WILLIE PETERS has hailed Nathan Cayless as someone with “strong values” as the New Zealand assistant coach gets ready to take over at Hull KR from 2027.
Cayless, who spent his entire NRL career with Parramatta Eels and earned 38 caps for the Kiwis, has signed a three-year deal with Rovers as the East Yorkshire club looks to continue the rise under Peters.
And Peters, who won the domestic treble with the Robins in 2025, is happy for Cayless to get the opportunity to show what he can do in Super League.
“It’s great that the club has got their man,” Peters said.
“There’s always a process to go through and the club has done that.
“It’s great for the club to appoint someone for the next three years. I don’t know Nathan’s coaching style but I know him as a person and having played against him, he’s got strong values and he was a very good player.
“He was the youngest captain in the NRL at one stage and he’s got great leadership skills.
“It’s about giving people an opportunity and he’s worked hard for this chance. He’s worked up through the grades, he’s had his own team (Wentworthville Magpies and New Zealand Warriors) in the New South Wales Cup.
“I was fortunate enough to get a chance here and it’s about taking that opportunity.”
Peters will leave Sewell Group Craven Park to become coach of Papua New Guinea Chiefs, who will enter the NRL in 2028.
Cayless, 48, born in Sydney of Maori heritage, made 259 appearances as a forward for Parramatta, a club-record 221 of them as skipper, between 1998 and 2010.
He captained New Zealand to 2008 World Cup final success over Australia, and will work with coach Stacey Jones at this year’s tournament.
Cayless has also worked as an assistant coach at Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers and developed a strong reputation for developing players and high-performance environments and building strong team cultures.
Parramatta chief executive Jim Sarantinos said: “Nathan has been an outstanding servant of the Eels and we are incredibly proud to see him earn this opportunity.
“His work with our programme has been invaluable, particularly in developing young players for NRL football.”