Former Australian forward Mark Carroll demanded to know what Sam Burgess needs to prove in his second NRL stint before blasting English rugby for its treatment of a "superstar".
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"What's he got to prove?" said Carroll of the 2014 Clive Churchill medallist. "He'll definitely have a target on his head when the season kicks off but that'll only bring the best out of Sam."
Carroll and Burgess forged a strong friendship during the Englishman's first stint in the red and green. Apart from the occasional training session at Carroll's Spudds Gym at Woolloomooloo Carroll also helped the rugged forward with setting goals.
He would have appreciated the opportunity to have spoken to England's rugby coach Stuart Lancaster about the way in which he used Burgess before the host nation was bundled out in the qualifying stage of the World Cup.
"Rugby union makes me laugh, for a world class second-rower to go into the centres . . . that'll do me," he scoffed. "He was good enough to play in the centres but imagine how good Sam would have been if he played blindside flanker. The way Michael Hooper plays for Australia, Sam would've gone great there.
"Sam did what he had to do but I couldn't believe they way he was treated. He's back and that's great news for Souths, the NRL and his family who are out here.
"He was treated unfairly over there but he's a superstar here and it's great for the game."
Carroll admired the way in which the Souths player approached the 15-man-code. "Sam is impressive, he took it over there without [ever] playing [rugby] and the way [England] played [in the World Cup] they were slack arses and turning the screws on him.
"He was put in a position where he played where they told him. He could've played blindside flanker, but . . . he's come back as a dual international after one year and I think that is a magnificent achievement."
Carroll said he couldn't wait to train with the 26-year-old but realised the footballer's priorities were to get reacquainted with Souths, Sydney and to spend some time with his family.
Burgess explained one reason he abandoned rugby was because several people outside of the England squad and its coaching staff were eager to see him fail even before he started, and that once enough people joined the growing voice against him, it became too much to stomach.
One of Burgess' World Cup teammates, fullback Mike Brown, said the "trust" was gone in the England camp after the stories that have been leaked.
