ALLAN Langer jetted back into Britain this week with a message about his pal Kevin Walters.

Alf, gearing up for his second season with Warrington Wolves, said: "Kevin's looking very fit and really looking forward to his new challenge over here."

Skipper Alf was in Australia up until Christmas and trained with his former Brisbane Broncos and Queensland half back partner Walters down under during his close-season break.

Scrum half Langer is looking forward to teaming up with Walters again after their massive joint success with the Broncos.

Alf said: "I'm over the moon that Kevin is coming over to join us. Having my last season with him is what we always wanted.

"Kevin is going to bring a lot of experience to the club.

"He is a great campaigner and always gives 100 per cent.

"Having him in the side is going to help my game too.

"I'm sure wherever Kevin plays in the team he will add a competitive challenge and he's a winner, which is what we need in the side."

Langer encouraged Walters to join the Wolves after Kevin Campion, their ex-Brisbane colleague, decided to pull out of his 2001 contract with the Wolves.

Alf said: "It is disappointing that Kevin Campion isn't coming over because he would have added a bit to the squad but we've got a better player in Kevin Walters joining the club."

Walters, who captained Brisbane to Grand Final glory in 2000, is the only Wolves player out of town at the moment. He has been waiting for work permit clearance and will arrive at Wilderspool next week.

Langer is pleased to be back at Wilderspool and is delighted with Darryl Van de Velde's team building for Super League VI.

He said: "I was always coming back. I couldn't believe the amount of talk about me not coming back.

"Looking ahead to the new season, we have more numbers in the squad than we did last year. There have been a lot of good close season buys to add to the squad members that we already had and we now have the depth that was missing last year.

"The best part of the team building is the number of options available to the coach for the different positions and that's a great position for a coach to be in."

The Wolves squad departed yesterday, Wednesday, for a five-day training stint with the Commandos at their base in Plymouth.

Before departing Alf said: "We're looking forward to a great season but we've got to put the work in now to hopefully allow us to get off to a great start.

"Our stay in Plymouth will be all about teamwork and hard work and I'm sure we'll get a lot of benefit out of it.

"There will be an amount of focus on the mental toughness side and that is a big part of the game these days.

"A team can be physical and fit but it also has to play smartly, know what to do in certain circumstances and know how to get through the tough times. I think the week in Plymouth will bring the best out of us."