For the first time, Scottish international and overseas utility Joe Wardle has reflected on his time in the NRL with the Newcastle Knights.
Now 32, Wardle found himself playing with the Knights in the 2017 NRL season after becoming one of the best overseas talents in the Super League.
However, while Wardle agreed to a three-year contract with the Knights at the time, his tenure at the club would only last one season and 17 games before he returned home to England due to homesickness.
Playing under Nathan Brown, his time in the NRL would see him play off the interchange bench and start in the centres and second-row and also score four tries.
A stalwart of the Super League and RFL Championships, he has unfortunately struggled with consistency since departing Australia and, previously, the Huddersfield Giants.
The 32-year-old would reflect on his time in the NRL and revealed that he would recommend a move to Australia for any rugby league player, admitting it was the highlight of his career.
โGoing to Australia is something everyone wants to do as rugby player. So being able to achieve that will be the highlight of my career," Wardle told League Expressย on his time in the NRL with the Newcastle Knights.
โThe lifestyle is amazing, but I think looking back it was just the wrong club at the time of my career.
"There was too much of rebuild going on at Newcastle and looking back I needed more of a balanced club.
โBut even with that, I still don't regret it and I'd tell anyone to give it a go. It's just a totally different style game over there so without trying it you'll never know if it's for you or not.โ
Recently, his younger brother Jacob Wardle was linked with a potential move to the NRL before agreeing to a five-year contract extension with the Wigan Warriors to remain in England.
A one-timeย Super League winner, centre Jacob Wardle was selected in the 2023 Super Leagueย Dream Team and was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy for his man-of-the-match performance in the Grand Final - theย Super Leagueย equivalent of the Clive Churchill Medal.
He has also played over 100ย Super Leagueย games and has representedย Englandย on the international level twice.
Before signing a contract extension, it was understood that several NRL teams were interested in recruiting him from Wigan after impressing in the club's 2024 World Club Challenge victory over the Penrith Panthers.
