Cowboys coach Paul Green is worried Jason Taumalolo will impress during his NFL trials

COWBOYS coach Paul Green fears Jason Taumalolo could be lost to rugby league if the reigning Dally M Medallist stuns scouts in his hit-and-run NFL trial.

Cowboys coach Paul Green is worried Jason Taumalolo will be lost to the game.

COWBOYS coach Paul Green fears Jason Taumalolo could be lost to rugby league if the reigning Dally M Medallist stuns scouts in his hit-and-run NFL trial.

Taumalolo and Maroons Origin hopeful Valentine Holmes touched down in the US on Tuesday to prepare for Saturday’s audition before an army of NFL scouts.

The Cowboys and Holmes’ Cronulla club signed paperwork permitting the pair to undergo NFL testing on the proviso they return to fulfil their NRL contracts next season.

Green is fully supportive of Taumalolo’s desire to explore his athletic potential in America, but admits the Cowboys may be powerless to stop an NFL poaching raid.

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Jason Taumalolo with his 2016 Dally M Medal.

“What I am worried about is that we could lose him from the club and our game,” Green said.

“I’m not concerned about him getting injured over there. Jason is a big lad, so I’m not concerned about his welfare, he will handle that, but it’s a chance for Jason to learn a new sport.

“If he is going there to do some testing, the risk you run is that he impresses the NFL scouts and they will want to recruit him.

“We could have stopped him if we wanted to, but what are we going to gain out of that? He’s only going to have the shits with us.

“Obviously we don’t want to lose Jase, but it’s something that has nagged away at him ... so it’s best to let him have that experience.”

While Taumalolo and Holmes’ gridiron experience will be restricted to a non-contact, 24-hour testing day in Los Angeles, the NFL’s interest is genuine.

When the NFL issued an official circular notifying its 32 clubs that two NRL players will be arriving for testing, five outfits — including Seattle and San Diego — lodged their interest.

Taumalolo is the one current NRL star with the size, power, explosivity and speed to impress NFL scouts, but Green believes the Kiwi wrecking ball could be wasted in gridiron.

“I wouldn’t want to see Jase be the No. 48 guy on a 52-man roster because there’s three other blokes like him,” Green said.

Jason Taumalolo in action for the Kiwis during the Four Nations final.

“There’s no way he will get as much ball (as he does in rugby league).

“You look at Jarryd Hayne, I really admire what he did but he didn’t make an impact on the game over there and he was one of rugby league’s best when he went over there.

“Now he’s back in rugby league which is great. One of our superstars left and I hope that’s not the case with Jason.”

Green said he has not spoken to Taumalolo about his NFL experiment, with the Cowboys coach only learning of the trip last week via the forward’s manager.

“I don’t know how serious it is,” he said. “He obviously has some interest in it and it’s in the back of his mind that he wants to test himself in America and see where he is at.

“I know Jason watches American Football. There’s a few boys here that are into NFL, you hear them talking at training a few times about it.

“From the club’s point of view, we would love to see Jason back here ... but we’ll see what happens.”

Originally published as Cowboys coach Paul Green is worried Jason Taumalolo will impress during his NFL trials