The Brisbane Broncos have confirmed the departure of assistant coach Lee Briers at the end of the 2024 NRL season.
Joining the Broncos at the start of last season, Briers works as the club's attacking coach under Kevin Walters and was instrumental in them making the Grand Final against the Penrith Panthers last season.
His departure from Red Hill will allow him to return to England, where it is reported that he will link up with St Helens RLFC in the Super League competition.
"It's been a really tough decision to head back home but firstly I want to thank Kev and the Broncos for giving me this opportunity - it's not often that you get an English coach coming over and plying his trade in the NRL, so massive thanks to Kev and (CEO) Dave (Donaghy) and the club for taking a chance on me," he said.
"I'm sad to be going but our family had to deal with some loss last year and the time is right now to go back home - we still have our daughter living in the UK and we do miss her, so the time is right to go back.
"We are forever grateful and we'll look back on these two years as one of the best experiences of our lives.
"It's been a joy to watch everybody grow at the club and this is really just the start of a very long and successful time for the Broncos - everyone is connected and pushing in the same direction - and I'm really looking forward to the next few months of football and finishing on a high with this team."
Aged 46, Briers has helped the Broncos focus on offensive strategy and player development during his tenure at the club.
Before moving to Australia with the Broncos, he made 425 Super League appearances in the United Kingdom and previously had coaching roles at the Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors.
"When you've been involved in sport as long as I have, it's not so much about the winning and the losing but about the memories and the friendships that you make, and I can certainly say with my hand on my heart that I've made some absolute friends for life here at the Broncos," Briers added.
"The difference from Australia to the UK in rugby league is that here the game is on a global scale, so the pressure that comes with that is much higher and you've got to keep the players grounded. Kev's got a really good angle on that with his man management, and that aspect stands out as the thing l've learnt a lot about that while l've been here at the club."
we will miss him
and I once met the broncos assistant coach, and he was a good guy.
he did well for Brisbane but now we are gonna lose a lot more now that he’s gone