BREAKING: Wallabies Playmaker Carter Gordon Joins Gold Coast Titans Amid Melbourne Rebels’ Super Rugby Exit.
Following the Rebels’ collapse, Carter Gordon agrees to a deal with the NRL.
The Wallabies playmaker Carter Gordon has made a dramatic move to the NRL, agreeing to a two-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans. In light of the uncertainties surrounding the future of the Melbourne Rebels, the team Gordon played for throughout all four of his Super Rugby seasons, Gordon was connected to a code transfer early in the year.
Two weeks ago, Rugby Australia [RA] refused to grant a private consortium a new franchise license for the Rebels, and as a result, the team was expelled from Super Rugby. When it was discovered that the Rebels had debts above $23 million, RA had taken back ownership of the team in January. The governing body had expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed ownership group’s strategy, believing it was insufficiently developed to manage the team going ahead. Gordon, 23, decided to give the 13-player game a try after that decision placed him and several of his Rebels colleagues in limbo. He will now play for the Des Hasler-coached Titans for at least the 2025 and 2026 NRL seasons.
“I’m excited with the direction that rugby league is taking and the positive feeling around the game,” Gordon stated. “At 23, I believe I had to seize this chance right away. “I know this will be a huge task, and I have no illusions about it.
“The professionalism that the Titans demonstrated during our talks truly impressed me. “I’ve loved my time with rugby as it’s given me the opportunity to represent my country which I’ll always appreciate.” In 2023, Gordon participated in eight Test matches for the Wallabies and was Eddie Jones’ first choice at fly-half at the commencement of the Rugby World Cup. However, Ben Donaldson finally took his place at No. 10 before an injury forced him to leave the competition early.
While Gordon showed spurts of the form that earned him a Wallabies call-up in 2023 in this year’s Super Rugby Pacific season, he continued to struggle with his goal-kicking, the fly-half concluding the regular season with a paltry 69.8% success percentage.
As for No. 10, Donaldson and the Reds’ Tom Lynagh are reportedly in the running, while Tane Edmed of the Waratahs was included in Schmidt’s train-on squad despite NSW’s dismal season. The Titans have only won three games in 2024 and are now ranked fifteenth in the NRL. For the majority of the season, Tanah Boyd and Kieran Foran have worked together in the halves. Hasler expressed his excitement about what Gordon could contribute to the team in the upcoming campaign.
“Carter has competed well in rugby, representing his country and playing at the World Cup,” Hasler stated. “His willingness to push himself and accept the challenge of learning a new code has impressed me. “He’s a skillful player who backs himself.” Gordon, like Nawaqanitawase with the Roosters, has left open the possibility of playing rugby again before the 2027 World Cup in Australia by agreeing to a two-year contract.
Gordon made a moving speech as the Rebels formally announced their exit from Super Rugby on Saturday after losing to the Hurricanes 47-20. Rugby Australia has been contacted by ESPN for a statement.
