Canadian forward Megan Pakulis is shown during the Canada Ravens’ 54-4 loss to England at the Rugby League World Cup at DW Stadium in Wigan, England on Nov. 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Touchlinepics-Stephen Gaunt **MANDATORY CREDIT**

The Manly Sea Eagles and Sydney Roosters weren't the only winners when Australia's National Rugby League kicked off its 2024 season with a Las Vegas doubleheader earlier this month

Canadian Megan Pakulis was one of four participants at a NRL combine in Vegas chosen to train with an elite rugby league team in Australia on an all-expenses-paid trip.

Pakulis is scheduled to leave Thursday, with a tentative return date of March 31.

"I'm excited. It's surreal still," Pakulis said.

The NRL features 17 teams, including one in New Zealand. The NRL Women's Premiership or NRLW has 10 sides.

Pakulis has had her eye on playing Down Under for some time.

"I wasn't sure it would be attainable but after the last World Cup, just the feedback I was getting, made me realize it is something that could be attained in the future," she said.

While rugby league, the lesser-known rugby code, has a small presence in Canada, Pakulis has bona-fide credentials.

The 27-year-old from Scarborough, Ont., represented Canada at the 2017 and 2022 Rugby League World Cups, scoring Canada's first-ever try at the tournament. In 2022, the Canada Ravens vice-captain was named to the team of the tournament.

Combine organizers did their homework, identifying and inviting 25 men and 25 women to showcase their skills on the field and in the gym, at the Game Changers Sports Training Center and UFC Performance Institute.

Canada coach Mike Castle, a transplanted Brit who now works for the NRL in Australia as its pathways manager, was involved in the combine and sent the Ravens the application form, via the team's group chat.

"I kind of did it, not really thinking much would come out of it," Pakulis said.

Pakulis was planning to take part in the NRL Nines tournament, another event around the NRL games, as a member of the Ontario Ospreys.

Pakulis is in good company when it comes to the other combine winners, which include Kris Leach, a six-foot-six 247-pound tight end, who spent time in the Denver Broncos training camp as an undrafted free agent. The other male combine winner is Michael Woolridge, who played defensive back at Saginaw Valley State University.

The other woman chosen is U.S. rugby league international MarCaya Bailous.

Participants at the one-day combine went through a variety of tests, with Leach impressing by bench-pressing 150 kilograms three times before doing a single 160-kilogram lift.

Several other Canadians also competed including Petra Woods, Bethany Hofstetter and Tamisha Toussaint, who was invited on the basis of her showing at the nines tournament.

Pakulis was not that optimistic, given she hurt her leg playing in the nines tournament. She was actually at Allegiant Stadium, settling in to watch the NRL doubleheader when Castle pulled her aside and broke the good news.

They went down to the field where Pakulis and the other winners were interviewed and photographed.

The doubleheader drew an announced attendance of40,746 with the NRL looking to bring games to Vegas for the next four years.

"All of that was amazing but just seeing the atmosphere of it and people excited about rugby league, people just talking about it … was really neat," Pakulis said. "Because it's not a huge conversation here right now."

Pakulis is nearing the end of a teaching degree at York University, whose operations have been disrupted by a strike — which has actually helped clear her schedule for the Australian trip. She has put her two part-time jobs on hold.

Pakulis earlier earned her B.Sc. at York in kinesiology, playing rugby union for the Lions. She also played for the Canadian under-20 team and plans to play in Ontario again this summer in the hope of advancing her rugby union career.

A loose forward in rugby league, she plays in the backs in union. A powerful north-south runner who is no fun to tackle, Pakulis is also tenacious in defence.

She believes her strengths lend themselves to rugby league. And the NRL women's league is a big draw.

"There's not a lot of opportunity for professional women in sport and knowing the NRLW has a base that actually treats their women like professionals and gives them what they need to succeed, that is just such a strong pull for me to rugby league."

She has excelled in sports despite suffering a serious neck injury, making a tackle in high school in 2014. A year later, she was told she would never play again. But five months later, she was cleared.

"To be where I am now, I don't take any moment for granted," she said. "I was out of rugby for a year and a half just because of that injury and I know how much I missed it."

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2024

News from © The Canadian Press, 2024