Lee Briers reveals why he left Warrington Wolves for Wigan Warriors and the club he turned down for the role

Being a Warrington Wolves legend, it’s almost difficult to comprehend moving from the Halliwell Jones Stadium to the DW Stadium, home of the Wigan Warriors.

But, for new Wigan assistant coach Lee Briers, it was a decision that, at first, was very difficult to comprehend after spending so long at Warrington.

And, now the former halfback has revealed just how the move came about.

“It’s as simple as, my contract at Warrington was up and it wasn’t going to get renewed,” Briers told the Drop Goal podcast.

“Obviously Daryl (Powell) was coming in and wanted to bring his own staff in and I’ve got no problem with that.

“It’s the role that I am in where people change roles and people bring in their own staff and it’s fine.

“Unfortunately I had to move on which was hard and strange but that’s life.”

Having said that, Briers has now realised just how important the move has been for him.

“I probably didn’t realise at the time how much it was going to benefit me to be honest.

“At the time I couldn’t get my head around the fact that I wasn’t going to be at Warrington.”

For the ex-Welsh international, it was a toss up between Wigan and a job in the NRL.

“I’ve been friends with Matty Peet for numerous years now and we worked together with the England academy.

“Matt had an inkling that he was going to be head coach and he wanted me to be with him.

“It was strange times because there was a bit of interest from Wigan but there was no concrete contract there until after the season.

“I was close to joining another club in the NRL but that didn’t just get over the line.

“So, I had two clubs  – one in England which is one of, if not the most, successful clubs in England – and then probably the biggest one in Australia so it was really humbling to have those clubs show interest.

“But it just felt right to be at Wigan – it’s a massive club and I thank Matty, the chairman and Kris Radlinski for showing confidence in me and giving me the opportunity and hopefully I can repay that.”