All Blacks fullback Jordie Barrett admits he'd 'love to give NRL a crack'

All Blacks fullback Jordie Barrett has admitted he would have to have a crack at the NRL “just for a season’’.

The 24-year-old spoke of his love for rugby league during a recent interview on the What a Lad podcast, hosted by his former Hurricanes teammate James Marshall.

While he did not indicate a code switch was imminent, Barrett said: “To be honest, every off-season or every time I’m sitting there watching a rugby league game, I think, s..t I’d love to go over there and play some league just for a season.

“And who knows, I might. It crosses my mind a lot.

Barrett has had 36 caps for the All Blacks since his debut in 2017, is now their first-choice goalkicker and established himself as one of the best fullbacks in the world in 2021.

He has played test rugby on the wing and has also played for the Hurricanes in the centres.

But he said in the podcast interview that he’d prefer to play in the halves rather than fullback if he made the switch to rugby league.

“I wouldn’t be able to tie his [Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic’s] shoelaces, but maybe five-eighth. I wouldn’t mind kicking the skin a few times on fourth and fifth tackle, or putting up some floater bombs,” Barrett said.

“Defending in the front line too, you’re allowed to be a grub in that game so I’d love it.”

Barrett isn't the first Hurricanes and All Blacks player to express an interest in playing league.