Off-contract Rabbitohs forward Sam Burgess remains unsigned as speculation continues to build about his future.
The Roosters defeated the Rabbitohs today 18-14 to climb to the top of the ladder, and Burgess was asked on Thursday if he would consider joining his team's biggest rival.
“Erm, no. I don’t think so," he told The Daily Telegraph.
“And that’s not being disrespectful. The Roosters, they’re obviously a big club. But, no ... I’d struggle.
“Plus Russell (Crowe) would probably shoot me.”
The star forward declared he won't follow in the footsteps of many Rabbitohs players before him and leave the club for a larger pay check.
“I’m pretty confident I’ll be staying at Souths for a while,” Burgess said.
“I’m just waiting until the end of the year, until after I play the season out.
“This club has been great to me and my family and I think that works both ways in some capacity. We’ll get a deal done.”
Asked how well he understands the rivalry between the Sydney teams, the Englishman said he learnt about it quickly.
“Well, it was my first game in the NRL — the Roosters at ANZ Stadium — so pretty quick.
“Russell and I also spent a lot of time together back then, so he was drip-feeding me the history.
“And the more time you spend in the local community, the more you understand what it means to people. This game on Friday will be no different.
“In saying that, though, I am an Englishman so I don’t get too carried away with it.
“I think it’s cool. And the way supporters really get behind the rivalry, that’s fantastic.
“But emotionally I want to do my job ... hopefully that’s enough for the fans.”
But surely he must have a favoured rival from over the fence?
“Dylan Napa’s actually got me a few times. But that’s all right, it’s football.
“There’s always some sort of collision or storyline coming out of these games.
“But I don’t go in thinking about that. We’ll see what happens.”
Burgess added that he has not signed a new deal yet because he simply "doesn't need it now."
“I’ve got a job to do and that’s playing football.
“I don’t want to be talking about contracts four weeks out from the finals. I’ve got a lot of other stuff going on in my life so that’s something I don’t need.
“I mean, I’ve literally done a deal where I’ve walked past Ritcho (Souths GM Shane Richardson), he’s said ‘this is where we’re at and’ I’ve shook his hand.
“Said ‘yeah, all right, we’ll fix it up later’. I’m pretty relaxed to do a deal with.”