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Full Noise by SN
Dogs pick their time perfectly to be Vegas drawcards
Scott Bailey, AAP • February 26th, 2026 5:08 pm
It's all smiles in and around the Bulldogs' kennel with a big game in Las Vegas on the horizon | Photo: Mark Kolbe/AAP
Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo has told his players to embrace the spotlight, with the Bulldogs' role as Las Vegas drawcards typifying the rise from NRL cellar dwellers to juggernauts.
The Dogs are widely expected to be the most-supported team at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), with approximately 5000 fans tipped to be travelling to America.
The club also held a signing session on Wednesday night, before the week ramps up with the downtown fan event on Thursday evening.
It was only two years ago Canterbury deemed themselves not ready for Vegas, knowing they didn't yet have a side capable of convincing fans to fly en masse.
As the first matches at Allegiant Stadium kicked off in 2024, Canterbury officials identified 2026 as the ideal year to travel while banking on a big 2025 to build up hype.
"It's come around quickly," Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton told AAP.
"In the last four to five years we've doubled, if not tripled, every part of our business.
"Our crowds have doubled in terms of numbers. I think we're averaging 16,000 back in 2022. Now we're over 31,000 in Sydney and that includes playing at the smaller Belmore."
Close to 60,000 fans turned out for last year's Bulldogs-Panthers semi-final at Accor Stadium | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
With that, though, has come a far harsher scrutiny on the club.
Last year's Lachlan Galvin circus dominated the headlines for months, as Canterbury fell from the top of the ladder to exiting the finals in straight sets.
Phil Gould also attracts as many headlines as he makes in his role as general manager.
"Whether we agree with (the commentary) or not, that's the club we want to be," Ciraldo said.
"We want to be in positions where we're getting talked about and in those pressure environments and that's what we've been building towards.
"It's really important as a club that we just embrace that and understand it comes with the territory now.
"Our players need to embrace that and our club needs to embrace that."
Canterbury lost eight of 16 NRL games after Lachlan Galvin joined mid-season from Wests Tigers | Photo: Darren Pateman/AAP
Ciraldo views this Vegas venture as the natural evolution of Canterbury, after taking over a side who hadn't played finals football in six seasons at the end of 2022.
"Gus (Gould) said a couple of years ago we want to be the No.1 club in rugby league," Ciraldo said.
"And that's been the mantra from the board all the way down. We want to do that in every department."
Canterbury are now in a position where they are not holding off from overseas games, instead open to being part of an NRL global round and eying the US as an option.
"We'd be open to any sort of proposition for a global game," Warburton said.
"It makes sense, and not so much from the destination.
"It's more being able to put your team on the big stage and have as many people that are ever going to watch it back home watch it.
"The numbers have been great, double the eyeballs back home is worth it alone."
