Jansin Turgut has been through a lot in recent years.
The former Hull FC and Salford Red Devils man sustained life-threatening injuries following a fall from a car park in Ibiza, fracturing his spine, broke his pelvis, both legs and knees and had facial reconstruction after breaking every breaking every bone in his face during the third story fall at the end of the 2019 season.
The 26-year-old toured Australia in 2019 with the Hull FC squad that played Wigan in an historic Super League match at WIN Stadium and St George Illawarra in a double-header, in which South Sydney also hosted Wigan and would register 42 appearances for both Salford and the Black and Whites.
After captaining Turkey in the 2018 Emerging Nations World Cup, Turgut joined the nation’s coaching staff last year and returned to the professional field in the ANZAC Day match against the Australian Defence Force at the SCG.
Turkish Brothers🇹🇷💯🩸 pic.twitter.com/INZMcfWQLY
— J T🇹🇷 (@jansinturgut) April 25, 2022
Turkish Rugby League Association president, Gurol Yildiz, said Turgut is one of four players who have travelled from England and Germany to join Turkish players based in Australia for the match, which was live-streamed on NRL.com.
“It is so unique, it has to become an annual event,” Yildiz said. “This is a true ANZAC Day game that brings Turks and Australians together, so it is wonderful. Hopefully one day we can have the New Zealanders involved too.”
“We have got two players from the UK and two from Germany, who have come out for the ANZAC Day match,” Yildiz continued.
“Jansin Turgut, who played for Hull and Salford, will be playing. He has been through a lot but he is back now and he has a wonderful story about all the challenges he has gone through.
“We had some others wanting to make the trip but they are all amateurs so it is difficult for them to come until we can get a lot more commercial interest to upscale it.”
And, now Turgut has spoken to NRL.com about his desires to return to Super League, saying: ““I have had some interest from some semi-professional clubs in the Championship clubs and League One, but I am just enjoying my life and playing rugby league again,” Turgut told NRL.com.
“I fell out of love with rugby league – I didn’t enjoy the game, I didn’t enjoy my life. My lifestyle at the time wasn’t very good and my mental wellbeing wasn’t very good.
“I have managed to turn that all around now and I feel that I am heading in the right direction to get my rugby league back on track. I have gone and got a trade, and I am enjoying paying to play again at an amateur level.
“I think getting a lot of game time and mileage in the legs is good and hopefully some clubs will come sniffing again. I would love to be at a Super League club again and I have definitely got aspirations to do that and go all the way.”
