Thomas Burgess has confirmed he will remain at the South Sydney Rabbitohs until at least the end of the 2024 NRL season.
Despite reports in the middle of last year that the English representative might have been forced out of the Burrow at the end of 2023, the club confirmed this afternoon that he has signed a one-year extension.
One of South Sydney's most important players, Burgess has made comments in recent times that he wants to stay with the club where he has found an Australian home, and he has now got his wish.
The 30-year-old, who was born in Dewsbury, regularly churns out big numbers for the cardinal and myrtle, and following the departure of Mark Nicholls during the off-season, is now in a paired forward leadership role with Junior Tevita Tatola.
Burgess brings considerable experience to the Rabbitohs, being a veteran of 211 NRL games since his arrival at Redfern in 2013, to go with another 45 games he played for the Bradford Bulls in the English Super League during the formative years of his career, having debuted before his 20th birthday in that competition.
In addition to his club exploits, Burgess has played 29 Tests for England and another four for Great Britain during the brief reunion of the Lions side in 2019.
The experienced prop said he was "over the moon" to be adding more time to his tenure at Redfern.
โI'm over the moon to be extending my time with Souths. It's a very special Club and I'm honoured to wear the colours every day," Burgess said in an official club statement.
"Souths has been a big part of my family since moving to Australia. I couldn't envisage myself playing for any other Club in Australia.
โIt's great to be going around for another year for our Members and fans.
โThis is a special place and we can certainly do some special things for our supporters in the next few years.โ
The signing makes it likely that Burgess will go past 250 games for the Rabbitohs, which could see him become the club's second-most capped player, only second to John Sutton. He needs just another 21 games to go past the current second-placed holder in Adam Reynolds.
