During their playing careers, the four brothers—Sam, George, Luke, and Tom—made headlines everywhere they went. Only Tom, however, decided to stay on the pitch with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
All four of the brothers played for the Rabbitohs at one point; Luke joined the team halfway through the 2011 NRL and Super League seasons.
Naturally, Luke came to Souths from Leeds Rhinos, where he played for 81 games from 2007 to 2011.
The 37-year-old has now disclosed his reasons for leaving Headingley and the details of his talks with Leeds CEO Gary Hetherington on a possible stay.
Burgess stated on James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast, “My contract was due to expire at the end of 2011, and I had made my intentions clear that I was going to see my contract out and then I wanted to go and try the NRL.”
“I was playing well at rugby halfway through the 2011 season, and the club wanted to re-sign me, but I had already decided I wanted to finish the year and go to Australia.
“After that, I reasoned that I might be able to spend a few more years in England, so I wanted to see what kind of offer Leeds would make.”
“After Gary Hetherington made an offer that was nearly identical to what I already had, I said to myself, ‘Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to go as planned.'”
“I was out of favour and stopped being added to the team after that. My departure from Souths occurred in the middle of the 2011 season due to my lack of playing time and the team’s numerous forward injuries at the time.
Despite not being thrilled with Hetherington’s proposal, Burgess nonetheless gave the Leeds CEO high marks.
“I hold Gary in high regard; he provided me with excellent care while I was living in Leeds. I believe they are a fantastic club and business, and Gary and his organisational style are the main reasons for this.
He would distribute pieces of a “pie,” but sadly, English players don’t receive much of an allocation unless they represent their nation, which I hadn’t done at the time.
“At the time, I had a good deal for a 20-year-old, at £50,000. In meetings, Gary has always sketched the pie for me.
“Those meetings taught me so much about negotiations. Gary and my manager were not allowed in the same room, so I went in alone.
“But my upgrade to stay was £55,000 the next year and then £60,000 the year after that.”
