Huddersfield Giants have shocked the rugby league world after announcing the signing of England and NRL star Tom Burgess on a three-year contract. Burgess, an NRL champion with South Sydney Rabbitohs, has agreed to join the Super League club after more than a decade down under.
The deal is ahead of the 2025 season, with Burgess to spend the current season with South Sydney Rabbitohs, the club where he has played since the beginning of 2013. The 31-year-old, who has played 33 times for England and Great Britain, joins a club just a stone's throw away from his birthplace. Born in Dewsbury, Burgess began his career at Bradford Bulls but will now move to the Giants.
It's a move that will go down as a significant surprise across the world. While a return to Super League has been mooted for some time, the fact his elder brother, Sam Burgess, is now coach of Warrington left many to believe he would link up with him at the Wire should he ever return to the UK. Previously, Burgess has also namechecked Leeds Rhinos and Catalans Dragons as potential clubs of interest.
It was less than a fortnight ago since Burgess said he would 'love' to sign a new contract with his current club. “I’d love to stay at Souths," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I’d love to keep the dream alive, so that’s my first priority. I’ve been fortunate to stay at Souths so long, and all I want to do is keep playing consistently well for Souths while I’m here."
Now, he is a Giants player. “This is a huge transfer, not just for the Giants, but for Super League and the game in general," head coach Ian Watson said. "With the stature of Thomas and what he’s achieved in his career to be consistently one of the best front rowers within the game, we’re absolutely delighted for him to become a Giant in 2025.”, said Watson, who is sponsored by KP Motors.
“You only have to look at his career, winning the NRL and consistently being one of the best within the international game, we’ve been on the lookout for a big middle, and Thomas fits the profile of what we’ve been searching for, it’s also great to have another English middle in our pack.
“We heard that Tom may be available within the next year or so, so we touched base, and I had a conversation with him just about Rugby for about an hour, and then received a call from his agent notifying me that he would be interested in joining the Giants, it moved quick from there really.
“I know him from the Lions tour, and I saw then first-hand the standards he sets himself, and how he applies himself in training and during games, it’s what we’re looking for at the Giants, he fits our culture and the future we’re going for here, we want our young players to learn from the very best and we’re getting that in Thomas.
“There was interest in Super League for him, but he wanted to come here, and the three-year deal gives his family security, and he’s moving close to where it all started for him at Bradford.”
Giants Managing Director Richard Thewlis added: “This move needed to be early given the reputation, ability and standing of Thomas in the game. It’s an enormous coup for us to bring him back to Huddersfield where it all started for him several years ago.
“We missed him as an academy player with him choosing the Bulls who at the time were amongst the game’s dominant forces but It’s simply wonderful that he wants to come back to England and more importantly for us to Huddersfield having grown up just down the road in Dewsbury.
“Players of this quality in their prime - which Thomas is - and was amply demonstrated recently in the test series against Tonga don’t become available very often but for us the stars aligned at the right time, and we were quickly able to secure his signature.
“I’d expect this to be huge news for a couple of days and then both parties move on to the immediate priority. For ourselves it's preparing for the Betfred Super League opener at Leigh and for Thomas its preparing for another great season at Souths.
“We thank the Souths club for their assistance in making this announcement and in particular CEO Blake Solly who is well known to the English Super League. We’ll then meet up with Thomas and his family and begin our journeys together in November of this year.”
