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| Fall 2010 in USA 
Atlantic Cup plans developing to include South Africa this year, along with USA and Jamaica.   
AMNRL Schedule hits the web.....[Summer League]
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NRL USA Tryouts! | |
The open tryouts for the NRL
USA 2010 professional league will be an exciting process in the
identification and recruitment of elite talent throughout America, and
beyond these shores. Athletes from all sporting fields will be
encouraged to showcase their talents in a series of evaluations to
measure; power, speed, agility, stamina, game specific skills, and game
knowledge.
All interested athletes and
players will be obligated to participate in at least one of the series
of tryouts. Tryouts will be located in various cities around America
which will allow candidates to participate in a tryout that is closest
to them. For example, tryout locations will be setup in cities in the
Northeast, West, Midwest, and Southeast that are easily accessible.
Whilst the interest from
foreign based professional rugby players is tremendous, the NRL USA
want to emphasize that ALL players must be registered in the tryout
process to be eligible to be selected to the Final Pre Draft Camp to
enter the Inaugural NRL USA Draft.
Information will be announced
soon regarding tryout locations, to give all interested players the
opportunity to make plans to attend the tryout best suited to them.
Athletes will also be
encouraged to prepare by joining AMNRL teams in the 2009 season, and
not only develop their skills but also be noticed by league scouts in
weekly competition.
Player applications and
expressions of interest can be registered through a system that will be
available on the NRL USA website soon. Submit interest! Inquire here
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Rugby league's development push will take a significant step next year
as it tries to break the USA with the launch of the professional NRL US.
The
current competition in the States, the AMNRL, will form the bulk of the
players for the ambitious project, which is underway.
Throughout
2009, a series of tryouts will be held to find players suitable for the
NRL draft, where 176 players will be selected for eight professional
teams with 22 man fulltime playing rosters. The draft is schedules for
November 7, with pre-draft camps in October.
And in the coming
months, NRL US will announce television partnerships, team owners, team
head coaches, team locations and a reality TV series.
But what does this mean for rugby league on the whole?
The
Rugby Football League has been responsible for developing the game in
this country and beyond in recent years, successfully integrating a
French team in to Super League. Live Super League will be played in
five countries this season (Scotland, England, Wales, France and Spain).
But
an alternative professional competition to SL and the NRL is a must.
America is the most interesting choice. While rugby will never be the
preferred option to the NFL, NHL, NBA and more, it can become popular.
It has similarities to the NFL, whose season only runs from September
through to February. There is potential for rugby league to fill the
summer void. The plan is to run the season from March 12 to June 11,
with the championship final on July 4.
Having another
professional league provides yet more opportunities for players. USA
will have to rely on English and Australian imports to improve the
quality of their league, but what they don't want to do is become
flooded with imports. However, a big name signing here and there, and
maybe the NRL US can follow the slow but steady growth of Major League
Soccer.
If a suitable model can be developed in the US, maybe other countries will follow suit.
The
plans are ambitious. Very ambitious. With the season only a year away,
we still do not know where teams will be playing. But if rugby league
had more of this ambition, then maybe professional leagues could be
established elsewhere.
It will be interesting to see how the NRL
US experiment goes, and I wonder if we'll ever see a competitive US
national side on the horizon? Who knows, but the NRL US development is
an exciting one. |
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