Simon Woolford comes up against one of his major mentors when Huddersfield Giants play Hull KR.
KCOM Craven Park boss Tim Sheens was Woolford’s first coach in the NRL at Canberra Raiders and credits him with being a huge career influence.
“Hull KR have a coach who has been around a long time, he was my first coach in the NRL and I know what to expect from a Tim Sheens team,” said Woolford, who played 234 matches for the Raiders between 1994 and 2006.
“They won’t die wondering, they will throw the footy around and they will certainly be looking to attack.
“I never thought I would see the day when I was coaching against Tim"
“So we need to make sure our D (defence) is on and, if we do that, then hopefully we will have enough points in us to win it.”
Woolford says he hasn’t spoken to Sheens for quite a while.
“It will be a little bit funny,” he explained.
“I never thought I would see the day when I was coaching against Tim, but like I’ve said he was a real mentor for me when I first moved to Canberra.
“Him and Craig Bellamy were actually the two guys who turned me into a hooker from the halves, so they had a big influence on my playing career.
“What I learned under those guys the first three or four years at the Raiders was invaluable, so I will look forward to coming up against him on Friday night.”
Woolford believes he’s learned a lot from Sheens and all the coaches he has worked with.
“As a player I was always a sponge and took in a lot of what my coaches told me,” he added.
“I was looking to learn all the time and I think I was pretty fortunate to be coached by those sorts of guys early in my career.
“The Raiders have got a really good history of producing decent coaches, when you look around and see Ricky Stuart and Laurie Daley and Craig Bellamy, who have gone from being good players to really good coaches, and I think Tim had a lot to do with that.”
