Eyebrows raised as NRL legend spotted at rival club

Greg Inglis will forever be a Rabbitohs icon, but the sight of the NRL great wearing the colours of a rival club has raised eyebrows.

Greg Inglis looks good in orange. Photo: Nine News.

Greg Inglis has been spotted at Wests Tigers headquarters with the club secretly recruiting the legendary fullback.

The Rabbitohs great was this weekend caught by a camera as he walked into the Tigers’ headquarters in Concord wearing the club’s official training gear.

Vision of the moment was first broadcast on Nine News on Tuesday night, with details of Inglis’ visit now revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald.

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Inglis is reported to have taken up an unofficial position as a mentor to rising star fullback Jahream Bula — who exploded on the scene last year in an otherwise miserable 2023 season for the club.

Greg Inglis previously mentored Latrell Mitchell. Photo: Nine News.

According to the report, the 37-year-old’s position is not considered part of the Tigers’ football department and his role will solely be as a mentor to Bula.

Inglis previously worked as a mentor to Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell when he was part of Wayne Bennett’s South Sydney coaching team in 2020.

Inglis left his coaching role the same year when he came out of retirement to make a return to rugby league with the Warrington Wolves in the UK Super League.

Greg Inglis looks good in orange. Photo: Nine News.

Inglis left the Rabbitohs on good terms and chief executive Blake Solly at the time said he was looking forward to having Inglis back at the club’s Redfern Oval training base when he returned from Warrington.

Former Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson, who has taken over at the Tigers after stakeholders sacked the club’s board of directors last year, has a close relationship with Inglis.

The former Dally M medal winner also has a previous relationship with Bula from their time playing together in the Koori Knockout.

Shane Richardson is close with Greg Inglis from their time at Souths (signed him at Souths).

Bula also has a history with Inglis, having played at the Koori Knockout with him, in an experience that made him want to pursue rugby league pic.twitter.com/a9VUTqJtM5

— NBWT (@NBWT__) January 30, 2024

Aussie rugby league great Laurie Daley on Wednesday morning said it was a smart idea for the Tigers to bring someone in to help guide Bula, who has signed a life-changing long-term contract extension with the Tigers, reportedly valued at $2.7 million.

Daley told Sky Sports Radio: “Now he (Bula) has signed a massive deal with the Tigers. What better player to have as a role model and a mentor than Greg Inglis. He was one of the game’s great fullbacks.”

Originally published as Eyebrows raised as NRL legend spotted at rival club