New Hull Kingston Rovers coach Willie Peters will take on his first head-coaching role next season.
And he admits he is looking forward to working alongside Danny McGuire, who he played against earlier in his career when he was playing for Widnes in 2004.
“I played for Wigan in 2000 when Danny was just making his way through the Leeds Academy but then I went back to Australia before returning to join Widnes in 2004, by which time Danny was a superstar of the game. I’m very fortunate that I can lean on someone like him,” Peters told League Express.
“I can see how passionate he is about the game, helping people to become better.
“The biggest compliment I can give our team is that under Danny we were never beaten on effort.
“Danny drives that and it shows how much respect the players have for him.
“You can always work on the skills and the technical part of the game but you can’t instil effort. And that’s what I admire about this team.”
Before coming to Hull KR, Peters has worked as an assistant coach at several NRL clubs, including Manly, South Sydney and Newcastle, and it was coincidental that the job in east Hull came up just when he felt ready to take on the responsibility of coaching a first-grade team.
“In the back of my mind I always wanted to coach, even while I was still playing,” he added.
“But for a long time I wasn’t ready to coach first grade. I didn’t want to rush my coaching, so I started with the juniors, becoming a head coach for the 16s, 18s, and then the Tigers’ 20s.
“By now I have had a good apprenticeship so I feel ready to take this opportunity.
“Once the job became available, I put my interest forward, spoke to (Hull KR CEO) Paul Lakin, who is exceptional to work with, and then I spoke to (club owner) Neil Hudgell.
“I made it clear that I know where I want to go with this team, and that is to be a contender for trophies, but unless the players believe in it, it’s hard for the coaching staff to identify it.
Peters is now looking forward to getting going with his squad.
“The first group will come back on 25th October for a testing day,” he explained.
“We then have a camp in Tenerife in early December, which was planned before I was appointed and I was asked if I was okay with that, which I was.
“The overseas guys will arrive in November and the last to arrive will be the guys who have played in the World Cup.
“What I like about our squad is the depth in each position. What I like is the competition for spots, which is what we are achieving.
“If we have a full complement to choose from in round one, some good players will miss out.”
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