MORGAN LOVES HIS DOWN TIME
BRIT abroad Morgan Smithies is loving life Down Under so much, he is already thinking about staying long term.
The England loose forward, 23, has made an instant impact with Canberra since joining from Wigan this season.
His tough-tackling, no-nonsense approach has quickly endeared him to Raiders fans.
Plenty of English players head home early after trying NRL life, either after failing to settle or struggling for game time.
But Yorkshireman Smithies sees himself being there for a long spell like Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead, who moved to Australia in 2016, and greats such as Sam Burgess and James Graham.
He said: “I’m loving it. I knew it’d take a few games to get into the swing of things.
“But I like the style of play here – it’s more like a grind, which is my type of game.
“I’m taking it a week at a time and just want to get that first season of NRL under my belt.
“But I’ve settled in really well and so has my partner. We’re both enjoying it.
“Canberra’s a good place to live. I’m chilled here and feel I can focus on my rugby.
“I signed a three-year deal and if we were to talk about extending, I’d be happy to.
“I’m not missing too much from home. I moved out (from Halifax) to Wigan when I was 16, so I’m used to it.
“I had two years left on my Wigan deal and there’s some stuff in there [contract] but I don’t think I’ll be coming back.”
Smithies, who made his debut for England against France last June, made a record 55 tackles with no misses in Wigan’s Grand Final win over Catalans.
He also set a Super League record aged 18, making an incredible 72 tackles in one match, and has carried that insatiable work-rate to Canberra.
Starting in all five games, Smithies has racked up 185 tackles at a walloping 97.45 per cent efficiency rate.
He featured as Raiders thrashed Parramatta Eels 41-8 on Sunday.
But he has still felt the heat of their famously combustible coach Ricky Stuart.
Smithies said: “We didn’t play too well against Cronulla and, especially losing in Rappa’s (Jordan Rappa’s) 200th game, it was very disappointing.
“We copped a spray after that. To be fair, we definitely needed it.
“We knew we could play better than what we dished up.
“He’s a fair coach, Ricky. He’ll give you a spray if you need it. It worked because we bounced back this week.”
Smithies faces stiff competition for the England No.13 jersey from Sydney Roosters’ Victor Radley and St Helens’ Morgan Knowles.
He said: “I want to play for England, but it’s Raiders first. With the competition here being as good as it is, you’re only one bad game away from being dropped.”