BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis

Less than a month after announcing their historic development academy on the Gold Coast scheduled for September, on Anzac Day no less, the NFL has confirmed its first Australian via the new scheme to head to the United States.

Just when you thought the NRL was chugging along nicely, dusting off old boxes, now being ticked, a new threat has emerged in the monstrous NFL.

Many Australians have tried their hand in gridiron including current Philadelphia Eagles superstar Jordan Mailata but the financially invincible juggernaut that is the NFL is now smashing down the door of the Australian market.

“Football (NFL) has changed my life, and opening an NFL Academy in Australia will no doubt help many more young people change theirs,” said Mailata a few weeks ago.

“The Asia-Pacific region is rich in sporting talent, and I look forward to seeing the next generation of football players out there craft their own pathway to playing in the NFL in the years to come.”

On Tuesday, the New England Patriots released a statement of the signing of four rookies including former Brisbane Broncos junior Jotham Russell – straight out of one of rugby league’s biggest nurseries.

It also doubles as a cap exemption for the Patriots as Russell comes out of the International Pathway Program.

“Russell, 20, is an Australian rugby (league) player who is converting to defensive end. The 6-foot-4, 239-pounder, played for the Currumbin Eagles and Tweed Seagulls under 21 team and was selected for the NFL’s International Player Pathway program,” patriots.com explained.

“Prior to that, he played for the Brisbane Broncos development squad.”

The signing of Russell may not seem like a big deal right now but it could start something far bigger and a much larger concern for the NRL as it searches for fresh markets and untapped nurseries.

Reality is, it isn’t just the NRL trying to stretch its tentacles.

For decades, we have considered the Melbourne-based AFL as the evil empire coming to conquer our lands and have spent millions of dollars, and continue to do so, trying to win hearts and minds in the northern states.

Rugby league has done a great job in private schools against AFL and rugby union for the most part in recent history and kids are seemingly finding the glamour and shiny big lights of the NRL much more appetising but for all NRL’s sexiness – the NFL leaves us for dead.

If the NRL is a supermodel – the NFL is fashion week in New York, Paris, London and Milan all rolled into one.

The New England Patriots signing of a seemingly unknown Broncos junior could change the NRL’s expansion plans in the short-term.

This writer believes the return of the Western Reds, or as the West Coast Pirates, makes the most sense and would be perfect for television and timeslots.

Western Australia also boasts more juniors than Victoria who have had one of the most successful clubs in the NRL for decades in the Melbourne Storm but how many will go on into NRL systems and how much money from head office is going to be needed to develop them quicker?

An Australian Government-funded (us taxpayers) Papua New Guinea side, based out of North Queensland, appears to be the juiciest with the quickest sugar hit for the NRL but what kind of cut-through will a PNG-aligned side do for all those kids in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa dreaming of a direct line into the NRL?

Then there’s talk of the NRL buying the Super League which has struggled to drag itself out of the dark ages and the same clubs on top of the table year-after-year.

Catalans Dragons, based in Perpignan, and Toulouse in France have grown despite swimming upstream against a competition hell-bent on keeping itself a mostly “Northern” code.

Toronto Wolfpack, anyone?

The upside for the NRL is how easy it would be to instil some basic corporate and development structures, grow the Super League and use it as a platform to harvest more players and take brands like State of Origin to places like London, Manchester or even Paris one day.

CEO of Gridiron Australia Wade Kelly has also been very active – jumping on the back of ‘Flag’ Football – an Oztag style version of the NFL – being accepted into the Olympics which is already trickling down into Australian schools.

Beetson Raudonikis Medal 2024 – Round 10

“Another HUGE milestone for Gridiron Australia, as Flag Football has been officially accepted onto the Australian Sports Commissions Sporting Schools Program, starting from Term 3 2024,” Kelly posted on LinkedIn.

“A chance for every single Kindy to Year 8 across Australia, to play the newest Olympic Sport. No doubt some of these very kids will go on to represent Australia in the biggest sporting event of them all!”

The NRL is moving forward in leaps and bounds.

But they need to watch their back.

@woodward_curtis