Morley prepares to leave Leeds happy

The combative forward will give his all before emigrating

Adrian Morley has only a handful of big games left in Britain before he leaves to pursue his career in Australia, and tonight's visit by his Leeds side to Bradford is one of them.

Adrian Morley has only a handful of big games left in Britain before he leaves to pursue his career in Australia, and tonight's visit by his Leeds side to Bradford is one of them.

All eyes will be on the Great Britain second-rower for signs of his mind being elsewhere, just as critics in Sydney will look for evidence of any deficiencies brought with him from England. One of the last players to make a similar switch, however, has no doubt that he will pass both forms of scrutiny.

"I think he'll be a sensation in Australia," says Denis Betts, now back to his very best for Wigan in his second season after returning from a three-year stint with the Auckland Warriors. Betts has been Morley's mentor at international level, and predicts that not even his famously short fuse will hold him back in Australia. "He's been maturing and becoming more responsible. He can take on their best and match them."

With his Wigan hat on, Betts would have been delighted if his club's late attempt to divert Morley from New South Wales to South Lancashire had been successful. "I'd have loved him to come to Wigan. It would have been fantastic for us, but I don't blame him for making the decision he has. He's 23, single and he's going to live in Sydney. He's going to be paid a lot of money to play for a club that's going places. It can't be bad really, can it? Plus, he can play three years there, come back and still be in his pomp. I don't blame him for a moment."

Betts believes that Morley's game can only improve in the hothouse of the National Rugby League, but also feels that he still has plenty to offer in his remaining time here, and that he will not be taking his eye off the ball during the rest of this season.

"He's not that easily distracted," Betts says. "He's pretty strong mentally and I can't see it being a problem. If anything, he'll be trying too hard - especially in games like this one at Bradford. Those Leeds-Bradford games are always the same - very physical - and that suits him perfectly, because he's such a powerful bloke.

"He can't change the way he plays, because that's what makes him what he is. He can hurt people without doing anything illegal. If I was coaching him, I'd just tell him to go out and play."

Betts might well have some input into Morley's game during the Lincoln World Cup this autumn - his last series of matches in Britain before decamping to the southern hemisphere.

The Wigan second-rower has retired from international rugby, claiming that he needs a rest and that England have plenty of younger back-rowers - such as Morley - to call upon. Under international regulations, Morley will continue to be available for international commitments, and it is Betts' opinion that England and Great Britain will benefit from the extra polish that should be applied to his game by three years in Sydney.

In a game like the derby at Bradford, however, it is the combative side of his personality that is likely to be to the fore. These matches are famously brutal, and Leeds have suffered some embarrassments in the fixture in recent years.

Apart from an honourable defeat in the Challenge Cup final at Murrayfield, Leeds were walloped 44-2 at Headingley in May. Since then, though, they have won 10 games on the trot. Morley has not been the dominant figure in many of those victories, but this could be the night he underlines his value.