Melbourne Storm's director of football, Frank Ponissi, has expressed his disappointment in the NRL's decision to exclude them from the 2026 Las Vegas contingent.
On Wednesday, the league confirmed that the Bulldogs, Dragons, Knights and Cowboys will head to Sin City next year.
The Storm are now one of five teams yet to make the trip stateside, along with the Tigers, Dolphins, Titans and Eels.
Ponissi has labelled the decision a "kick in the guts" for his club.
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He feels it is also a blow to rugby league as a whole in Victoria.
"I can’t sugar-coat it, it was a kick in the guts for the club and the game down here in Victoria," Ponissi said on SEN.
"Given the profile of the game and the media surrounding it and the way it’s started, it would have been fantastic.
"To miss out again is disappointing for the club and the game in Victoria.
"We’ve just got to swallow our pride and not feel sorry for ourselves because we’ve got more important things to worry about this year.
"It would’ve been nice, but we can’t dwell on it, and we’ve got to move on and make sure we have a really good Origin period over the next six weeks.
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It's Ponissi's understanding that the NRL were prioritising sending a trio of NSW outfits and at least one Queensland team.
The league has not provided an official reasoning.
Since their inception in 1998, Melbourne have gone on to become one of the most consistent sporting sides in Australia.
They are growing in popularity too, recording multiple sell-outs already this season.
"I think they [the NRL] were keen to get a Queensland team and the three NSW teams," Ponissi added.
"We’re not going to agree with everything from the NRL, and whatever the decision is, but the most important thing is we got the decision the other day.
"We’re disappointed, and we’ve moved on. It’s fish and chip paper."