
MATTY NICHOLSON is determined to win back his England place by performing well in the NRL.
The backrower made the switch from Warrington to Canberra at the end of last year, signing a three-year deal with the Raiders.
That came despite a warning from national coach Shaun Wane that he would prefer Nicholson to stay in Super League and “win stuff” there before moving abroad.
He admitted he was surprised to be left out of Wane’s squad for the post-season series against Samoa, which England won 2-0.
“It was disappointing because I felt like I had a good year at Warrington, but I respect Shaun Wane’s decision not to pick me,” said Nicholson, who holds two England caps.
“I just want to keep working on my game and if I keep working on areas where I can improve then hopefully I get picked next time.”
The 21-year-old has been backed in his Australian adventure by Sam Burgess, despite the loss to his Warrington team.
Burgess is widely regarded as one of the NRL’s best ever English imports, playing a total of 182 matches for South Sydney and winning the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match in their 2014 Grand Final victory.
“We had a couple of tough years (at Warrington) before Sam came in and he just raised the standards and changed the culture of the club,” Nicholson told Rugby League World.
“Sam obviously played a lot of backrow in his career so it was unbelievable for me to learn from someone like that.
“I picked his brains a lot and he was really good with me. He just said go out there (to Australia) and back yourself and show them what you’re made of.
“We had a couple of chats during the season about what I was going to do and I think he would have liked me to stay another year but I think he also understood my ambition to come out here and test myself.”
* Read the full Matty Nicholson interview in the January issue of Rugby League World, available at totalrl.com/shop.