sure that it was a legitimate thing," said the 23-year-old from Ottawa, who now makes his home in Victoria.
But when Nhanala found out it was for real, he accepted the invitation. He admits to feeling "a bit of anxiousness, a bit of excitement."
"It's definitely a cool and new opportunity," he said.
A back-row forward who has no problem running over opponents, Nhanala is a physical specimen who spent some time in Australia in 2023, playing rugby union in Perth.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
