RUSSELL Crowe usually gets what he wants.
So, much to the chagrin of rival NRL clubs, it appears Crowe has used his powers of persuasion to convince Bradford and England forward Sam Burgess his future lies at South Sydney.
Burgess, once voted the best teenage rugby league player in the world, was in the sights of Manly and the Wests Tigers. But Crowe and Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson gave every indication yesterday that Burgess would be headed to Redfern, possibly next season.
"He's very keen," Crowe said. "He has one green eye and one red eye already. He's very keen to join South Sydney."
Crowe has gone out of his way to woo Burgess. As well as taking the powerhouse Bulls forward out to dinner in England, he invited him on to the set of his latest movie, Nottingham. He even spoke to Burgess's mother.
Asked whether he had wined and dined Burgess, Crowe said: "Sam doesn't drink, but he definitely eats.
"The bloke has a hunger on him you wouldn't believe. Yeah, we had a chat but there was a group of other players there as well including (former Souths forward) Dean Widders.
"We had a chat and then he came and visited the set. He's very serious about his career, Sam.
"He's very serious and focused from a playing point of view.
"He wants to be able to learn from blokes that he rates. He's all over what we're doing with the Rabbitohs and he's pretty excited to come along."
The only problem is that Burgess has one year remaining on his deal with Bradford. Souths are in talks with the club and remain optimistic they can convince Bradford to let Burgess head to the NRL next season.
If Crowe can work his magic, Richardson believes the club will boast the two best young forwards in the world next season. The other behemoth is Brisbane prop Dave Taylor, who has already agreed to join the Rabbitohs.
"We obviously want Sam with us," Richardson said. "He's part of what we're doing with the club. If we secure Sam, and we're not far away, I believe we will have the two best young forwards in the world in Taylor and Burgess.
"There's a little bit more work on it but we're confident at some stage he (Burgess) will be in the red and green. The sooner we can get him here the better."
Crowe also made it clear coach Jason Taylor is going nowhere. Although the club missed the finals, the Rabbitohs co-owner insisted Taylor remained the man to take Souths forward.
"Jason is part of the team with what we're doing," Crowe said. "That's not going to change. We're going to move forward and make the changes around Jason that he needs in terms of the squad. That's step by step every year. We're creating a team in the mould that Jason Taylor requires to be successful in the NRL."