Tom Burgess is the last of the Burgess brothers standing at South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Following twin George’s retirement at the back of 2022 it leaves Tom as the last of the four brothers still actively playing, although Sam has returned to Souths in a mentoring and coaching capacity.
The fact that Sam has returned is reportedly one of the reasons why Tom is so keen to get a new contract extension with the Rabbitohs done with his current deal set to expire at the end of this upcoming season.
Fox League are now reporting that an agreement is close despite there being an initial disagreement between the two parties about the length of deal.
There had been suggestions that Tom could return home to England with Leeds Rhinos being a rumoured landing spot but the chatter lately has been that he will remain in Australia, and in particular with Souths.
This came after he said during the World Cup that he would like to play in Super League and spoke about previously being a Leeds Rhinos fan.
However, he’s recently spoke with the media ahead of round one and reaffirmed his desire to stay though many believe that after this contract he will join Leeds or another Super League club.
“It’s going well, I think we’re not too far off getting a deal done to be fair. I’m really positive about hopefully re-signing with Souths,” the prop revealed to the club website.
“Souths have obviously given me a lot, coming over from another country. They’ve been a big part of our family as well and I love it here. I couldn’t imagine myself playing with another club in the NRL.”
Interestingly, Burgess didn’t exclude all other clubs, just any other NRL clubs, which could suggest that a move to Super League may be realistic once this deal he’s negotiating now is finished.
“I just want to try get it sorted now, hopefully get it sorted before Saturday but we’ll see. Sometimes it can take a little bit longer, but I’m really happy to be playing with Souths.”
Burgess is returning fresh off a World Cup in which he made the Team of the Tournament, putting in some hugely impressive shifts as he led the England pack.
On the addition of his brother Sam to the coaching staff he added: “It’s been good to have my big brother back around the place, just personally for me.
“It’s been great to have him in and around the boys, he brings a really good mentality to everyone. He’s that sort of personality that rubs off on people and for me personally it’s just great to have my brother back.”