AUSTRALIAN centre Tom Opacic is ready to turn up the heat at Hull KR after enduring the unfamiliar cold of an English pre-season.
Rovers, under a new coach in the 28-year-old’s compatriot Willie Peters and with the former Parramatta Eels man among a number of new additions to the squad, host Wigan in front of the Channel 4 cameras on Saturday.
Queenslander Opacic’s move to Super League comes as his hometown club (Redcliffe) Dolphins, where he played as a junior, prepare for their big NRL bow against Sydney Roosters next month.
But after seven years in Australia’s top-flight, the former Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys man is fully invested in Rovers, where he is starting a two-year contract – even if he is looking forward to the temperature rising.
After one training session with his new team-mates, he memorably described himself as having “numb eyebrows”, telling League Express: “It was just so cold, wet and windy.
“Normally after training, I stay out on the field and do a few extras, but that day, I just bolted for the changing rooms!
“It’s certainly different to what I’m used to, but that was part of the attraction of coming over.
“I could have stayed in the NRL, but I wanted a new challenge in terms of lifestyle as well as rugby, and this opportunity arose.”
Rovers have also signed NRL forwards Rhys Kennedy (from Brisbane) and Jesse Sue (Newcastle Knights, where Peters was previously assistant coach).
And Opacic added: “There’s a good Aussie connection, and it was probably Willie being here that got me over the line in terms of signing up.
“But the English blokes have all been very welcoming, and we had a great training camp in Tenerife – where the weather was a bit warmer – and that really helped us bond.
“It’s been a good pre-season, and now we’re ready for business.
“We’ve got a great opening game in store, at a noisy and packed-out home stadium against a quality team, so if we can’t get up for that, there’s something wrong.”
