The chance to end his career in the NRL has been the catalyst for Leeton junior Jeff Robson’s switch to New Zealand Warriors.
Robson will link with his fourth NRL club next year as he looks to finish his 12-year NRL career in the top grade.
After four years with Cronulla, the 33-year-old has penned a one-year deal with the Warriors and believes he’ll get more opportunities across the Tasman.
“I felt it was my best decision for my family and myself to sign with the Warriors,” Robson said.
“It’s probably the best opportunity to finish my career on a good note and possibly finish it off in first grade. If I stayed at the Sharks it probably wasn’t looking so great.”
The Sharks will bring in halves James Maloney and Chad Townsend for next season so Robson will now compete with Golden Boot winner Shaun Johnson and incoming hooker Isaac Luke.
Warriors coach Andrew McFadden said the 33-year-old will help to lift standards across the squad.
Robson in unclear of what his role will be.
“Nothing has really been spoken about in pairings but I can play halfback and hooker and they’ve signed me for a bit of depth, possibly appearing in the halves with Johnson,” he said.
The flexibility offered by him to the Warriors made the decision to move away from his family easier.
Wife Gabi and their three-year-old daughter Charlotte will remain in Sydney while Robson will split his time between the two countries.
Charlotte has autism and Robson didn’t want to take her out of her familiar environment.
“We’ve got her into a pretty good school next year and we didn't want to uproot her or disrupt her too much because with her autism routine is really important,” he said.
However he doesn’t believe it will affect his football too much
“Over the pre-season, they are pretty flexible the Warriors, and I’m going to train for two weeks then come home for a week right up to we start playing in the trials,” Robsons said.
“Once you start playing they are over here 13 out of the 26 weeks anyway.”
