THERE was a time ahead of the 2023 Super League season that ex-South Sydney Rabbitohs star winger Josh Mansour was set to leave Australia for the northern hemisphere.
After a superb spell in the UK with Lebanon at the Rugby League World Cup at the end of 2022, Mansour was willing to relocate with his partner to Super League.
But, just as soon as the 33-year-old was ready to make the trip, his wife announced she was pregnant with his child, jeopardising any move halfway across the world.
“The only option was to go overseas but my wife fell pregnant the day before I was going to jump on a flight over there,” Mansour told James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast.
“I then decided I wasn’t going to go overseas, I was going to make a selfless decision and put my family first. It was something I had never done before and it’s very hard to do so with our careers.”
Mansour ended up playing one final season of rugby league with Newtown Jets, where he rediscovered his love for the sport.
“With Newtown, I had a bit of a connection there as it was a historical club and one of the foundation sides. I grew up around Melwood where they play.
“I used to play footy around there and I thought ‘maybe this is the way I will finish’. If it was the end there, I would have been content.
“So I went out there and had my final year in rugby league with the mighty Jets.”
Mansour has now retired after registering almost 200 NRL appearances – with over 150 of those coming with Penrith Panthers between 2012 and 2020.
Click here to purchase a digital edition of League Express.
Click here to purchase an online edition of League Express through pocketmags.com.
Click here to listen to our new League Express Podcast.
League Express is widely available from local newsagents across the north of England.
