Sport: Mick Potter excited to take charge of Fiji Bati

Transcript

The new Fiji rugby league coach Mick Potter says it's an exciting time to be a part of the Bati team and the international game.

The 52-year-old Newcastle Knights assistant has been appointed coach for May's Pacific Test against Papua New Guinea and says he's keen to see the job through until next year's World Cup.

The former Wests Tigers, Bradford, St Helens and Catalans Dragons coach helped former coach Rick Stone during last year's test window and told Vinnie Wylie he jumped at the chance to stay involved.

MICK POTTER: There was an opportunity there this year to continue there so I've taken it up and it's been really good to work with some of the young players in Fiji. I went over there late last year and done some clinics and some coaching and watched a fair bit of the teams playing and it was a good experience. I liked it and enjoyed it and just since been appointed.

VINNIE WYLIE: Having the experience with Rick last year with the Bati and having that knowledge of the players is obviously going to help because, when you have that international week in May you have them for that whole week but I suppose you don't get many opportunities in-season to have the squad together?

MP: No you don't and it's unfortunate but their commitments with their clubs obviously come first. The experience that I had last year I enjoyed it to the point where I wanted to stay involved. Their culture that they've got, the Fiji Bati team, is a very good culture as far as the feeling you have from being with the players and the feeling they get with each other is one you want to be associated with. They try to look after one another, they try and do the best for their team and their family and to represent Fiji in the Bati team is something that's precious to them.

VW: Fijian Rugby League: semi finals of the last World Cup;  you've got the long-term goal of getting a team in the New South Wales Cup; and Melbourne have agreed to play a NRL match up there as well so there's a lot happening?

MP: There is and there's been quite a bit of talk with the New South Wales Rugby League and the Australian Rugby League to get a team into that New South Wales Cup. I think it's getting closer and closer - I'm not sure if everything has been ticked off - but certainly that would be a big step to having a complete Fiji team in the Australian competitions. It's only the second tier - it's virtually one step away from NRL - so having those players on show week-in and week-out and having those players being able to compete physically with a lot of the squads of NRL is going to make them better and it's going to make them better quicker and that's going to take them to another level long-term.

VW: There are obviously a lot of Fijian players that are in the NRL - what do you make of the talent at your disposal now and how confident are you about how many of them you can actually get because there is that sort of struggle between club and country, which is a delicate balancing act?

MP: Yeah it is. It's just a case of just keeping conversation with the clubs and the players wanting to represent their country. It's an opportunity for them and most clubs are sympathetic to a degree but they also want their team to do as well as it can and they don't want any unnecessary injuries. It's a bit of a conflict if they see it as that and sometimes that needs to be negotiated out but most are fairly receptive to letting the young players represent their country.

VW: This is of course, at this moment, just for that one test against PNG - are you keen to go on until at least that World Cup next year?

MP: I will wait and see but yeah I'm certainly keen to follow it through. It will be up to the Fijian Rugby League what they want to do there but yeah I'm keen to pursue it and I'll just see what happens after this test.