Catalans Dragons recruit Toby Sexton insists he isn’t heading to Super League for a holiday with the half-back harbouring ambitions to return to the NRL at some point in his career.
Sexton has penned a two-year deal with the Dragons after falling out of favour at his current club Canterbury Bulldogs and he’ll making the move from Australia to the south of France in the off-season. He’ll be one of a raft of new signings in Perpignan, with Charlie Staines being the latest overseas man to be announced by Catalans.
Josh Allen, Zac Lipowicz, Harvey Wilson, Solomona Faataape and Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui have also signed for the club with Joel Tomkins keen to overhaul his playing group heading into the 2026 campaign.
Sexton started the year as the Bulldogs’ leading scrum-half and helped the club to the top of the NRL ladder before losing his spot to Lachlan Galvin. As such, Sexton has made 16 appearances for the Bulldogs this year and 39 in total, building on the 24 outings he had in Gold Coast Titans colours earlier in his carer.
No doubt he will feel as though he has something of a point to prove as he prepares to make the switch to Super League and he believes Catalans might just be the perfect club for him.
“Your rugby league career isn’t a long career,” Sexton said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. “The opportunity to be able to travel to France and live in the south of France, plus going to the Super League, it’s something that me and my partner decided was too good to pass up.
“I had a chat to my partner and there was a lifestyle component as well, being able to see the world at our age.
“I’ve been taking up some French lessons with my partner so we’ll see how far that gets us.
“But I’m not there for a holiday. I get to go over there and grow my game in the Super League. Hopefully I can win a lot of games of footy and it’s a challenge I am excited about.
“I’m trying to watch a lot more footy over there at the moment to get my head around what the game is like. It looks a lot quicker and more attack-focused. I am going to a strong club who aren’t where they want to be.
“Catalans have recruited a lot of new players and they are bringing a lot of youth into the system, so I’m super pumped to be joining them and testing myself in the Super League. It will be a cool experience on and off the field. I believe I can do well over there.”
Sexton has already been linked with a return to the NRL with Perth Bears reportedly looking at him as an option to lead the line when they enter the league in 2027. The half-back is contracted until the end of the 2027 campaign though and while he hasn’t given up hope of potentially returning to the NRL, he is focused on Catalans.
“Eventually it’s something that might interest me,” he added on the Bears links. “At the moment, I’ve signed a two-year deal with Catalans so that’s my focus.
“Where we’re at by the end of it is something I will work out when I sit down with my manager.
“I’m happy with the contract I’ve signed over there and at the end of that I will work out what the best option is for.
“But I’d like to think the NRL isn’t finished for me and I can play NRL again one day.”
