SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Greg Inglis of the Rabbitohs shows his emotion during the NRL Preliminary Final match between the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Former star fullback and centre Greg Inglis has revealed he was approached by the Essendon Bombers in the wake of the Melbourne Storm's 2010 salary cap scandal.

Inglis would ultimately begin the 2011 season at the South Sydney Rabbitohs - the club he would play the remainder of his career at, with his last NRL game coming in 2019.

Inglis, who was born in Kempsey, said he had grown to love Melbourne, and it at one point convinced him to remain in the Victorian capital when the Bombers came knocking.

"When I was in Melbourne and that 2010 saga happened, Essendon approached me and I said yes because I loved Melbourne so much that I wanted to stay around," Inglis said on LISTNR's Footy Talk League podcast.

"Then I found out how many kilometres they ran."

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Inglis said that while the AFL was a consideration, he ultimately decided to stay in the NRL because he wanted to do what he loved.

That love would result in him being part of the Rabbitohs' drought-breaking premiership, and playing alongside a host of stars including Sam Burgess and Adam Reynolds.

"It came back to what I was passionate about. What I loved doing, what I would get the most kicks out of," Inglis said on his ultimate decision to stay on the NRL and move to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

"I was always going to go back to league.

"I wouldn't say I had no interest [in switching codes], but pretty much I sat back and heard it, but it went straight out the other ear."

Inglis, who struggled with injuries at the back-end of his career, played 264 games across his time at the Storm and Rabbitohs, before playing three games for the Warrington Wolves in a shock English Super League comeback during 2021.

He also played 32 State of Origins for Queensland and 39 Tests for Australia during a glittering career.