The Agenda Setters Rugby League on Channel 7 PNG Chiefs coach Willie Peters rules himself out as England’s coach in Rugby League World Cup –
Willie Peters rules himself out as England’s coach in Rugby League World Cup
LK: “We’ve got the Rugby League World Cup here on Channel 7 later this year. Your name has been tossed around for the England job. Is it something you want to do, or is it now off the table now that you’re at PNG.”
WP: “Yeah that job is off the table now. My main focus is what I’m doing at Hull KR. It would have been awesome to coach England. It was something I really wanted to do, but that job needs 2- 3 year attention from that coach.
PNG Chiefs coach Willie Peters reveals search for homegrown PNG Rugby League stars
CP: “Why the PNG Chiefs?”
WP: “The uniqueness of the role. To represent a country and the people of PNG is something that I’m really looking forward to. There is a massive responsibility there. And to be able to put a roster together of staff, and build a culture from scratch excites me. I’m fully aware it’s a huge challenge, but any NRL job or head coaching job has it’s challenge. And I love bring people together and creating a family environment.”
LK: “When and how did this all transpire? Was this a clear-cut decision on PNG or have there been any other teams you’ve looked for?”
WP: “It became real maybe 5 or 6 weeks ago when a journalist asked me about the Chiefs, and I said what I just said then. I would like to start a club, build a roster, build a culture. From there I received a bit of interest from their end, and conversations started. Naturally behind the scenes it was my family I was most concerned about – making sure this was the right decision for all of us. And once we decided this is the opportunity we want to take, it was a no brainer for us. It was a job I wanted, I got down to the last three and I took this job as one that I wanted.
AW: Building the roster, are you going to bring any players over from the Super League? The Aussies love the tax free money.
WP: “There is no doubt the money is going to be the immediate attraction to some people. What we need to do is bring players over who want to be there, and make a difference. We are representing the people of PNG who are absolutely mad about their Rugby League. We can unite a country and make a difference off the field. So it’s about bringing over the right person and the right families who can buy into and be involved with and grow with this club. NRL is about winning games, so we need to get good players in. Where those players come from, we will look everywhere. We want to look internal – I want a club that has a massive pathway or pool to choose from- and in PNG, there are players we don’t know about. Our job is to make sure we have eyes on every young player, to eventually and hopefully build a team full of young players from PNG. We need to get the right systems early. We will certainly be looking at the Super League and the NRL, but we will also be looking in our own backyard first.”
DR: Lets cut to the chase. Are you after Nathan Cleary? Isaah Yeo? Cameron Munster? Surely you want one of the big ones?
WP: Those players interest any coach. We can’t have those discussions with those players until November, but I want to have players who want to be at the Chiefs for the right reasons. The leadership group is important to me.
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The Agenda Setters Rugby League on Channel 7 PNG Chiefs coach Willie Peters rules himself out as England’s coach in Rugby League World Cup
