Rugby league legend Greg Inglis has revealed he almost code-switched to the AFL at the height of his NRL career, while NFL scouts were also circling the superstar talent.
Speaking on Triple M’s Footy Talk podcast, Inglis reflected on how close he came to Melbourne for Brisbane ahead of the 2011 season and that he’d even shook hands with Broncos recruitment chief Andrew Gee.
However, no formal paperwork was signed and Inglis ultimately ended up at the Rabbitohs where he won the 2014 premiership, but they weren’t the only clubs interested.
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“We had AFL, NFL. I almost stayed in Melbourne because I loved the culture so much that I almost signed with Essendon,” Inglis said.
“Went there, James Hird was the coach at the time and I went in there and they were like ‘we will play you, how much you weighing now?’
“I think it was the first time I actually got to 105 kilograms, I was 80 odd kilograms when I first came in, a string bean.”
Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau both made the switch to the AFL and Super Rugby at the height of their NRL careers.
However, only one NRL player has made an NFL side’s 54-man starting roster – Jarryd Hayne – but Inglis could have been the first.
Inglis said both the New York Giants and Houston Texans were interested in signing one of the most physically gifted athletes to play rugby league.
“In the NFL, so we had the Giants, we had Houston… I’m not sure (what role),” Inglis said.
“I think they just wanted me in there. I think it was a running back or a wide receiver, but American sport doesn’t interest me, I can’t gravitate to it.
“NFL, I couldn’t be bothered, you had to be really into it.”
Inglis finished with 264 NRL appearances in stints at the Storm and Broncos, before coming out of retirement in 2021 for a short stint at Super League club Warrington.
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