If and when Carter Gordon makes his NRL debut for the Gold Coast, he will become the first Wallabies half to play top-flight league in 34 years.
There has been plenty of movement between the codes during that period, with a mini-flurry occurring now as Joseph Manu and Joseph Suaalii switch to the 15-man game.
Roosters recruit Mark Nawaqanitawase and Titans signing Carter have gone the other way, the latest Wallabies keen to test themselves in the NRL. While the majority of converts have been outside backs, Gordon’s switch is unique in that he is the first genuine Wallabies playmaker to do it since Brian Smith more than three decades ago.
Smith made six rugby Test appearances for Australia before switching to the Balmain Tigers in 1991. While Mat Rogers also left union to become a Titan in 2007, he grew up with, and began his professional career in, “The Greatest Game of All”.
Gordon’s transition is made more difficult given his first experience in rugby league came when he made his debut for the Titans’ feeder team Tweed Seagulls in late July.
Carter Gordon (left) and Ben Donaldson celebrate a try against Georgia at the World Cup in France in September 2023.Credit: Getty
“I haven’t played any rugby league growing up,” Carter said. “I watched a lot of it, but never made the transition or started in the game, purely because I was in a private school system all the way through.
“I went straight into a professional contract after school. I never played any games until a couple of months ago with Tweed.
“I’m kinda the first half to do it. I’m quite excited by that, to see what I can bring, how my skill set from union might help the rugby league game and those sorts of things.
Carter Gordon kicks for goal in his Tweed Seagulls debut.Credit: Photo: Benny Hassum/QRL
“That was definitely appealing. Just the way the game is played is something that I enjoy watching. I always thought I’d end up in league.”
Rugby Australia granted Gordon an early release, which allowed him to get a head start on his preparations for the 2025 season. The 23-year-old played his first two games for Tweed in the centres, before shifting to five-eighth for the final two matches of the season.
Should Gordon become a success, it could prompt more halves to make the switch.
“It will be interesting to see if other players in similar positions in union transfer now,” he said.
“You’ve got Mark [Nawaqanitawase] and guys in the past like Marika [Koroibete], Suli [Suliasi Vunivalu], these outside backs transition. It would be interesting now to see if ball-playing players in union now have the opportunity to transition to league.”
Gold Coast coach Des Hasler will play the long game with Gordon, who will get the chance to learn from veteran No.7 Kieran Foran. The success of his transition looms as one of the most intriguing stories of the 2025 season.
Carter Gordon directs play for the Wallabies against the All Blacks at the MCG in 2023.Credit: Getty
“I’d love to play in the halves,” Gordon said. “In saying that, I’ve definitely got to bide my time behind Foz [Foran] and make sure I’m fully ready to go.
“I’m working with him and the coaches in this pre-season to make sure I’m in a good spot and can run the team from those positions.”
Carter – who grew up admiring Maroons stars Darren Lockyer, Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Billy Slater – said he is still coming to terms with the nuances of rugby league.
“I’m kinda the first half to do it. I’m quite excited by that, to see what I can bring.”
Carter Gordon
“Definitely, when I first came across the up-and-backs caught me off guard,” he said of defending 10 metres behind the play.
“Then it’s about where to position myself, how to get into the line, what players I want to target – they’re the things I’m starting to pick up on now. I’ll be working hard across the pre-season to get it right.
“For me, it’s about making sure I’m up to speed on the knowledge side of the game. I want to get in there and be in a position to play and, at the end of the day, leave that decision to coaches about whether or not I’m ready.
“I’m making sure I put myself in the best position to play. If I play, I’ll be absolutely stoked. And I want to be playing. At the end of the day, I don’t want to be one less player out there because my knowledge or physicality isn’t up to speed.
“I’m making sure I’m ticking off those boxes before I talk about playing a certain amount of games.”
Carter made eight appearances for the Wallabies, but his desire for a new challenge – coupled with the demise of his Super Rugby club Melbourne Rebels – made it an opportune time to switch.
“I loved my time playing union,” he said. “I ticked off a lot of childhood goals I had growing up, and I’m grateful for the opportunities I was given with the Wallabies.
“I was able to go to a World Cup, even though the results didn’t go how we wanted them to. It was an unreal experience to be there.
“I really enjoyed my time, but I’m looking forward to this new chapter and new challenge, just giving my all to rugby league.”
Home is where heart is for Hunt
Jonathan Drennan
St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt has left the door open to a return home to Queensland to end his career after expressing his disappointment about how the season ended for his club and the “noise” around his end-of-year review.
Hunt is in camp with the Kangaroos in Brisbane after being named in Mal Meninga’s squad for the Pacific Championships, where they will play Tonga on October 18 and New Zealand on October 27.
Hunt, 34, still has one more year to run on his contract at the Dragons, worth about $1.05 million a season, but after being told in his season review that his efforts were not up to standard, as revealed by this masthead, the captain and club could part ways, a year after the player sought a release but was eventually persuaded to stay.
Asked if he would like to end his career in Queensland, where he started life in the NRL playing for the Brisbane Broncos in 2009, before moving to the Dragons in 2018, Hunt did not dismiss the option.
“Yeah mate, I’ve always said that I would be open to it if the opportunity arose,” Hunt said. “Queensland’s home, I’ve had a lot of great times up here, I’ve got a lot of family up here, but if the opportunity did come up, I’d never say no.”
Ben Hunt has spoken of his desire to move back home to Queensland.Credit: Getty
Hunt also revealed his disappointment at the details of his performance review being made public after a tough season where the Dragons failed to make the finals for the sixth year in a row.
“There was a fair bit of noise around that [performance review], and I’m not sure where it came from,” Hunt said.
“Obviously, someone said something somewhere, because there’s a fair bit of noise about it. But yeah, it was a bit disappointing that all that information did get out there. It’s your end-of-season review, but I’m trying not to think about it too much.”
After finishing the season 11th on the ladder, Hunt has welcomed being in Kangaroos camp and is enjoying the distraction of preparing for the upcoming game against Tonga on Friday at Suncorp Stadium.
“I was disappointed with how this season ended, as probably most Dragons were,” Hunt said. “I was pretty upset with a few things that happened and how we finished the season. But now I’ve just been trying to get away and refresh myself, and now we’ve got this on, it’s something I can focus on.”
After last year’s record 30-0 defeat by New Zealand in the Pacific Championships final, Hunt and his teammates have an opportunity to get their campaign off to a strong start against a tough Tonga side.
Tonga will be captained by North Queensland Cowboys’ Jason Taumalolo and New Zealand Warriors front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake.
“They [Tonga] are hard to gauge, but I look at this side the other day, and they’ve got an exceptional forward pack and some really explosive backs,” Hunt said.
“I think they’re going to be a real challenge, like they were in 2018 [Australia won 34-16]. They’re going to be up for it. It’s a big scalp for them to get up and to beat Australia. It’s definitely not a game we’ll be taking lightly.”
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