'I was getting slammed': Matt Dufty on why he ditched the NRL for the Super League

Former St George Illawarra and Canterbury fullback Matt Dufty has explained why he will be making his Warrington debut this weekend – a year after saying a move to Super League would be a backward step.

The 26-year-old is set to make his debut at Huddersfield on Saturday after fast-tracking his move to England following his release from Canterbury, where he was a little over halfway through a 12-month NRL contract.

A year ago Dufty said a move to Super League would be a backward step at that stage of his career but now he says he needed to remove himself from the glare of the media.

Speaking on Wednesday at his first press conference as a Warrington player, he said his relationship with the media was behind his U-turn.

“They are a lot harsher, you are a lot more in the spotlight, especially in Sydney,” Dufty said.

“I don’t read the papers but I was getting slammed a bit at the start of the year and it really started to affect my mum and dad and my nieces.

“Mental health is a big thing and it was starting to get to the point where I was losing the drive to come to training and losing the drive to play.

“For a sportsman, if you’re not enjoying doing what you’re doing, it’s a massive thing. I was still playing good footy, I just needed a fresh start.”

Dufty had been on coach Daryl Powell’s radar since his time at Castleford but it was Wigan’s Australian pair, Jai Field and Kaide Ellis, who finally sold him the idea of coming to Super League.

“I played a lot of under-20s with Fieldy at St George,” he said. “We’re pretty similar, we’ve got speed and love to skip around the field.

“Fieldy was under a bit of pressure in his last year at St George as well and he said it’s a lot better over here in that sense. Also, the way he likes to play footy suits him and he loves living in Manchester.

“Kaide Ellis is one of my best mates – we lived together for two years – and he was telling me how much he loves the lifestyle so that was a big selling point for me as well.

“I said last year I wasn’t ready to come to Super League but I always wanted to come.

“At the time, I was on 82 NRL games and it was a goal of mine to get to the 100-game mark. At that time in my life I was not ready to move, I was a lot younger mentally, that’s what I meant, I didn’t mean any disrespect.

“It’s a goal for me to experience a different competition and this felt like the right time.”

Dufty, contracted until 2024, says his early move will help him settle into his new surroundings and he will be in a position to help his former team-mates, Paul Vaughan and Josh McGuire, when they join the Wolves next year.

He also believes he can help his new club save their season by reaching the playoffs.

“I want to help Warrington achieve something,” he said. “I know how much they love their footy here.”

Meanwhile, Wakefield’s Tongan international Jorge Taufua has suffered a season-ending injury just two matches into his Super League career.

The 30-year-old former Manly winger scored a try on his home debut in their defeat by St Helens last weekend before breaking his arm.