'I never heard from rugby union': NRL star reveals recruitment talk was hollow

Cameron Murray admits he was “annoyed” by constant speculation he would jump ship to rugby union as he revealed Wallabies coach Eddie Jones never came to the table with a concrete contract offer.

Murray, who penned a five-year NRL extension with South Sydney on Monday, said he didn’t entertain leaving the Rabbitohs despite being frequently linked with a code switch to the game he played as a schoolboy.

Jones repeatedly singled the Souths captain out as a target for Rugby Australia, whose heavily-hyped NRL recruitment raid has only yielded the signature of Sydney Roosters prodigy Joseph Suaalii thus far.

Murray effectively closed the door on a cross-code move earlier this week with his new Souths deal keeping him in league until 2028, a year after the Wallabies host the Rugby World Cup.

“I never heard from rugby union, I never spoke to anyone there,” said Murray, who will be 30 by the time his Souths contract expires.

“I’m happy now that my future for the next five years is locked up, I don’t have to keep talking about it, to be honest.

“It got a little bit annoying. But on the one hand, it was a little bit flattering to obviously be in the conversation.

“I guess I’m someone who likes to fly under the radar a little bit and not have their name flying around the headlines too much.”

Murray will now turn his attention to rescuing South Sydney’s ailing finals charge ahead of Friday’s meeting with the Sydney Roosters.

The Rabbitohs, who led the competition after 11 rounds, must win to ensure they make the top eight and a victory would also put the knife through the Roosters’ finals hopes.

“It’s a massive game, we’re all looking forward to it. Those are games you want to play in,” Murray said.

“You want to test yourself against great opposition and the Roosters have been playing really well and we’ve obviously got a big rivalry with them.

“We’re not thinking about what ifs, we’re thinking about playing our best footy – we’re not thinking about what happens if we lose, more how good it would it be if we get the result we’re hoping for.”