Tom Burgess explains why he rejected 'serious offers' from Super League heavyweights to join Huddersfield Giants

The England prop was tipped to join brother Sam at Warrington Wolves and had another "serious offer" on the table from Catalans Dragons.

Burgess had previously namechecked Leeds Rhinos as a potential destination, telling The Yorkshire Post during the 2022 World Cup that he grew up supporting the Headingley club "so never say never".

But in the end, the 32-year-old surprised everybody by choosing an unfashionable club in relative terms.

"There were a few options," said the Dewsbury native, who signed a three-year marquee contract with the Giants.

"Everyone was wondering why I didn't go play for Warrington because Sam is there and that was the obvious choice.

"I had serious offers from Warrington and Catalans but I just had to do my own thing. I've always tried to do that. When (twin brother) George went to Souths back in the day, everyone thought I should have gone then but I stayed with Bradford.

"You never know what Sam is going to do. I could have gone to Warrington and he could have gone back to Souths.

"Huddersfield came in and I'd always had good experiences playing here for England. It's my hometown club, really, if you think about it. Leeds and Bradford are probably further away from where I grew up.

"It made sense to me. I didn't really fancy teaching my wife French going to Catalans!"

Burgess is back in Super League for the first time since 2012 when he departed Bradford Bulls for a new adventure on the other side of the world with South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The hulking forward left England as a boy and returned a man with 249 NRL appearances to his name and a Grand Final winner's ring to boot.

"It's a big change after being in Australia for 12 years," said Burgess.

"I've got a young family now and it's been a bit of a shock to the system – not in a bad way, just in terms of doing adult life back in England.

"We'll find our feet and I'm excited to get in with a new group of players and staff. I haven't done that for a while.

"I'm looking forward to getting back into the community, too. It gave me a lot when I came through and I want to give something back by going into schools and that sort of thing."

A lot has changed even in the time since Burgess decided to join Huddersfield at the start of this year.

Ian Watson – the coach who played an important role in getting the deal over the line – was sacked and replaced by Luke Robinson during another season to forget for the Giants.

Burgess' initial target of silverware remains despite Huddersfield's lowly standing in Super League.

"Definitely," he said. "You've got to keep that belief even if you're struggling.

"I'm not going to lie, we've got plenty of work to do. I'm looking forward to getting in with Robbo and seeing where we need to improve.

"It's all ahead of us and I'm excited."

Burgess is fresh from helping England to a series win over Samoa to continue the national team's perfect record since the shock loss to the same opposition in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

Next up for Shaun Wane's men is a long-overdue series against Australia on home soil at the end of 2025.

"It's a really exciting time with England," said Burgess, who has earned 38 international caps since his debut in 2013.

"We've got a lot of talent in the squad and a series against Australia to look forward to. They're the pinnacle and you always want to play against the benchmark team.

"I'm not getting any younger. My first focus is to play well for Huddersfield and go from there. If I can do that and make the squad next year, it'd be pretty cool.

"I'll never retire from playing for England. It's always a massive honour to pull on the shirt."

England were originally due to travel to Australia before a change of plan gave the national team the opportunity to host the Kangaroos for the first three-Test series between the rivals since 2003, which incidentally is the same year the War of the Roses concept was abandoned.

A reboot has been mooted following another unsuccessful international against France to give Wane's Ashes hopefuls a competitive mid-season fixture.

Burgess, for one, would be in favour of renewing the rivalry between Yorkshire and Lancashire.

"I've never represented Yorkshire so I'd love to do that," he said. "As a proud Yorkshireman, it would be massive.

"No disrespect to France but we play them through the year and it's just a bit of a run-out. A Roses match might be a better standard of game."