MIKE Cooper has given insight into the influence Gareth Widdop will have on Warrington Wolves teams during his three-year stay.

The pair came together as teammates in the NRL at St George Illawarra Dragons in 2014, Cooper arriving as a relatively unknown English forward and Widdop joining from Melbourne Storm as a past Grand Final winner and a superstar of the sport.

They spent three years as teammates, ended up living in the same street, their partners established a friendship and they shared family experiences together.

Warrington Guardian:

Gareth Widdop. Picture by Mike Boden

“He’s a proven winner,” said Cooper, The Wire prop who is entering his Testimonial year marking 10 seasons at his hometown club.

“Gaz won everything at Melbourne and picked everything up from the likes of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith – and he brought all that and their attitude to St George.

“This is probably the biggest signing the club has made since Adrian Morley.

“Gaz is going to bring a lot to the side. He’s a fantastic defender, a great kicker and reads the game extremely well. He’s just a natural rugby league player.

“He’s not all about the flashy stuff. He does the hard work and will direct us around the field.

“I think he will complement Blake Austin well in the halves and I’m looking forward to seeing him out there when he’s fit.

“It’s unfortunate this injury has happened, but I guess you want to get these injuries out of the way early.

“Like anyone coming over from Australia, it took me a bit of a while to get used to soft ground again.

“Probably that’s why the injury has happened, because he’s used to running on hard surfaces all the time.

“But the fields here are completely sodden, which is part of life and it does take a while for your legs to get used to that.

“He’ll be working hard while he’s injured and doing his rehab.

“I’m sure he’ll come back strongly from it.”

Warrington Guardian:

Mike Cooper in training. Picture by Mike Boden

Cooper said Widdop has slotted straight in at Wolves, helped by already knowing other fellow England internationals Chris Hill, Stef Ratchford, Daryl Clark, Joe Philbin and Jack Hughes.

He recalled how their relationship was first perceived at St George as incoming ‘Poms’.

“I had to laugh at first. There was a bit of a rumour that I was only at St George as his taxi driver for the first 12 months over there, because I was chauffeuring him about a bit,” he said with a smile.

“He’s great to have around the place. His accent has changed a little bit again now, he’s speaking a little bit more English now he’s come back – I couldn’t understand him for the first couple of days.

“As we all knew, he’s fitted in straight away. He’s probably missed the craic with the English lads and the culture, and would probably admit that.

“I’m sure when his family’s all settled he’ll have a great three years here and we’ll have some fun along the way.

“It doesn’t feel like we’ve got a new player because I’ve known him for so long.”