Tom Burgess can still remember driving down to London with his mother, Julie, and meeting with Russell Crowe on the set of Les Misérables to discuss joining his three brothers at South Sydney.
Sam, Luke and twin George were already in Australia, and Tom was ready to test himself if the Gladiator wanted him. Or on this occasion, Inspector Javert.
It was 2012, and Crowe could only offer Tom a one-year deal. And it was fair to assume Crowe would not have envisaged at that moment that Tom would last the longest of the quartet at Souths, with the famous Burgess name to feature for the last time on Friday night against the Sydney Roosters.
The Burgess boys have been associated with Souths for 15 seasons, won a premiership, played the first of six games together in 2013, and will finish with a combined 631 NRL games in the red and green, as Tom takes up a three-year deal with Huddersfield in the Super League.
But back to that meeting with Rusty in London.
“I was with Bradford at the time, Wigan and Shaun Lane had offered me a deal, but I went to meet Russell who was like, ‘If you want to come, we’ll make it happen, but you’ll have to take a punt on a one-year deal’,” Burgess told this masthead.
The final hop: Tom Burgess at his final South Sydney captain’s run with wife Tahlia and newborn son, Alfie Credit: Kate Geraghty/SMH
“We met him in London, we watched him film a scene, we chatted about everything, and then did a handshake deal. Russell is big on handshake deals. He told me if you work hard, you’ll get more years. And he was true to his word.
“It all started with Sam. I’m just privileged to sign off on behalf of the Burgesses.”
Tom, who is 15 minutes older than twin George, revealed his late father Mark had travelled to Australia in the 1970s as a ‘ten pound Pom’. Mark was based in Adelaide but soon returned to England because his father struggled with work. However, he always urged his four boys to try their luck in Australia, where the league was elite.
“Dad was always adamant to us that if we got the chance, we should go to Australia and play league because it was massive here,” Burgess said.
The Burgess clan – Sam, Luke, Julie, George and Tom – celebrate Souths’ premiership in 2014.Credit: Getty Images
“That stuck in our minds. It definitely stuck in Sammy’s mind because when dad passed, his first thought was to get over here and was like, ‘Right, get me on a plane to Australia’. He ended up waiting a few years. But had dad stayed, we could have been Aussies.”
For the record, Tom became an Australian citizen in 2019. He has three children with his wife Tahlia: daughters Sophie and Elodie, and four-week-old son, Alfie.
Alfie was asleep in Tahlia’s arms when a small number of loyal – and patient – fans applauded Burgess as he walked off Heffron Park one final time on Thursday.
Julie Burgess, the matriarch of the famous family, said she had mixed emotions contemplating the end of the Rabbitohs’ Burgess era. “I’m a bit sad, and I’m a bit nervous that it’s all coming to an end,” she said.
“I’ve spent all my life in Australia going to nearly every Souths game. I can’t imagine what it will be like not having a Burgess on the Souths team list. It will be different. It will be so weird. I will really miss it.
Tom Burgess farewells fans at training on ThursdayCredit: Kate Geraghty/SMH
“There have been some ups and downs with the boys, but it’s been a fantastic ride.”
Julie said Tom was the most laid-back of the boys, had an excellent ability to rap – he knows every word to Kanye songs – and cooked spaghetti bolognaise for the family the night before most home games.
The 2014 premiership with Sam, George and Tom is a highlight, but impossible to split from the night Luke joined the other three brothers for a game against the Tigers, Julie said. In the final minutes, the four Burgess boys took all five hit-ups in one set.
Tom scored a memorable try against the Tigers last year, which was only awarded after Souths thought Luke Brooks had scored at the other end of the field.
Burgess, 32, flirted with an NFL move and almost joined the New Zealand Warriors early in his career. He will return to Australia after completing his three-year deal with Huddersfield.
He said he had not been upset with the way Sam was moved on from the coaching staff at the end of last year.
When trying to explain how he always kept calm, he cited some wisdom from Wayne Bennett. “Wayne always said a rocking chair gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere’, which meant it was pointless being uptight, and you just have to roll with it.”
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