Willie Peters knows what it’s like to be the next big thing.
asserted
it → know → what
It’s a phenomenon he first experienced as a player, long before he was touted as an NRL coach-in-waiting, just like Craig Fitzgibbon, Cameron Ciraldo and Jason Ryles before him.
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he → ’ → him
In fact, after bursting onto the scene as a fresh-faced teen for South Sydney in 1997, Peters was met with headlines that could have crushed a less hardy soul.
uncertain
that → burst → soul
“He is a kid with something very special, and he’s going to dominate the premiership like Peter Sterling did,” former Rabbitoh Craig Coleman gushed at the time.
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Coleman → go → time
“Coaches are going to have to change their game plans because of him.”
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Coaches → go → him
And, now that he has picked up the clipboard for the first time as an NRL head coach for the PNG Chiefs, he won’t be the next Wayne Bennett, either.
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he → pick → Chiefs
“In my first or second game, it was in the paper, and people were literally comparing me to Peter Sterling,” Peters says.
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Peters → compare → Sterling
“And people are going, ‘This bloke’s not Sterlo.’
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bloke → go → ?
I was 18, you know?
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you → know → ?
It was tough at the time, but it built a lot of resilience in me.
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it → build → me
“A lot of things happened in my playing career that built resilience to help with coaching.
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that → happen → coaching
Now I understand what head coaching is all about …
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coaching → understand → what
I’ve used my playing career to help me.
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I → use → me
When I finished playing, I was 26, so I found it difficult to finish so early.
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it → finish → ?
“Then I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity in coaching – well, first doing sponsorship for the Rabbitohs through Shane Richardson – but I always knew I wanted to coach.
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I → get → Richardson
I knew that period of my life would help my coaching, and it certainly has.
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it → know → coaching
Peters may not have had a Sterling career as a player, but he has the opportunity to enjoy a sterling one as a coach.
uncertain
he → have → coach
Australian and England clubs have long earmarked Peters as a mentor of substance after a coaching career that has included unprecedented success at Hull KR and a spot on the Kangaroos brains trust for last year’s Ashes series.
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that → earmark → series
The Chiefs job wasn’t the first NRL position he had been sounded out about, but Peters believes it is the right fit.
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it → sound → ?
It will arm him with a blank sheet of paper and a virtual blank cheque, given the tax-free wages he can offer prospective recruits.
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he → arm → recruits
It’s also a job he accepted sight unseen.
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he → ’ → ?
The Chiefs trumpeted his signing in March, knowing they had to get in early before he was snapped up by another NRL club.
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he → trumpet → club
Yet the 47-year-old only set foot into the country for the first time on Friday.
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old → set → Friday
Sitting down with this masthead just a few days later, in the boardroom of the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby, Peters isn’t second-guessing the decision after finally experiencing PNG first hand.
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Peters → sit → PNG
“The last club I was at [Hull KR] was a very community-based club, and I enjoyed that,” he says.
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he → base → that
“Being a Rabbitohs junior and growing up with the Rabbitohs was working-class, which is very similar to Hull KR.
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which → grow → KR
Once I went over to Hull KR, you played for the city and played for the community.
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you → go → community
This is playing for a country.
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This → play → country
“What we did for the community at Hull KR was unbelievable, but doing it for a country is that on steroids.
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doing → do → steroids
“It’s a start-up club, so being able to put a roster together and put staff together was attractive.
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being → ’ → staff
For me, I’m big on people.
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I → ’m → people
Great people make a great club, so helping put that roster and staff together was appealing.
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people → make → roster
I just saw the potential.”
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I → see → potential
They will be living together in close quarters, at yet-to-be-built new residences at the Airways resort.
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They → live → resort
The “family club” tag is bandied about loosely in rugby league, but in this instance they will need to be one, big, happy family for the venture to be successful.
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venture → bandy → instance
“It’s certainly not going to be like going from A to B or C to D as regularly as you’d like at home, but it depends on who you are and what your values are,” Peter said.
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Peter → go → home
“This is going to suit families, but it will also suit a player who wants to come over, knuckle down, and concentrate on his rugby league.
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who → go → league
Over here, what we want to create is a place for younger guys to come, knuckle down, focus on their rugby league, and flourish in that environment …
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guys → want → environment
Purely because there are fewer distractions, it’s a great set-up.
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it → be → ?
You can still live a life that you can enjoy, that’s for sure.”
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that → live → that
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
