Carter Gordon set for rugby union return after NRL release – report

Former Wallabies fly-half Carter Gordon appears set for a return to rugby union, with NRL side the Gold Coast Titans reportedly agreeing to release the playmaker one year early.

Code Sports revealed on Friday morning that the Titans have accepted a six-figure transfer fee from Rugby Australia, which has also been reported by The Roar.

It’s believed Gordon will stay in the Sunshine State, with the Queensland Reds shaping up as the 24-year-old’s likely destination, as Sydney Morning Herald scribe Michael Chammas revealed earlier this week.

Gordon made the switch to rugby league in 2024, starring in Queensland’s Hostplus Cup in the centres and halves. In eight appearances for the Tweed Seagulls, Gordon scored five tries, kicked nine goals, and completed about 87 per cent of his tackle attempts.

After a long stint on the sidelines this year with a significant back injury, Gordon debuted at NRL for the Titans in their final-round clash with the Wests Tigers. Gordon played in the centres rather than the halves.

The Roar’s Christy Doran revealed on Thursday that Gordon could potentially be a surprise inclusion in Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies squad for their Spring Tour. Gordon last played a competitive match of rugby union on June 8, 2024, for the Melbourne Rebels.

Gordon was the Wallabies’ first-choice fly-half at the 2023 Rugby World Cup under coach Eddie Jones, with Ben Donaldson also covering that role. Another eventual code-hopper featured in that squad, with Mark Nawaqanitawase impressing on the wing.

Nawaqanitawase signed with the Sydney Roosters and later topped the NRL’s try-scoring charts in the 2025 regular season. It’s since been reported that Nawaqaniatwase will return to the 15-player game, with Japanese or French club rugby the winger’s next step.

“Is it a shock? Is it a surprise,” 2002 Sydney Roosters premiership player Brian Fletcher said on SEN 1170 Drive last month.

“It’s always been mooted that he wanted to go back to rugby, but he should thank the Roosters because how much do you think this previous season has added to his contract?

“What will happen now is I’d imagine we don’t see him in league after 2027 because it’ll be the World Cup, then French rugby, Japanese rugby, even English rugby.”