Matt Adamson spent nine years with the Penrith Panthers but as a 10th season beckoned, Leeds Rhinos offered him the chance to come to England.
“It was quite interesting I had agreed to terms verbally with Penrith to take on my 10th year,” Adamson told Serious About Rugby League previously.
“After 10 years of NRL with one club is a big deal, you get a lifetime membership so I was pretty excited but also a bit disappointed because that year we came last and I couldn’t see a forward future for the club and I felt we needed a clear out.
“The day I agreed to those terms verbally, I didn’t sign anything, Gary rang out of the blue. I don’t remember how he got my number and he said ‘I want you to come to Leeds.’
“I’d played Origin that year and he told me a bit about the club. I remember watching the St Helens, Wigans, and Widnes but I wasn’t in tune with who Leeds were, I didn’t know much about them except that my former test teammates Bradley Clyde and Brett Mullins had been there the year before.
“What I loved about Gary was, he said ‘If you want to come to Leeds, here’s your contract. If you don’t, that’s okay I’ll find someone else. I liked that approach because what I think that meant was ‘we believe in our club and our future and we want you to be part of it.’”
He spent a few brilliant years at Headingley where the club stole his heart.
He was a part of the squad that ended Leeds’ 32-year wait for a Championship.
Adamson is now an agent but has worked as a coach at Catalans Dragons and Melbourne Storm in the past.
He has also been begging Gary Hetherington to return to Leeds: “My dream was to win a Challenge Cup, I still have at that dream now to do it in some capacity as a coach or whatever it may be.
“It’s still in my heart to be part of a winning Challenge Cup team.
“I’ve been begging Gary for 20 years to come back but every time the opportunity comes up, things fall over at the last minute. But who knows.”
Serious About Rugby League now understands that Adamson is keen on coaching in the UK whether it be in Super League or the Championship.
So, should any club part company with their current coach, they have a ready made forward thinking option with plenty of links to exciting talent.
