St Helens winger and reigning Golden Boot holder Tommy Makinson has played down speculation he is set to switch to the NRL in 2020 – but reiterated he would like to try his hand in Australia in the future.
Makinson has two years remaining on his current contract with the Saints, which expires at the end of the 2020 campaign – but was linked by media in Australia with a move to the NRL as soon as the end of this season after his international heroics with England last autumn.
However, while Makinson has admitted it would be a dream to play in the NRL, he has suggested he will not walk out of his contract with St Helens.
He said: “It sparked a few rumours. I’ve always said it’s a bit of a dream to play over there one day.
“But I’m still under contract with Saints for two more years and I don’t think they’ll let me go, which is fair enough.”
Makinson also shed light on how his surprise win in the 2018 Golden Boot award provoked an interesting reaction from people in Australia – and denied he was one of the world’s best players despite winning the award.
He said: “I got a bit of stick in Oz over it. People dubbed it as being one of the best players ever but I know I’m not in that category.
“It’s a new award for international player of the year which I’ll take with open arms because I worked a helluva lot last year on my game. I was able to hold my own with some of the best players in the game.”
