Sutton 2009-11 Contract Extension

29th February 2008

South Sydney lock John Sutton has signed a three-year contract extension keeping him at Redfern until the end of 2011.

"I'm very happy," Sutton, 23, said as the Rabbitohs prepared for the Charity Shield against St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium. "Hopefully, now I can play some good footy. I never wanted to go to another club, not the way the club is going with (co-owners) Russell (Crowe) and Peter (Holmes a Court). I'm a Souths junior and the club has a lot of good young kids coming through. Craig Wing is now here and we have a few old heads in Roy Asotasi and David Kidwell."

Sutton's manager, Steve Gillis, confirmed that his client had been hunted by rival clubs. "John had received expressions of interest from three Sydney clubs but he told me it was always his priority to stay at Souths," Gillis said. "He simply loves the place. His goal this year is to crack representative footy and I have never seen him so determined. The club has commented on how well he has done this pre-season and we are all expecting big things."

Sutton said the Charity Shield would present the ideal hit-out before a round one game against Sydney Roosters. "It is just good to be back playing again," he said. "It was hard over summer when we trained but weren't playing at the end of the week. "All the players get into the Charity Shield, as does the crowd. That gets everyone fired up."

Holmes a Court was delighted Sutton decided to remain at Redfern. "We're not buying back the farm," Holmes a Court said. "We are keeping our best and brightest. He is one of our juniors. When I first came to Souths, I was told John was the type of player that represented the future of rugby league. We are looking for John to have his biggest season."


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