The official announcement may still be a day away, but Bulldogs powerbroker Phil Gould has already let the cat out of the bag; he’s booked his ticket to Las Vegas for 2026.
The NRL is set to unveil the four teams heading to Allegiant Stadium next season, with the Bulldogs strongly tipped to be among them. While club CEO Aaron Warburton insists nothing’s confirmed just yet, Gould has made his intentions crystal clear.
“I know Aaron hasn’t booked his ticket, but I have,” the Bulldogs football boss told reporters, adding that the club is committed to giving its fans a global experience.
MORE: Bulldogs gun backed for Origin debut
A bold plan to go big on the world stage
Gould, who travelled to Vegas for this year’s event, believes the spectacle is the perfect opportunity to elevate the Bulldogs’ brand internationally.
“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),” he said.
“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.”
Warburton, meanwhile, played down the early excitement, albeit with a wink.
“We haven’t booked,” he laughed. “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.”