{"id":441163,"date":"2026-02-23T12:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/441163\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T12:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:04:09","slug":"hull-kr-boss-willie-peters-receives-more-high-profile-backing-for-png-chiefs-nrl-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/441163\/","title":{"rendered":"Hull KR boss Willie Peters receives more high-profile backing for PNG Chiefs NRL role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Willie Peters has been backed by a couple of high-profile NRL figures.\"Former<\/p>\n

Former NRL half-back Chad Townsend has thrown his support behind Willie Peters and the vacant PNG Chiefs head coaching role.<\/p>\n

Former NRL half-back Chad Townsend, who boasts a decorated career with more than 250 appearances and a Premiership title, has thrown his support behind Willie Peters for the vacant PNG Chiefs head coaching role.<\/p>\n

Peters, who recently led Hull KR<\/a> to World Club Challenge glory to complete a historic quadruple – becoming only the fourth Super League club to hold all four trophies simultaneously – has confirmed his interest in the role<\/a>. The PNG Chiefs are set to join the NRL for their inaugural season in 2028 as the competition’s 19th club, while Perth Bears will join next season.<\/p>\n

PNG Chiefs general manager Michael Chammas recently named Jason Demetriou and Adrian Lam as potential candidates<\/a>. Peters meanwhile declared his interest just days later following Hull KR\u2019s emphatic 30-24 win over Brisbane Broncos.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, I\u2019d assume the frontrunners are the two Michael Chammas mentioned: Jason Demetriou and Adrian Lam. Lam has strong connections with PNG, while Demetriou is the current national coach,\u201d Townsend said on podcast \u2018Kick off With Brandy and Jimmy\u2019.<\/p>\n

Townsend, however, believes Peters could be the coach needed to attract elite players to Port Moresby. Chammas has also admitted he hopes to make an appointment \u201creally soon\u201d to begin assembling the NRL squad.<\/p>\n

Former playmaker Townsend retired at the end of 2025, having won a Premiership with Cronulla Sharks in 2016 and also representing New Zealand Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, Sydney Roosters and New South Wales City across a well-respected career.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely,\u201d Townsend replied when asked if Peters would attract players to PNG Chiefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWillie Peters has put together an impressive r\u00e9sum\u00e9 in the Super League. He also spent time with Kevvie [Kevin Walters] in the Ashes and served as assistant coach of Australia.”<\/p>\n

Brisbane Broncos captain Adam Reynolds also backed Peters to be a big hit in the NRL following the World Club Challenge, with the MKM Stadium contest set to go down as one of the greatest.<\/p>\n

Peters – contracted until the end of 2028 – has helped transform Hull KR and previously worked with veteran half-back Reynolds at South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a coach going places,\u201d Reynolds, who is set to retire at the end of 2026, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s achieved a lot in a short period. I have a great relationship with Willie, although I wish tonight\u2019s [World Club Challenge] result could have been different.<\/p>\n

“He has a great mindset and coaching philosophy, and his style is brilliant. He has a big future ahead, whether in the NRL or elsewhere – he could definitely make it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Willie Peters has been backed by a couple of high-profile NRL figures. Former NRL half-back Chad Townsend has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[20372,5903,20370,101,20373,56,54,55,42222],"class_list":{"0":"post-441163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-hull-kr","9":"tag-rugby","10":"tag-rugby-league","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-super-league","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom","16":"tag-willie-peters"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}