Canberra playmaker Blake Austin signs deal to play in English Super League with Warrington Wolves
CANBERRA playmaker Blake Austin will see out his career in England after turning down an offer to play for the Parramatta Eels.
NRL
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BLAKE Austin intends to end his rugby league career in the English Super League after inking a three-year deal with Warrington.
The 27-year-old will depart Canberra at the end of the NRL season after being lured to Europe by Wolves coach Steve Price with the promise of prolonging his career.
Austin turned down an offer to return home to western Sydney and sign with Parramatta, a club he supported as a child.
After being discussed as a potential State of Origin player just a few years ago, Austin now looks set to see his out his career in the Super League. Many English fans have expressed their frustrations at Australian players signing with Super League clubs only to request an early release because of homesickness and seek a return to the NRL.
However Austin said he not only had every intention of honouring his deal, which runs until 2021, he envisaged staying there until he hung up his boots. “I’m heading over with the mindset that I don’t want to head back,” Austin said. “I can’t say never and things can change.
“But I’m going over to play good footy and hopefully bring some success to Warrington.
“I think if I went over with any other mindset, I think I might struggle and miss home too much.”
Six weeks ago Austin told his manager that he wanted to remain in the NRL and ruled out going to the Super League however changed his mind after speaking with Price a fortnight ago.
After beginning his career at Penrith and the Wests Tigers, Austin found his feet as a five-eighth after being offered an opportunity by Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and took the side to within one game of the 2016 grand final. He said he gave real thought to linking with the Eels but felt the best opportunity to secure his future was over in the Super League. “A lot of people thought we were looking to get closer to family (in western Sydney),” Austin said.
“(The Eels) were an option and one I considered pretty heavily. I would have been 10 minutes from mum and dad and I supported the club as a kid. “But weighing everything up, I’m really excited about heading to the Super League and seeing what it’s all about.”