With the Raiders beginning to cultivate a little England of sorts in the nation's capital, we have decided to look back at the top five players to transition from the Super League to the superior NRL. While the last few years have seen some Englishmen not live up to the hype after arriving in the NRL, such as Lee Mossop, Sam Tomkins, and the supposed English SBW Andre Savelio, the men listed below are on the opposite end of the scale. With a few of them even set to go down as greats at their club.
I have decided to profile players who made the switch after the NRL era (1998-present) began, as well as only picking players who have transitioned from the Super League across to the NRL. Which excludes St George Illawarraโs Gareth Widdop, who came through the junior systems at the Melbourne Storm.
1. Sam Burgess
After debuting for the Bradford Bulls at the tender age of 17 and forging a reputation for himself as a hard man after his massive shoulder charge on Kiwis prop Fuifui Moimoi while still only 19, Sam Burgess was one of the most sought-after forwards on the market in 2009.
After some stringent negotiations and a request from Burgess himself, Bradford gracefully agreed to release him from the final year of his contract after negotiating a compensation fee with the South Sydney Rabbitohs for his transfer. The Bunnies would then go on to sign the man known as Slammin' Sam to a four-year contract.
Following his arrival in Australia, not even the most devout Souths fan or Englishmen would have predicted the career that the Dewsbury junior has gone on to have in the red and green of Souths.
While he had a shaky start, suffering numerous injuries and regularly featuring on the match review committees charge sheet, Burgess got over those slight bumps in the road and has gone onto cement himself as not only one of the best English forwards to ever play in the NRL, but one of the best forwards to play in the NRL full stop.
While there was a slight mid-career blip in the form of a sojourn with English rugby union side Bath, we will forgive big Sam and not discuss that mistake any further.
Having feature 164 times for his beloved Rabbitohs since coming down under, Burgess has cemented himself as a leader and icon in Redfern having captained Souths in 2017 in Greg Inglis' absence, as well as England in the latest edition of the Rugby League World Cup.
After breaking his cheekbone in the first play of the 2014 NRL Grand Final against the Bulldogs, Burgess etched himself into South Sydney folklore by playing on and assisting his team to their first premiership in 43 years. He was also awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for the best player on the ground.
Premiership aside, Burgess has year in, year out displayed himself to be one of the finest forwards to ever grace a rugby league field. Consistently winning the battle of the middle almost single-handedly, as well as regularly taking on the arduous task of stopping his opposing teamsโ gun forward.
Burgess also possesses the rare ability for a forward to change a game, whether that be with a big tackle or barnstorming run. Big Sam will certainly go down as one of the finest forwards to ever lace a boot.
Where’s Jordan Turner?
Adrian Morley was more dominant than the three Burgess Brothers put together๐ช๐คฃ๐—–๐ฑ