Warriors sign assistant coach
The Warriors have strengthened their coaching staff by signing Cowboys assistant coach Todd Payten.
Payten, a premiership winner with the Wests Tigers as a player in 2005, has been confirmed to take up an assistants role at the Auckland club on a three-year deal from 2019.
The Warriors announced the appointment yesterday, 24 hours after head coach
Stephen Kearney confirmed the club had signed a new assistant coach but refused to reveal his identity.
‘‘Todd’s a young coach who has made a great impression and we’re really excited about having him on board from next season,’’ Kearney said in a statement on the Warriors’ website.
The Warriors recently re-signed assistants Stacey Jones and Tony Iro to the end of the 2020 season but have been looking for a replacement for Andrew McFadden, who is returning to Australia at the end of the season.
Payten is highly regarded across the Tasman, having made an impressive transition into coaching after playing 259 NRL games for the Raiders, Roosters and Tigers.
A year after his retirement he coached the Tigers under-20s side to the NYC title in 2012 before moving into an assistant role with the NRL squad in 2014. The 39-year-old shifted to the Cowboys the following season and was part of the coaching staff in the side’s grand final triumph over the Broncos.