Wigan Warriors reserve full-back Matty Russell, understudy to England international Sam Tomkins, is to try his luck in Australia after signing for Gold Coast Titans.

The 19-year-old Russell, who made his Stobart Super League debut for the Warriors in March before spending six weeks on loan at Hull FC, will join the Queensland club on a two-year deal.

“He’s a young talent from England who’s looking for an opportunity over here in Australia,” Titans football manager Scott Clark told the Sydney Telegraph.

“He’s got Tomkins in front of him at Wigan and knows he’s not going to get much of an opportunity there.

“With English blokes coming over here and proving themselves, he wants to be part of that.”

Russell will be following in the footsteps of another English full-back, Richard Mathers, who left Leeds Rhinos in 2007 to join the Titans for their first year in the NRL but played only a handful of matches before returning to Super League with Wigan for the start of the 2008 season.