Once viewed as the future of both the Brisbane Broncos and the Maroons, Joel Moon has carved out a successful life and a long list of trophies on the other side of the world in England. Growing up in regional Queensland, rugby league is a religion. Devotion to the state’s Origin team, and in the 1990s the all-conquering Broncos, was demanded. Raised on the Sunshine Coast, a footy-loving Moon was no different. “I always supported the Broncos, dad loved them,” he tells Guardian Australia. “It was a bit of a big thing to play for them, one of my big goals.”

Moon was your archetypal schoolboy footy star, tipped for great things from his teen years. His Morayfield State High School team contained current Broncos Matt Gillett and Jack Reed, and he was signed by Brisbane at the age of 16. He played for Queensland at Under-19 level and was also selected for the Australian Schoolboys.

In 2006 Brisbane were coached by Wayne Bennett and the team featured the likes of Darren Lockyer, Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva. Breaking into that 17 would be no mean feat for the teenager. Moon made his debut in round 14 of the 2006 season, just three weeks after his 18th birthday, and played twice more that year as the Broncos romped to a grand final win over Melbourne. “It was massive, the whole team was chockfull of big names,” he says. “Even just to play three games that first year, they won the premiership. To be part of that was pretty special.”

But as the next two seasons rolled on, Moon struggled to cement one position in the Broncos match-day squad. A natural footballer, his versatility would serve to be his undoing. He was shunted from five-eighth to the centres to halfback and often to a utility role off the bench. Unseating the icon that was Lockyer from the five-eighth position unsurprisingly proved impossible. “I was a bit on the bench, a bit in the centres and just to get into the team was a buzz for me,” Moon reflects. “I was moving around a bit, anywhere he [Bennett] wanted me to play I’d play. When one was injured I would fill in there. I just filled the utility role.”

After just three years at Red Hill his time was over. The New Zealand Warriors came calling with the offer of a regular first-grade spot and a fresh start across the ditch. But leaving the Broncos was difficult. “It was tough because when you play you think you’ll be there for life. But that’s not how rugby league goes sometimes and everyone moves around. So I thought everyone does it so I better do it, get out and explore and try and further my career somewhere elsewhere.”

The Warriors struggled in his first year and finished in 14th place. “The year I went there I struggled at six so I went back to the centres for the next two years. It was a tough year that one. When you’re at 6 and you’re not going well, it’s hard. A lot of the stuff falls on you. But the next two years were good.”

Moon’s move to the centres helped him produce his best NRL form. In 2010 the Warriors finished fifth and reached the semi-finals. The following year he was picked in the Indigenous team for the NRL All-Stars game. “That was another high in my career,” he says. “To play alongside [Johnathan] Thurston, that was pretty special. My mum’s Aboriginal and we try and get the most out of our history and culture through my grandfather. That’s something that’s close to me.”

The Warriors set alight the back half of the competition in 2011 and stunned many by reaching the grand final. But it was a bitter-sweet end to the year for Moon, whose season ended in the finals against his old club. “I broke my ankle in the semi-final against the Broncos and then we made the grand final, so I was pretty devastated I couldn’t play. That was a bit of a low point. But you move on. No regrets.”

That season would be the last down under for the centre. After three years in Auckland, and 82 games in the NRL, he was on the move again. “I guess my footy wasn’t going that well at the Warriors. I wasn’t playing to my potential and I thought I either needed to change something or move on.”

Moon during his time with the Brisbane Broncos. Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Salford City Reds, 18,000 kilometres away, would be his new home. On the field Moon thrived, crossing for 11 tries in just 19 games. The open style of footy, with less wrestling, more ball movement and the often inconsistent defending of Super League, proved to be to his liking. But off the field wasn’t as smooth. “I went to Salford, Matt Parish was there and he had a big thing for me. But I got there and he left. I liked Salford, I went well and I was playing really good footy on the field. If you’re happy on the field then you’re happy anywhere. The club was a bit… the club wasn’t in good nick.”

At the end of 2012 Salford were struggling financially and Leeds Rhinos, arguably the closest UK version of the Brisbane Broncos came calling. It was a no-brainer for Moon. “The whole team’s got some great players and everyone wants to be a part of the team. They wanted me and just to get in was awesome. We haven’t looked back.”

His exit didn’t go down well with some Salford fans and coach Phil Veviers who accused him of disloyalty. However, Moon had tunnel vision. In 2012 Leeds had won their fifth grand final in the past six years. The club ruled Super League with their quartet of Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock, Kylie Leuluai and Danny Macguire. The Rhinos culture of success, of high-performance, was well enshrined.

Moon made a seamless transition into his new team, combing well with wing partner Ryan Hall, bagging a try and the man of the match award in his Leeds debut. Seventeen tries would come from 27 appearances in his first season. The following year the Challenge Cup, the trophy that had eluded the club since 1999, was won against Castleford. This would set Leeds up for a history-making 2015.

Last year everything clicked for the Yorkshire club. Hull KR were dispatched in the Challenge Cup final as they dished out a 50-0 history-making hiding at Wembley. Things would be tougher in the league, with Wigan, Saints and Huddersfield all nipping at the Rhinos’ heels. But the League Leader’s Shield was secured in dramatic fashion in the final seconds against the Giants, Hall’s miracle last-minute winner destined to be repeated in highlight reels over and over again.

Then it was Wigan in the grand final, a team desperate to avoid two decider defeats at Old Trafford in a row. The Warriors gave their all but the Leeds’ train, surged on by the anticipated departures of three club legends in Sinfield, Peacock and Lealuai, would not be derailed. The Rhinos were Super League champions once again and the first treble winners since St Helens a decade before. Moon was a vital cog in that historic season. Scoring tries, setting them up, making breaks and terrorising defences; the Australian’s status as one of the best centres in Super League was confirmed.

“It was a massive year,” Moon says. “It will go down in history as one of the best teams ever in Super League. Just to be a part of that was pretty special. I look back at and it still hasn’t sunk in.

Moon has found a home at Leeds, an oasis away from the NRL goldfish bowl that dominates Queensland and New South Wales. In June 2014 he signed a new deal tieing him to the club until the end of 2018, signaling his happiness at his current abode. Moon struggles to fully explain the Rhinos appeal: “Just everything, the club’s great, [down] from Gary [Hetherington, CEO]. Brian [McDermott] is awesome. He’s the best coach I’ve ever had. Some of the players, you just learn every day at training. It’s just a great club and I think everyone who goes there stays there, they know how good it is and they don’t want to leave. It shows on the field doesn’t it.”

Most NRL players arrive in Super League at the start or the end of their careers – either chasing opportunity or a final pay cheque. Moon landed in the UK at the age of 23, heading into his prime and looking for acceptance, support and contentment. And he has found it in spades. “I’m set now and we’re all happy. I love Leeds, it’s a great club and I don’t see why you’d move and do something different when everything’s well. We’ll be here for a long time. My wife loves it, she wants to stay here for life. It makes it easier for me.”

Many Australians also see Super League as a short-term stay, a competition good for a season or two before the “big-time” beckons them back. Their ultimate goal is to return to the NRL. According to Moon, it is this attitude that leads to many talented players failing to adapt and live up to their reputations in the UK. “If you start like that it’s just going to be a tough time. We embrace it, we like it there and we don’t see why we should come back.”

With four trophies in the bag in just two years and another one up for grabs this weekend, against North Queensland in the World Club Challenge, not to mention a content family, it’s hard to argue with Moon’s logic. The 27-year old has no regrets about how his career down under finished. He might not have become the new Darren Lockyer, the new hero of the Broncos faithful or Origin savior as some had predicted, but things have turned out pretty well for the Caloundra product. The Cowboys and TV viewers back in Australia will get to see the new and improved Joel Moon – matured, settled, confident and talented – in action on Monday morning. Enjoy the show.

“I don’t look back and think there’s something missing. I’ve had a good time in the NRL, I’ve played in some games and in some good teams and there’s nothing I need to do to prove to myself why I should go back. The Super League is just as tough now. I’m challenging myself in England and that’s all that matters to me.”