Hooper makes 'seamless' jump to Collegians head coaching role

Hooper becomes the club's first new coach since 2017, with Fien having guided the reigning champions to three premierships in four seasons in charge.

He's since shifted north for a job on Wayne Bennett's coaching staff with NRL surprise packets the Dolphins, ending what was effectively a six-year tenure at Collies with two years lost to COVID.

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It means Hooper's appointment ushers in a new era for the competition powerhouse as it looks for a three-peat of titles in 2023 after claiming the 2019 and 2022 crowns.

Hooper has had a front-row seat through the period of dominance, coaching in the lower grades at the club, while also piloting the Illawarra South Coast Dragons to back-to-back Laurie Daley Cup triumphs the last two years.

The new role's a step up, one he's certainly not taking lightly.

"Obviously Nathan's moved on to bigger and better things and I consider it a privilege to represent the club at this level," Hooper said.

"They have had some big name coaches in the past and they've entrusted me with the role.

"I'm a pretty confident fella anyway, but it gives me confidence that the club's got faith in my abilities as a coach moving forward, to keep the stability in the playing group, to understand the Collies culture, and maintain what Nathan's left behind.

"I've been at the club for six or seven years now, not working with Nathan [directly], just watching and learning. There hasn't been that big a turnover in the playing group, especially in the last five or six years that I've been there.

"You've got your Blake Phillips and Jared Thompson's and even the younger brigade, Zeke Foster, I coached Josh Dowel at Warilla when he was 17, so I've coached a lot of the younger guys coming through.

"They've all been quite welcoming. It's been seamless to be honest."

With a roster near identical to the one that claimed last year's decider - including a host of premiership-winning veterans - Hooper says he hasn't gone out of his way to impose himself on the role in the wake of Fien's departure.

"I'm not going to come in and throw my weight around," he said.

"I'm not an overly cranky coach and as I've got older, you probably lean more on the senior players because, at the end of the day, they drive the standards.

"If they're not happy with what the coach is saying, it's not going to work. It's not going to be 'Peter Hooper's way', it's got to be a collective Collies way. That's what's worked best here.

"If you know what Nathan works like, he's a pretty selfless person, he's not a demanding fella himself and he uses a collective approach as well.

"What he's done speaks for itself, and the players speak for themselves in what they've done with the club the last few years. They're pretty high standards that they set themselves without me having to be overseer of too much."

While a competition again reduced to six teams is far from the ideal scenario, recruitment drives from the likes of Corrimal and Dapto promises to see a lift in the week to week standard of games.

Collies will get the first look at it when they head to Ziems Park to take on a Cougars outfit set on laying down a fresh marker, with Hooper saying no opposition can be taken lightly in a condensed competition.

"As much as it's not ideal being a six-team competition, Dapto and Corrimal have recruited well," Hooper said.

"I believe Corrimal have been training since way before Christmas. That's what it takes to be competitive in the competition and if you don't turn up week in week out, it's going be very tough."

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