HOTLINE: Giving mining a try

Bradford Bulls’ stand-off Ben Jeffries is quitting the UK rugby league team for a mining job in his home country of Australia.

Jeffries will quit playing rugby league full-time and move back to Australia at the end of the 2012 season to take up a job with an undisclosed coal mining company, while continuing to play rugby league part-time with the Kurri-Kurri Bulldogs in New South Wales.

“It’s a no-brainer really,” Jeffries said. “I don’t know what my exact role will be just yet, but I’ll be working in the mining industry.”

Jeffries does not know whether he will be working in open-cut or underground mining.

“I’ve loved playing for Wakefield [Trinity Wildcats] and Bradford [Bulls] but starting a nine-to-five job and living in a country I’ve not lived in for 10 years represents a new challenge for me now,” he added.

Jeffries has played rugby league in the UK since 2002, making well over 200 appearances in the Super League, and scoring more than 100 tries.

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