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Relatively unknown to Australasian audiences and made to bide his time before making his NRL debut, English second-rower Matty Nicholson is proving to be a vital cog for the Green Machine.
Travelling what is now a well-established and fruitful path from the Super League to Canberra; the former Warrington Wolves forward said he was only now starting to feel at home, despite making an instant impact with a double in his first NRL game against Brisbane.
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A double on debut
“I've found it difficult, obviously it's a step up from what I've been used to, but I think I'm building each week, that was the aim and it helps when the team's winning as well,” Nicholson told NRL.com after Canberra’s successful trip to the Gold Coast.
“If we're all playing well, then hopefully I can keep improving too, but I'm really happy here and think I've slotted into the side pretty well.
“(Playing in the NRL) is something I always had in the back of my mind really since I've been pretty young; I wanted to come over here and test myself.
“I did my few years in Super League and it got to the point where I thought I probably want to try a new challenge.
“Warrington were really good with me leaving, Sam Burgess, the coach there, he helped me a lot, very supportive, so I owe Warrington a lot.
“They give me my first chance to start playing regular rugby as well.
“But that's always one of my ambitions and I'm just happy that it's going pretty well so far.”
Nicholson, 21, said having Morgan Smithies already established in the squad made the decision to move to Australia easier, as did speaking with other English players who had previously called Canberra home.
“That was probably a big factor really; I played with George Williams and John Bateman last year at Warrington, so they were very supportive of the club.
“They said it was a really good club and they played really well when they were over here.
“And not just those two; Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead, there's a lot!
“They all had great careers over here which made it a bit of an easy decision to come to Canberra.
“I've known Morgan since we were little kids, so that was always nice coming over here and playing with him.”
This week, the Raiders host the Dolphins, who have their own England international making a splash, with centre Herbie Farnworth proving to be one of the form players of the competition.
While Nicholson was yet to encounter him on the field, he was looking forward to facing off against a fellow Englishman, with both players also hopeful of inclusion in the Ashes squad to face Australia later in the year.
“I don't actually know Herbie, but obviously he's English, so that will be good to taking the field against another Englishman,” Nicholson said.
“Definitely he's a brilliant player and it showed last year. When they played Samoa, he was the man of the match, so he's a great player and he's doing the British game proud over here.
“I think everyone would be lying if they said (getting an England call-up) wasn’t in the back of their mind, but for the time being, I do want to concentrate on Canberra and keep playing good rugby and hopefully if I keep playing good rugby, I'll get myself picked in the squad …
“On the series, it’s going to be a great spectacle for English rugby league, I think almost everywhere is sold out, so it's going to be a great spectacle and there should be three great games.”
Match: Raiders v Dolphins
Round 8 -
home Team
Raiders
3rd Position
away Team
Dolphins
12th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
