Former Warrington Wolves and Leeds Rhinos Half-back Blake Austin Offers Insight into Differences Between Super League and NRL
Before making the move to Super League with Warrington Wolves in 2019, Australian native Blake Austin had an extensive career in the NRL, suiting up for Penrith Panthers, Wests Tigers, and most notably, Canberra Raiders, where he scored 34 tries in 88 games. He also earned international caps for England in 2019 and Great Britain in their Southern Hemisphere tour.
Speaking on former St Helens star James Graham’s The Bye Round Podcast, Austin opened up about the contrasts he observed between the two rugby league competitions.
“It’s a tougher brand of footy (in England). The weather lends itself to that,” he explained. “I think it’s a more bash-up game, but you can’t count on anything happening over there either. Super League, you know exactly what they’re going to do and you know exactly how to counteract it.”
Furthermore, the ex-Leeds Rhinos player highlighted a distinct difference in mentality between the leagues.
“No offence James, but [there are] big, goofy forwards everywhere that, you know, they’ll flop in from an angle, where in the NRL, the game is so fast that it’s hard to hurt anyone at all,” he said. “Your thoughts are consumed of doing your job, sticking to your role. In Super League, they’d rather win a game 40-38 than 6-0. They want excitement, that’s what they want.”
Austin’s most prolific period came at the start of his Super League tenure with Warrington Wolves, where he scored 33 tries in 67 appearances – nearly one every two games. However, he struggled to replicate that success during his subsequent spells with Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers. The experienced half-back is now plying his trade for The Entrance Tigers in the Central Coast Division Rugby League in Australia.
🔗 Source
