“What they don’t understand is that in order to do all those things they want us to do, we need revenue,” he said.

“If you have limited amounts of revenue, you can’t do it all. They want us to spend here, spend there, spend everywhere, but you need the money to be able to spend. We’re trying to generate the money first. People say, ‘Help the bush, help grassroots’, but we only have a limited amount of money.

“It’s like a household budget. You put a bit aside for a rainy day, you pay all your bills – which is the clubs and the players – then if you need more money, you get a second job. This is our second job; going into the biggest market in the world.”

Also revealed in the anonymous poll, set to be published in this masthead before the opening round starts in Australia, is a desire from most clubs to take part in games in the US. Most (59 per cent) put their hand up to play a match in the US, with the Panthers and Raiders among the front runners.

The Panthers have requested to play in Las Vegas because they are expected to be without a home ground in 2025 while their stadium is renovated. The Raiders have synergy with the local NFL team, the Las Vegas Raiders.

The teams in the US have experienced plenty of issues regarding venues and logistics. They have been sharing their knowledge with rival clubs, and believe next year will be a smoother experience for those involved.

“We’ll debrief immediately following the event and look at making it bigger and stronger,” NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.

“There’ll be a formal process and we’ll mirror what we did last time with set criteria and ask clubs what they can bring and how it can work.

“We want to finalise it relatively quickly. The longer we can give fans time to plan and get good deals, the better it is for them. It will also help the clubs with planning.”

The NRL this week ticked over the 30,000 mark for tickets sold at Allegiant Stadium.

Club bosses were asked how many tickets needed to be sold for the venture to be given a pass mark in the inaugural season. Most believed 40,000 was the magic number. A total of 85 per cent of respondents would be happy with anything between 25,000 and 40,000.

It appears unlikely the crowd will top 50,000 in the 65,000-seat venue that hosted the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers a fortnight ago.

Mitchell touched by Indigenous exchange

An emotional Latrell Mitchell was touched by a special welcome ceremony performed by the Indigenous people of the Kumeyaay Nation on Friday.

The Kumeyaay is a tribe that lives on the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the US. Members of the tribe were invited to training by South Sydney’s chief operating officer, Brock Schaefer.

Councilman Jamie LaBrake from the Kumeyaay Nation addressed the group and spoke about his gratitude to the players and club for respecting them and inviting their people to perform a welcome ceremony at their training base at the University of California San Diego.

“We are so grateful that the Indigenous people of Australia have come here to our homeland, and we pay our respect and gratitude to their people,” LaBrake said.

“Our people have not always been afforded this type of reception, a gratitude from an Indigenous people. In fact, the state of California, the government of the US, always tried to dehumanise our people.

“For a long time our ancestors have fought with courage, resilience and strength to keep our culture together. By this enactment, by you coming here, you have lit our spirit. You have fed our souls and our spirit and happiness that no other people from this country has done. We’re ever so grateful.”

The women, including Miss Kumeyaay Nation, Harmony Sweetgrass, also performed a traditional welcome dance. Mitchell presented them with a didgeridoo and gifts from South Sydney, including the club’s Indigenous jersey worn by the fullback.

“The welcome is everything. It cleanses everything,” Mitchell said.

“It allows us to come in spiritually. Not a lot of people would know that. Thank you to the Kumeyaay people. Mate, honestly, that whole welcome just made me feel like home and missing home. I’m very, very grateful. It was just awesome, the experience.

“I was sitting there closing my eyes for a bit and you get this feeling. It’s something you can’t explain. I’m very proud. It’s a lot of emotion and pride going through me. I really love that stuff. It fills my cup up. That’s why the All Stars was so great.”

At the conclusion of the event, LaBrake asked Schaefer to pass on his appreciation for the way the club and players conducted themselves, saying he and his people were so impressed they were contemplating a trip to Las Vegas to watch them play Manly.

Big break for Souths stars

Aussie big wave surfer and South Sydney fan Mark Mathews caught up with a few of the players and coaching staff in San Diego.

Mathews, a Bra Boy and friend of coaching staff member John Sutton, joined the team for a surf at Oceanside during the week.

Mathews is a big rugby league fan and spoke to the NSW Blues a couple of years ago as a guest of former coach Brad Fittler.