Wigan Warriors: Sam Powell reveals his coaching aspirations as he plans for the future

The 29-year-old will celebrate the 10th anniversary since he made his senior debut for the club this season, but is looking ahead as well as back.

Prior to the first Covid-19 lockdown, Powell had started helping out with the scholarship side to pick up some coaching experience, before moving over to the academy, where he currently does one night a week.

He said: “Coaching has always been something I have been passionate about, and something I want to go into. I just think by starting now it will give me a jump when I do come to retirement .

“Who knows where it will take me, but I am getting some good experience at the minute, and there’s loads of avenues I can go down with it. I’m really enjoying myself, so that’s the main thing.

“We’ve had some great kids come through at Wigan, obviously you’ve seen a lot of them making their debuts over the years, and that is a credit to the club in itself and the structures they have in place.

“With me being involved in the academy now, I get to see how impressive it is. The structures throughout the club are pretty similar. When people come in at scholarship level they know what is expected of them. It all makes for a smooth transition.”

Powell says he has learnt a lot from the people he has worked under in his own career.

“I’ve taken a lot from the coaches I’ve had, they’ve been very different in some respects,” he added.

“Michael Maguire was unbelievable, I never played under him but just the knowledge he had. The number of trophies Shaun Wane won speaks for itself.

“You pick up little things of what each coach does really well but the times when you learn most are when you’re not getting the results.

“I think Matty (Peet) has nailed things here so far, we’ve done a lot on culture and it’s really important, I’ve learnt a lot from him in his short time.

“He’s been pushing me, letting me do work with other teams, which is a massive help for me.

"He organised for me to go to Saracens for a day, just to watch how they do things.”

To celebrate the start of the Super League season we are offering readers 20% off digital sport subscriptions until February 23. Use promo code SL20 when signing up to enjoy the discount. https://www.wigantoday.net/subscriptions/sports.