SAM Burgess announced his retirement from rugby league today due to a chronic shoulder injury, and Bradford Bulls players past and present have been queuing up to share their memories of a “modern era legend”, especially from their time with him at Odsal.

Burgess is from Liversedge, and began his career in the much-vaunted Bulls academy. He made his first-team debut aged just 17 in 2006, playing 88 times for the club before departing for the NRL and South Sydney Rabbitohs at the end of 2009.

Out there, he cemented his place as one of the league’s greatest foreign imports, spending nearly a decade in Australia over two spells.

Read more: Rugby League world pays tribute to Sam Burgess

One man who knows all about rugby league Down Under is Burgess’ former Bulls team-mate Glenn Morrison. The Australian second-row played for the likes of North Queensland Cowboys and Parramatta Eels until coming to England in 2007.

Morrison played alongside Burgess for three seasons and was impressed from day one.

Speaking to the T&A, the Aussie said: “The first day I arrived at the club, I had to do a photo shoot with Sam for the club shop so he was actually the first player I met.

“Even then, speaking to him about who he looked up to and what he wanted to achieve in the game, you could tell he’d be a star. He was great on and off the pitch.

“There was one Friday night game on TV against St Helens which was a real battle. He needed to muscle up and he just put himself right in the firing line against what was an international pack.

“That showed he was a star because for a young kid to go and do that showed he wouldn’t take a backwards step.

“Then there was that famous tour in 2007 when he put (New Zealand prop) Fuifui Moimoi on his backside. He never looked back after that.”

Morrison felt Burgess - nicknamed Slammin’ Sam - has paved the way for the likes of former Bradford Bulls stars John Bateman and Elliott Whitehead to test their mettle out in Australia too.

He said: “I spoke to Sam about playing in the NRL before he went, and he was going to wait for another couple of years. But he’d already had two shoulder reconstructions by that point already so I told him to get himself out there.

“The NRL is the hardest competition in the world but by going out there, you can show how good you are and become a top class player.

“I did the opposite, just to prove I could play in both competitions (Super League and NRL). There’s a lot more money out there so it’s definitely beneficial to play in the NRL too.”

Asked whether he expects Burgess to head into coaching after his retirement, Morrison said: “I think that’s in his thoughts to go into coaching.

“The way he looked after his dad Mark (who died of motor neurone disease) at a young age matured him a lot, and he’s a genuine and honest bloke on and off the field.

“You’ve got to be honest if you want to be a coach too.”

Morrison is now a player/coach at rugby union club Bradford Salem, but he doesn’t expect Burgess to be joining him any time soon at the Yorkshire One rugby union outfit.

Burgess spent a year in union at Bath, and was widely scapegoated for England’s humiliating group stage exit from the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Morrison laughed: “I think Sam’s already done his rugby union stint, so I’m pretty sure he’ll just concentrate on league if he goes into coaching.”

Steve Crossley is at the other end of the scale. The current Bulls captain is a year younger than Burgess, and said that when he was in the club’s academy a decade ago, the youngsters looked up to Burgess as an example of what could be achieved.

He said: “Sam was an inspiration to everyone in the academy, as he led the pathway to the first team and made it seem a realistic goal.

“We played a few first-team friendlies together and he always set the tone in a game, wrapping the ball up and leading the line. For someone so young to throw himself on to the scene like that was impressive.”

Asked whether Burgess’ move to Sydney paved the way for his own spell at Toronto Wolfpack, Crossley said: “Playing for Toronto was a part of history, the first professional rugby league team in Canada.

“But Sam left for Australia at such a young age and became a modern era legend playing down there. It led the way for other Brits to play overseas.”

Crossley wants to see Burgess go into coaching, saying: “From my point of view, he needs to stay in the game. He’s got a lot more to offer rugby league, even if he’s not playing.

“Even when I made the first team years ago, he was always helping out us young lads, giving us tips and ways of getting better. He’s always had that about him.”