REAGAN CAMPBELL-GILLARD has revealed that the ‘time was right’ to make the move to London Broncos after rejecting Super League offers in the past.
At the age of 32, Campbell-Gillard will captain the capital club in their new era under Jason Demetriou and owners Darren Lockyer and Grant Wechsel.
After making 245 NRL appearances for Penrith Panthers, Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans, the former Australian international was a major coup for the Broncos when they announced his capture towards the back end of last year.
And, it’s been a long time coming for Campbell-Gillard.
“I’ve been here a few times now but this will be my longest stint in England,” Campbell-Gillard told League Express.
“I’ve always said since I started playing that I wanted to finish my career over here. I’ve come to the right club, the right group and I’m really excited to be here.
“I’ve definitely got a few more years left in the legs and I’m pretty excited about what’s in front of me.”
So why hasn’t Campbell-Gillard made the move to the UK before after receiving plenty of offers to do so?
“I’ve had offers to come here before but it wasn’t the right time to come over.
“This time I’ve come over at what I feel is the right time and the right move with the new owners at London and the new direction in which they are going.
“It’s been so far so good.”
So what vision did Lockyer and Wechsel sell Campbell-Gillard?
“They are Australian owners so they’re not going to bullsh*t you in that sense. You have Darren Lockyer with all his experience in rugby league.
“Both men have got a vision and a goal and it’s up to us as a playing group to make their dreams come true.
“We’ve got a long road to go down to get to Super League and that’s the main goal. We’ve got to build the foundations slowly, once we’ve got all that sorted, we will be sweet.”