If the NRL miss out on Donald Trump attending the Las Vegas season-opener, at least they can take heart knowing they already have Nathan Cleary and Nicho Hynes as their ambassadors.

“The NFL had one Tom Brady – we’ve got two Tom Bradys with Nathan and ‘Nicho’,” ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys said referencing superstar quarterback Brady who won seven Super Bowls.

Hynes and Cleary posed for countless photos with well-wishers at Sydney airport on Thursday as Penrith and the Cronulla Sharks and Penrith Panthers departed for the US.

The playmakers are among the most popular in the NRL, but the interest is set to follow them to the other side of the globe.

Hynes appeared on a New York radio program last weekend to promote the NRL in Vegas, and is expected to appear on US morning show KTLA. next week. He also helped promote the game last August on US NBC.

Penrith officials confirmed Cleary, the four-time premiership winner arguably rated the best player in the game, has received more than 40 media requests from journalists and TV crews from Australia, America, various outlets from the Pacific Islands, as well as England and even France.

The NRL had no shortage of headline names representing four heavyweight clubs last year, and know how vital Cleary and Hynes are to making the second edition of Vegas a success.

“You wouldn’t meet two nicer people than those two – they’re not only champion players, they are two great blokes,” V’landys said.