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English league greats have played for the Tigers. Pearce-Paul hopes to follow in their footsteps
By Robert Dillon
January 12, 2026 — 7.30pm
They were his childhood heroes, even if their careers were mostly over before he was born. Now, Kai Pearce-Paul hopes to continue a proud history of English imports by earning his stripes with Wests Tigers.
Pearce-Paul has been the Tigers’ most notable off-season recruit after emerging from the recent Ashes series as one of the few England players to enhance his reputation, following two seasons at the Newcastle Knights.
Some of the former stars of English rugby league – including Ellery Hanley, Garry Schofield, Andy Currier, Lee Crooks and Shaun Edwards – plied their trade with Balmain and/or the Western Suburbs Magpies through the 1980s and 1990s.
A generation later, after the two clubs had merged, Gareth Ellis followed in their footsteps and delivered four productive seasons for the joint-venture outfit.
Their feats in the world’s toughest competition provided a young kid from London with inspiration and motivation, and now he is living the same dream.
“I know what those players brought to the game,” Pearce-Paul said. “They’re just complete legends of the game ...
“Being English anyway and coming out here is always a bit of a different approach to most people, but I think it’s just about being proud of where you come from and every time I put on whatever jersey it is, I’m just proud to be from England and represent where I’m from.”
During his time at Wigan, Pearce-Paul got to know Hanley, one of the iconic club’s greatest players, who scored 189 tries in 201 games and won myriad trophies.
He also spoke last year to Ellis, who he hopes to emulate after describing him as a “tough, old-school Pommy”.
Like Ellis, Pearce-Paul is a towering back-rower, who, after winning a Super League title in 2023, served his NRL apprenticeship at Newcastle, making 44 appearances, which was enough to earn him selection in the England team for the recent Ashes series.
While Australia won 3-0, Pearce-Paul was one of the few members of the home team to hold his own, averaging 84 attacking metres and 33 tackles a game in the three Tests.
The series result was a reality check, but at least now England’s players know the standard they will need to reach to have any hope at this year’s World Cup.
“It was an eye-opener,” Pearce-Paul said of the Ashes. “You just can’t give the Aussies a chance.
“It’s the best players in the world and the best league in the world, and it can be an even battle, and you mess up one little thing and you’ve got players like Nathan Cleary and [Cameron] Munster, they’ll just capitalise on it and finish those tries off.
“I think that struck us by surprise, especially in that first game with [Reece] Walsh. We gave him an inch and he just took a mile.”
International duties completed, Pearce-Paul has since been settling in at the Tigers, after signing a three-year deal midway through last season.
He insists he left the Knights on good terms – “there’s no hard feelings there at all” – but was immediately attracted by the sales pitch from Tigers coach Benji Marshall.
“Benji came in and showed real interest,” he said. “He made it very clear what he wanted me to bring for this team, and for me, it was a no-brainer.
“I think it was one chat on the phone and then one chat in person, and then I was sold.”
No sooner had the 24-year-old started training with the Tigers than they became embroiled in a boardroom drama, culminating in the departure of chief executive Shane Richardson.
But despite critics labelling the club a “basket case”, Pearce-Paul said the controversy had no impact on the players and coaching staff.
“We just sort of blocked out that noise,” he said.
“I guess it was a bit of an elephant in the room. You know, everyone’s on social media, and you’re seeing it everywhere, but we just all decided let’s just not let it bother us. Let’s just carry on focusing on us.
“At the end of the day, whatever happens up there, it doesn’t change how we train or change our goal and how we want to play this year.”
The goal, after finishing 13th last season, is to qualify for the finals for the first time since 2011. After watching the Tigers play what he described as “some champagne rugby” in 2025, Pearce-Paul believes the play-offs are a realistic ambition.
“Not just the top eight, we want to be even higher than that,” he said. “So we’ve set high standards for ourselves this year, and we want to be the best team we can.”
www.smh.com.au
By Robert Dillon
January 12, 2026 — 7.30pm
They were his childhood heroes, even if their careers were mostly over before he was born. Now, Kai Pearce-Paul hopes to continue a proud history of English imports by earning his stripes with Wests Tigers.
Pearce-Paul has been the Tigers’ most notable off-season recruit after emerging from the recent Ashes series as one of the few England players to enhance his reputation, following two seasons at the Newcastle Knights.
Some of the former stars of English rugby league – including Ellery Hanley, Garry Schofield, Andy Currier, Lee Crooks and Shaun Edwards – plied their trade with Balmain and/or the Western Suburbs Magpies through the 1980s and 1990s.
A generation later, after the two clubs had merged, Gareth Ellis followed in their footsteps and delivered four productive seasons for the joint-venture outfit.
Their feats in the world’s toughest competition provided a young kid from London with inspiration and motivation, and now he is living the same dream.
“I know what those players brought to the game,” Pearce-Paul said. “They’re just complete legends of the game ...
“Being English anyway and coming out here is always a bit of a different approach to most people, but I think it’s just about being proud of where you come from and every time I put on whatever jersey it is, I’m just proud to be from England and represent where I’m from.”
During his time at Wigan, Pearce-Paul got to know Hanley, one of the iconic club’s greatest players, who scored 189 tries in 201 games and won myriad trophies.
He also spoke last year to Ellis, who he hopes to emulate after describing him as a “tough, old-school Pommy”.
Like Ellis, Pearce-Paul is a towering back-rower, who, after winning a Super League title in 2023, served his NRL apprenticeship at Newcastle, making 44 appearances, which was enough to earn him selection in the England team for the recent Ashes series.
While Australia won 3-0, Pearce-Paul was one of the few members of the home team to hold his own, averaging 84 attacking metres and 33 tackles a game in the three Tests.
The series result was a reality check, but at least now England’s players know the standard they will need to reach to have any hope at this year’s World Cup.
“It was an eye-opener,” Pearce-Paul said of the Ashes. “You just can’t give the Aussies a chance.
“It’s the best players in the world and the best league in the world, and it can be an even battle, and you mess up one little thing and you’ve got players like Nathan Cleary and [Cameron] Munster, they’ll just capitalise on it and finish those tries off.
“I think that struck us by surprise, especially in that first game with [Reece] Walsh. We gave him an inch and he just took a mile.”
International duties completed, Pearce-Paul has since been settling in at the Tigers, after signing a three-year deal midway through last season.
He insists he left the Knights on good terms – “there’s no hard feelings there at all” – but was immediately attracted by the sales pitch from Tigers coach Benji Marshall.
“Benji came in and showed real interest,” he said. “He made it very clear what he wanted me to bring for this team, and for me, it was a no-brainer.
“I think it was one chat on the phone and then one chat in person, and then I was sold.”
No sooner had the 24-year-old started training with the Tigers than they became embroiled in a boardroom drama, culminating in the departure of chief executive Shane Richardson.
But despite critics labelling the club a “basket case”, Pearce-Paul said the controversy had no impact on the players and coaching staff.
“We just sort of blocked out that noise,” he said.
“I guess it was a bit of an elephant in the room. You know, everyone’s on social media, and you’re seeing it everywhere, but we just all decided let’s just not let it bother us. Let’s just carry on focusing on us.
“At the end of the day, whatever happens up there, it doesn’t change how we train or change our goal and how we want to play this year.”
The goal, after finishing 13th last season, is to qualify for the finals for the first time since 2011. After watching the Tigers play what he described as “some champagne rugby” in 2025, Pearce-Paul believes the play-offs are a realistic ambition.
“Not just the top eight, we want to be even higher than that,” he said. “So we’ve set high standards for ourselves this year, and we want to be the best team we can.”
English league greats have played for the Tigers. Pearce-Paul hopes to follow in their footsteps
After acquitting himself well during the recent rugby league Ashes series, the England back-rower has set his sights on the NRL finals with Wests Tigers.
