MIKE Cooper says his experiences in Australia mean he is ready to help lead Wolves in 2017.

The England international forward has returned to the club after three seasons with NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons.

Warrington-born Cooper, who has seven England caps to his name, says moving away from his home town has taught him a lot.

Wolves head of coaching and rugby Tony Smith has previously called on Cooper to be a leader within the squad and the former Latchford Albion junior says he is ready for that responsibility.

“You pick little things up from different coaches but the main thing I learnt was how to get the best out of myself,” he said.

“I think I learnt more about myself as a person playing over there than anything technically. I’m still the same player I was before but I’m a lot more experienced.

“I was one of the five players in the senior group at the Dragons which was a big honour for me.

“I was in there with the likes of Benji Marshall, Jason Nightingale and Ben Crane to get involved in making decisions for the team.

“I’ve learnt to be confident in speaking in front of the rest of the players and I’m certainly looking to do that within this team when it’s needed.

“It will be good to talk to the young players to help bring them on. I had players like Moz and Gaz Carvell in front of me when I was a kid and needed guidance.”

After having an extended off-season break due to his international commitments in the Four Nations, Cooper has now joined up with the squad to complete their preparations for the 2017 Super League campaign.

The 28-year-old says a lot has changed since he left at the end of the 2013 season but adds he is now looking forward to spending his prime years at Warrington.

He has also praised the influence of strength and conditioning coach Jon Clarke.

“The culture is very strong here, we’ve got some good young talent that just needs a little bit of nurturing and I’m really excited to be back,” he said.

“I wanted to come back in my prime so that I was spending my best years with Warrington.

“It’s still changed a lot, there’s a much different feel about the place.

“I didn’t come back in until after Christmas but there is still a lot of staff and players here.

“I’ve got some top mates like Chris Hill, Stef Ratchford, Matty Blythe and now Kev Brown as well. I’m loving every minute about being back.

“I knew Jon would be brilliant in his conditioning role, I really do think he’s the best I’ve seen in terms of the high-performance and science kind of things.

“You get some people who do that job but don’t understand the ins and outs of the game but, as a former player and a good one at that, he knows the game inside out and that’s exactly what we need in that role.”