Warrington Wolves forward Mike Cooper was announced as a Wigan Warriors player yesterday.
It came as a shock with Cooper being considered a Warrington stalwart as Daryl Powell attempts to refresh his squad following a dismal 2022 season.
And, now Powell has revealed why he came to that decision and how Cooper took it.
“Well for one, everyone’s time comes to an end at a club at some point,” Powell told Yorkshire Live. “Coaches want different things at times. Me and Mike are fine but I just felt like we needed to move in a different direction.
“I wanted to freshen it up in the middle and the pack for next year. That’s the reason why. Me and Mike have sat down a couple of times over the last month in particular and talked it through. I think it’ll be good for him and good for us.
“That’s what happens in rugby league.
“We’ve signed some pretty smart players in the middle unit already next year and there’ll be some more as well. Freshness is at times good for everyone and I believe that’ll be the case for us and Mike.”
When asked how Cooper reacted to the decision, Powell said: “I don’t think he particularly wanted to leave. I explained it in as much detail as I could, and that was that.
“I don’t want to get into that too much, Coops has got his future sorted and we’re working hard to secure our future as a club in the best way possible.”
