Brisbane Broncos assistant coach Lee Briers's next move has finally been confirmed after the club confirmed he would depart at the end of the 2024 NRL season in late July.
Working under Kevin Walters over the past two years, Briers helped lead the Broncos to the Grand Final against the Panthers, which they came extremely close to winning their first premiership since 2006.
Following a disappointing season that saw the Broncos miss out on making the top-eight, Briers has departed the club on a two-year contract to join St Helens RLFC in the Super League competition.
His arrival will see him work under Paul Wellens and mark his return to the club where his professional rugby league career began in 1997 as a player.
โIt's pretty emotional, I've got goosebumps and now it's getting confirmed the hairs on my arms are standing up, I'm genuinely so excited!," Briers toldย saintsrlfc.com.
"In sport you can be a professional, you can give your all for different clubs and you can have great relationships and bonds โ but there is nothing like playing or coaching for your hometown club.
โMe and my family never left the town and for 27 or so years I've had to put up with being seen as kind of like the enemy, but now it's just a surreal moment for me and my family โ I can't wait.โ
โMy conversations with Welloย [Paul Wellens]ย have been everything I thought they would be, in what is a fabulous leader.
"I'm so excited to work under him, learn from him, and add my bit to make the team where the team should be.โ
Before moving toย Australiaย with the Broncos, he made 425ย Super Leagueย appearances in the United Kingdom and previously had coaching roles at theย Warrington Wolvesย andย Wigan Warriors.
Aged 46, Briers has helped the Broncos focus on offensive strategy and player development during his tenure at the club.
โTo me, St.Helens' identity has always been Saints are โThe Entertainers' and there's a bit of work to do," he added.
"Paul will direct me on what I need to do and what he feels is right to do, I will also have bring my ideas and we will come up with a plan where we will have St.Helens being โThe Entertainers' with the likes of the players we will have.
โI'm looking forward to working with the young players, they've been thrown in at the deep end through nobody's fault, but next year those guys are players we know can come in and we can trust.
"Hopefully, I can add along to their journey. My job as a coach is to make sure that the process, every single day that I'm challenging every player, and that they are challenging me.
"We are all in it together to reach that end goal. We'll be making sure that we're doing everything right on a daily basis, having fun along the way, and connecting with everybody again.
"Connecting the Club to the town, to the fans even more, we are all on that journey.โ
