While rugby league has been played in the United States since 1954, with Australia and New Zealand playing games there on their return from the Rugby League World Cup in France, serious attempts to start the sport in the United States began only in the late 1970s.

During this time the sports had no fixed rules, and were particularly popular in universities and college preparatory schools in the Northeastern United States.

Amateur status for players in these towns was therefore not just financially difficult, but also physically demanding due to the nature of their work.

[citation needed] In June 1939, the RFL made plans to send a delegation out to California but were unable to do so due to the outbreak of World War II.

[citation needed] One of the earliest attempts to introduce rugby league to the United States was in 1953, when Mike Dimitro, a wrestling promoter and former UCLA football all star and NFL Rams player (1947 draft), was asked to organize a tour of Australasia by an American rugby league side.

[citation needed] Mike Dimitro was still optimistic of developing the game in the United States, but his bid to host a Rugby League World Cup in the 1960s failed.

In 1986 a new competition, the Tri-Counties Rugby League, was established with three teams in Canada and one from the United States, the New York state-based Adirondacks club.

The result of this match was not to be included in official statistics, but in recent years the New South Wales Rugby League and media organizations based in that state have added the win to their tally.

The following year he was involved in promoting an exhibition game between the English teams the Wigan Warriors and the Warrington Wolves at County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

He also attempted to launch League in the U.S. and convinced the RFL to send an Ireland Team to the U.S. for St. Patrick's Day matches in 1995 and 1996.

In 1992 former St George Dragons player David Niu moved to Philadelphia and began to introduce rugby league to the Glen Mills Schools, where he was employed as a teacher.

Soon after, he was contacted by Morgan and they set about building a U.S. national team with Niu as player coach to compete in international tournaments for the first time.

The domestic competition kicked off in 1998 and was contested by six team; the Glen Mills Bulls (later the Aston Bulls), the New Jersey Sharks (later the Bucks County Sharks), the New York Broncos (later the New York Knights), the Philadelphia Bulldogs (now the Philadelphia Fight), the Boston Storm, and the Pennsylvania Raiders, with Glen Mills winning the inaugural championship.

However, a dispute involving the British Rugby Football League led to financial difficulties and internal strife within the USRL.

[citation needed] In 2005, an exhibition match was played in Phoenix, Arizona, to help promote rugby league outside the heartland.

Another founder member, the Bucks County Sharks, suspended operations in 2010, while the Pittsburgh Vipers were added.

[16] In November 2010 the U.S. announced a strategic plan to grow the sport in the country with grass roots development, expansion and world cup qualification in sight.

[18] The departing clubs were New Haven Warriors, Jacksonville Axemen, Philadelphia Fight, Boston Thirteens, Pittsburgh Sledgehammers, Washington DC Slayers and Fairfax Eagles.

The New Jersey Turnpike Titans and Rhode Island Rebellion[19] were new teams that came into being as a result of the USA Rugby League's formation and served as founding clubs to the new competition.

In retribution, the AMNRL used its position as the RLIF sanctioned U.S. body to overlook any USARL affiliated players from selection for U.S. national representative football.

This enticed several players to abandon their local USARL club in the hope of representing the national team, such as Apple Pope.

[26] In August 2023, Australia's National Rugby League competition signed a 5 year contract to host matches at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada every March.

The Chicago Stockyarders team had announced it would be embarking on a full exhibition schedule for 2011, and had future plans to join the AMNRL.

[37][38] An inaugural season was planned for 2021 but was deferred until 2022 due to increased health and safety needs regarding COVID-19 and insurance and travel costs.

A pre-season game was played in June and an announced start for September for the competition with even more reduced sides.

AYRLA has formed a partnership with Rugby League Clubs in the U.S. most Notably the Rhode Island Rebellion and the Philadelphia Fight, in efforts to launch youth competitions and clinics in schools and towns, utilizing players coaches and administrators of local club's to run the day to day programs.