The Gold Coast Titans stunned the rugby league and union worlds on Wednesday after announcing the club had signed Wallabies superstar Carter Gordon, but they’ll have to wait until 2025 to show him off after Phil Waugh blocked an early code switch.
Waugh, Rugby Australia’s chief executive, instantly ruled out a swap mid-2024 because Gordon may still play for the Wallabies.
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Gordon, 23, could have linked up with the Titans and began his life in the NRL mid-season as long as he was signed into the roster before the competition’s June 30, but all that looks unlikely now that Rugby Australia has put the foot down. The Sporting Base understands Waugh still wants Gordon to play at the Olympics.
Titans coach Des Hasler apparently asked the club to bring him in “ASAP.”
“He’s a big lump of a thing,” an impressed Hasler said on Thursday. “He can play a number of positions, so he’s got that versatility. He can cover a number of positions, so it will be fascinating to watch his transition into rugby league.”
The only way that Hasler could get his wish is if the cash-strapped RA sees Gordon’s pay packet as a weight they could afford to lose early. However, while some officials in the organisation want to save money wherever possible, Waugh declared, “You pick the best team you possibly can to win the next Test match”—even if that means picking departing players.
Gordon hasn’t pushed for an early release behind the scenes and The Sporting Base imagines he’d rather go out representing the Wallabies over being frozen out and booted early.
The Wallabies half is the second Australia rugby rep to defect to the NRL in the last six months after Mark Nawaqanitawase signed with the Roosters for 2025. Nawaqanitawase is expected to be left out of the next Wallabies squad.
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Heading the other way soon is Roosters young gun Joseph Sua’ali’i, who agreed to join the Wallabies and the Waratahs for $1.6 million a year from 2025 to 2027 earlier this year.
