Cooks Islands international Esan Marsters disclosed he is eager to make a return to the NRL after he recently took on Fiji and Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Championships.
Typically featured in the centres, Marsters played in the halves last Sunday against Fiji in what was his eighth international appearance for the country.
Playing alongside the likes of Cronulla Sharks outside back Kayal Iro and South Sydney Rabbitohs forward Davvy Moale, Marsters is hoping a return to the NRL could be on the horizon shortly.
A former New Zealand international - playing six Tests - Marsters has been playing in the Super League as of late with the Huddersfield Giants after being let go by the Gold Coast Titans at the end of the 2022 NRL season.
“I've got an end goal of wanting to come back to the NRL,” Marsters told NRL.com.
“I'm only 27 so I've still got a lot of good footy left in me.
“I'm enjoying the Super League, I've got my family there so it's good but, for myself, I want to use this platform here to hopefully get back to the NRL.”
Beginning his career in the Sydney Roosters junior pathways system, he would spend one year with their SG Ball side before being cut and ending up at the Wests Tigers.
The former Junior Kiwis player played 61 NRL games for the club between 2017 and 2019, scoring 260 points.
Despite being one of the competition's most improved players in 2018, he was unceremoniously cut from the final season of his contract a year later and ended up with the North Queensland Cowboys.
From 2020, he would play two seasons with the Cowboys and two years with the Gold Coast Titans before moving overseas to join the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League at the end of 2022.
As he aims for a return to the NRL, Marsters is also committed to helping the Cook Islands qualify for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup. A qualification will occur if they win the World Series in 2025.
“My mum is of Cook Island descent, her mum and dad are Cookies, so it is a big thing for myself to represent our nation of 19 small islands and especially, to play with my cousin [Steven Marsters]. That's massive for our family,” he said.
“There is a lot of good talent coming out of the Cook Islands, and if you look at the players who are playing for Australia and New Zealand, some of the big names who are playing for them could play for us as well.
"We are treated like rock stars here in PNG and if we can build that across all islands it will be great for our game.
"The Pacific Championships is good exposure for our little nations. We are treated like rock stars here in PNG and if we can build that across all islands it will be great for our game.”
