Willie Manu excited to link up with Brown

Willie Manu says the decision to move to St Helens was made easier knowing his former coach Nathan Brown would be there.

Manu was a player under Brown whilst at St George Illawarra in 2005, and the 32-year old is looking forward to pairing back up with the St Helens coach-elect next season.

Manu said: “I had a chat to Nathan when we first started talking. I know his coaching style, and it was one of the reasons I chose to go to Saints.

“Nathan is pretty chilled and laid back, but he likes you training hard. He will put the boys through their paces, and you don’t get anywhere through easy work.

“He loves his hard work, but I’m looking forward to that next year.”

Manu, like any other player going to a new club, wants to win trophies. The closest he came to winning silverware was in the 2008 Challenge Cup final, ironically a game Hull FC lost against St Helens at Wembley.

He said: “It was the first final that I’ve played in and to lose the only final, not knowing if you’ll get there again, was disappointing. We can hopefully get to another final this year before I leave Hull.

“Saints are always at finals at the end of the season. You have to look after yourself, and that’s another reason why I have made the decision to go to Saints next year.”

Manu says Brown has brought him to St Helens because of the impressive form he has been in at Hull, but realises he is going into a club that can perform really well on their day and has players performing at a high standard.

He said: “When St Helens want to play rugby, they can.

“I’m not saying they don’t go out there not to play, but they are a good team with a good squad and they are always there when it comes to the business end of the season.

“They are a threat even though they were in a patch for bit earlier this year.”