Newcastle's latest pair of imports believe a fresh wave of Englishmen could be headed to the NRL, inspired by the trail former Knight Dominic Young blazed for players to make a move to Australia at a younger age.
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Will Pryce, who has joined the Knights at age 20, arrived from England this month along with countryman Kai Pearce-Paul, 22. Both have taken up two-year deals.
Pryce came from Huddersfield, where he played 46 games over the past three years. It's the same club Young played two Super League games with before moving to Newcastle ahead of the 2021 campaign.
Over three seasons at the Knights, Young - who has joined the Roosters for the next four years - developed into a genuine star.
He arrived as a lanky 19-year-old with plenty of potential but developed on and off the pitch to become one of the game's best wingers. In his final season, Young scored 25 tries in as many games. All up, he netted 43 in 51 appearances.
"It shows for me and Kai that a young English lad has come over and done well, and made a name for himself," Pryce said of Young's influence. "He should be really proud of himself.
"It just gives us an influence and a person to look up to who's done it already, and someone who we can try and replicate ourselves."
Pearce-Paul comes to the NRL at a slightly older age than Pryce and with more experience. He played 61 top-flight games for Wigan over the past four years.
But he said Young, who he played with during the World Cup last year, had been an inspiration. Asked if he felt Young had blazed a fresh trail for emerging English talents to follow, Pearce-Paul said: "I'm sure he did. I've seen a lot, more recently, about people wanting to come to the NRL.
"It was a bit rarer back then for young players to come to the NRL and give it a go. I know some of the older boys, George Williams and John Bateman have come out, but I've seen a lot of names recently. You've got Lewis Murphy, from Wakefield, who has signed with Sydney [Roosters].
"A lot of young players aspire to go to the NRL at some point, but I think now it's become a trend of giving it a go when you're young.
"You look at the likes of Dom Young and his development over the last few years ... it gives you more belief that it is achievable."
Pryce's father, Leon, played close to 500 club games in England and France, but never made it to the NRL. He was actually part of the Bradford side that beat Newcastle 41-26 in the 2002 World Club Challenge.
Pryce told the Herald this month how encouraging his dad was about him coming over, even at such a ripe age. He thinks more English players could follow suit.
"I hope so. There's not many young English lads in the NRL at all," Pryce said.
"There's been a few like John Bateman, Elliott Whitehead, obviously the Burgess boys ... who have come out here and really made a name for themselves.
"That was something for me to look at, and think if in 10 or 20 years time, if I didn't take this opportunity, I'd probably regret it. For the other English players, it's a massive opportunity if they can get their hands on it."
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