Nene Macdonald admits a return to the NRL could be on the cards, with the Salford Red Devils star speaking openly about his future once more. Macdonald has always been consistent in his message that he is happy at Salford and in Super League, but equally he has never shied away from his ambitions to return to the NRL, should the opportunity present itself.
The Papua New Guinea international, who was in action on Sunday morning in his nation’s 54-12 loss to New Zealand in the Pacific Cup promotion/relegation play-off, has spent three years in Super League with spells coming with Leigh Leopards and Leeds Rhinos before joining Salford last year. He still has three more years left to run on his contract at the Salford Stadium and given his form through 2024, Salford will be reluctant to part ways with the centre.
However, Macdonald admits he would love to return to Australia’s premier competition one day and speaking after the Kumuls defeat in Parramatta, he has doubled down on that notion.
“It could be on the cards but I’m happy at Salford as well,” Macdonald told NRL.com when asked about his future. “They’ve looked after me and have great coaching staff.
“You always want to play NRL, it’s always in the back of your mind, but I’m happy at the moment so we’ll see what happens.”
Macdonald played a key role for Papua New Guinea this autumn, with the Kumuls winning the Pacific Bowl by beating both Fiji and Cook Islands comfortably. However, their hopes of winning promotion to the top flight were scuppered on Sunday as they were taken apart by the Kiwis, who scored 10 tries on the night. Robert Derby and Castleford Tigers’ Sylvester Namo were the try scorers for the Kumuls.
“It was a great competition, I loved every minute of it,” the Salford Red Devils man added. “Obviously the game wasn’t our result but it was a good show from the boys at the start, we went toe to toe with the Kiwis.
“I thought we started well but they showed their class at the end. We’re working our way up and it’s good to see other nations doing that as well.
“It shows how far we’ve come. The country loves rugby league, there’s the NRL bid and there’s so many good things coming from the Papua New Guinea side and I think it’s great for the country that we’re doing well and it’s only going to help the game and grow the game and hopefully it keeps broadening across seas.”