Exclusive: Morgan Smithies of the Canberra Raiders discusses why he doesn’t see himself going back to the Wigan Warriors

The 23-year-old loose forward from England, Morgan Smithies, has already made an impression on the NRL team and is more interested in staying in Australia than going back to Wigan.

British overseas Morgan Smithies is enjoying life so much that he is considering a long-term stay.

Since Canberra paid a premium to acquire the 23-year-old England loose forward from Wigan prior to the current campaign, he has quickly made an impression on the team. His tough-tackling, no-nonsense demeanor has won over Raiders supporters in no time. Many English players who attempt NRL life return home early, either because they are unable to fit in or are having difficulty getting playing time.

Yet Yorkshireman Smithies envisions himself staying there for the long haul, much like Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead (who relocated to Australia in 2016) and legends like James Graham and Sam Burgess.

“I’m loving it,” he exclaimed. I anticipated needing a few games to adjust to the new routine. However, I enjoy how this game is played; it’s more of a grind, which is my kind of game.

“I just want to finish that first NRL season, so I’m taking it week by week.” But my partner and I have both adapted quite nicely. It’s fun for both of us. Living in Canberra is an excellent idea. You’re in the heart of it; it takes around 1.5 hours to get to the mountains, 2 hours to get to the beach, and so on. I adore it.

I feel at ease and able to concentrate on my rugby here. I think it’s ideal for someone like myself who simply wants to focus on playing rugby week in and week out because there isn’t a lot of media coverage here.

“I signed a three-year deal and, if we were to talk about extending, I’d be happy to. I’m not missing too much from home. I moved out [from Halifax] to Wigan when I was 16 so I’m used to it. I had two years left on my Wigan deal and there’s some stuff in there [contract] but I don’t think I’ll be coming back.”

Smithies, who debuted for England against France last June, made a record 55 tackles with no misses in Wigan’s Grand Final win over Catalans. He also set a Super League record aged 18, making an incredible 72 tackles in one match, and has carried that insatiable work-rate to the Australian capital. Starting in all five Canberra games so far, Smithies has racked up 185 tackles at a walloping 97.45 efficiency rate.

He featured as Raiders thrashed 41-8 on Sunday but has still felt the heat of famously combustible coach Ricky Stuart. Smithies admitted: “We didn’t play too well against Cronulla and, especially losing in Rappa’s [Jordan Rapana’s] 200th game, it was very disappointing.

“We copped a spray after that. To be fair, we definitely needed it. We knew we could play better than what we dished up. He’s a fair coach, Ricky. He’ll give you a spray if you need it. It worked because we bounced back this week.”

Smithies, the most recent in a long line of English players to play for Canberra, after Whitehead, Josh Hodgson, John Bateman, George Williams, Ryan Sutton, and Jordan Turner, will have fierce competition from Victor Radley of the Sydney Roosters and Morgan Knowles of St Helens for the international No. 13 shirt.

“Isn’t there a lot of competition?” he asked. However, I’m mostly focused on doing well for the Raiders and finishing that first season. In Super League, you want to play well every week, so I wouldn’t say it’s different.

With the level of competitiveness here, though, you’re just one poor game away from getting dropped if you lose focus and begin to consider foreign matters or the end of the season. It is not too demanding. All I want to do is construct some form and all that follows. Raiders are my first choice, but I want to play for England.”