{"id":201883,"date":"2025-12-25T23:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T23:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/201883\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T23:13:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T23:13:12","slug":"international-back-turns-down-nrl-comeback-to-remain-overseas-on-new-deal-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/201883\/","title":{"rendered":"International back turns down NRL comeback to remain overseas on new deal – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former NRL<\/a> centre for three different teams, Esan Marsters<\/a> has turned down a return to the competition and has instead inked a new contract which will keep him in the Super League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Moving overseas at the end of 2022, Marsters has decided to remain in the United Kingdom, signing a three-year contract with the Bradford Bulls<\/a> where he will reunite with former NRL<\/a> playmaker Jayden Nikorima<\/a> and coach Kurt Haggerty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This comes after he attracted the interest of multiple other Super League<\/a> and NRL<\/a> teams, but decided against a return home to Australia<\/a> or a move to another overseason club.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough one. I felt like I was a person that wanted to see what happened to the club,\u201d Marsters told\u00a0BBC Radio Leeds.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed my time at the club, and especially the coaches and the boys there. It felt like a situation where I was torn in between.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, I really enjoyed my time there, regardless of what’s been going on, I always thought there were going to be some light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a shame that it didn’t work out, but I’ve been here for a week now, and I’m really looking forward to getting to play for Bradford. I know the rich history they have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before making the switch to the Super League<\/a>, he played in the\u00a0NRL<\/a>\u00a0for the\u00a0Wests Tigers<\/a>\u00a0(2017-19),\u00a0North Queensland Cowboys<\/a>\u00a0(2020-21) and\u00a0Gold Coast Titans<\/a>\u00a0(2021-22), racking up 86 first-grade games and 276 points in the process.<\/p>\n

Primarily known for his stint at the Tigers, in 2018, he made over 3000 total running metres – the only centre to do so in the season – and many pundits believed he should have been selected in the Team of the Year.<\/p>\n

However, he would be released the following season.<\/p>\n

“Esan is a player that has been chased by numerous Super League<\/a> clubs and NRL<\/a> clubs, so to actually get him over the line to play for the Bulls is a massive acquisition for us,” coach Kurt Haggerty<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

“He’s talented, he’s got unbelievable footwork and his defence is very, very solid, he’s a player that will certainly excite the Bradford fans.”<\/p>\n

\"NRLGOSFORD, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 12: Esan Marsters of the Cowboys is tackled during the round five NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the North Queensland Cowboys at Central Coast Stadium on June 12, 2020 in Gosford, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Aside from club football, he has found games for the\u00a0Cook Islands<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0New Zealand<\/a>\u00a0internationally, recording 14 total appearances for the two countries.<\/p>\n

In the recently delayed\u00a0Rugby League<\/a>\u00a0World Cup in 2022, he played for the\u00a0Cook Islands<\/a>\u00a0alongside his cousin\u00a0Steven Marsters<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cronulla Sharks<\/a>\u00a0centre\u00a0Kayal Iro.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former NRL centre for three different teams, Esan Marsters has turned down a return to the competition…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-201883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}