Lee Briers has made the switch from the Warrington Wolves to Wigan Warriors in the off-season.
But, after 20 years at Wilderspool and then the Halliwell Jones Stadium, it was an incredibly difficult decision.
What was obvious from Briers’ interview on the Drop Goal podcast was the respect for which he holds for his previous coaches at the Wolves.
“We were really lucky, we’ve had some really good coaches at Warrington,” Briers said.
“Paul Cullen was fantastic, he was the right person for that period in time – he stabilised the club and I’m forever grateful for Paul making me captain and I cherish that honour.
“Tony Smith took over and he came at a time when the club was on the up and he recruited some really good players.
“I learnt from Tony that I didn’t need to do everything all of the time and that I could pick and choose when to come in.
“On top of that he was a great man manager, he used to let us senior guys come up with game plans and make sure we would own it with accountability and then other times he would say no and he would do it.”
Briers was clear that the coaching philosophy he now follows has a major Tony Smith influence.
“The stuff I do want to implement, there is a lot of Tony Smith stuff in there.
“I like his philosophies on how the game should be played – we think the same way around that.
“I’m a big believer in that we need to entertain as a sport if we are going to move it forward and get new viewers.”
