Ryan Hoffman admits he's a little jealous of Jarryd Hayne's proposed switch to the NFL, with the Warriors-bound enforcer revealing his own desire to have a crack with the pigskin if he were able to have his time over.
Hayne shocked the rugby league community on Wednesday when he announced that he was quitting the NRL to pursue his dream of playing American football.
And while Hoffman was fully supportive of Hayne's decision to leave the NRL behind, the former Storm stalwart confessed a long-term desire to play in the cut-throat, pressure-packed cauldron of the NFL.
"One hundred times over I would have done the NFL," Hoffman told NRL.com.
"I'm actually a bit jealous of him – I'm way too old so I don't reckon I'd be able to make the transition."
Even though Hoffman's NFL dream might be restricted to only video games and fantasy football rosters, he remains fully supportive of the courageous career move of his former NSW teammate.
"Everyone's always got this idea of 'Haynesy' that he'd be happy to stay in a comfortable position and be a big fish in the NRL. But for a bloke to step away from that and to give himself a chance and as he said to 'scratch an itch'; I'm in full admiration of Jarryd and what he's trying to do," he said.
"It's a fantastic dream for him personally and all the best."
In and out of the Australian side since making his debut in 2007, Hoffman's desire to perform well for club and country has never waned as he targets international silverware.
The 30-year-old has a host of honours to his name both in Australia and abroad, including victory in the 2011 Challenge Cup with Wigan, 2014 Origin Series with the Blues and three premierships for the Storm, although two of those were later stripped due to the Storm salary cap scandal.
Winning a major international tournament such as the Four Nations is the final frontier for the Canberra-born back-rower who is now looking to add to his five Test caps by cementing a regular spot in the Kangaroos line-up.
"I've had quite an inconsistent international career. I debuted back in 2007 and I've always been in and out of the side and not able to become an incumbent," the Campbelltown junior said who is rooming with now former Storm teammate Cooper Cronk.
"So I'm really excited for this opportunity; I was a bit worried I might have done my dash with Australia after missing out last year in the [2013] World Cup.
The 2014 Brad Fittler Medallist said he felt he had played the best football of his career since returning from England in 2012.
"I was really happy with how the Origin Series panned out and my form throughout that. I suppose with that it's given me the opportunity to play for Australia again.
"I had a few up and down patches throughout the year but I was really happy with how I played the big games and hopefully I can carry my rep form into the Kangaroos side."
Not one to shy away from a challenge, the veteran of 245 games for the Storm is relishing the prospect of guiding the inconsistent Warriors to greater heights over the duration of his three-year deal.
"I ducked over there when we got eliminated from the NRL and checked everything out – it's a great set-up there. I know a few of the guys and know the coach (Andrew McFadden) really well," he said.
"[Moving to Auckland] is a challenge I'm looking forward to. I feel that [the Warriors] have a lot of expectations on me and what I can bring to the club so I'm enjoying having that pressure on myself and really looking to helping get the club in the right direction and into a successful period.
"It's going to be a bit of change on the family front, moving away from everyone, but football-wise I don’t see the move being a big change. I was in Melbourne for 11 years and they're a fantastic club and I loved every single minute of it and never thought I'd leave.
"But to go somewhere new and fresh is exciting and [a challenge] I'm looking forward to."
Before Hoffman can turn his attention towards stabilising and adding some extra punch to the Warriors' forward pack, the 2012 premiership winner is focused on keeping the younger brigade of Kangaroos at bay and cementing his own spot within the side.
Australia have named 11 debutants in their 24-man squad for the Four Nations with Hoffman keen to see a new generation of players don the green and gold.
"There's a great mix of players here. You've got the players up around the 30 [year] mark and most of the other players are just about to turn 20 so it's a great mix of the old and the young," he said.
"There are some exciting players coming through and I played in that Test in 2007 (in Wellington) when there were 11 of us who made their debut and that's when 'Izzy' (Israel Folau) debuted.
"We get superstars in our game from just giving young fellas opportunities and I think [the selectors] have given the young guys a big opportunity this tournament and I'm looking forward to see what they can do."
