Wigan Warriors v Leeds Rhinos: Yogi confident his switch to Wigan was no '˜boo-boo'

AS Joe Greenwood prepares to make his Wigan Warriors debut tomorrow night, he insists he will be ready '“ and revealed it took his new team-mates just a matter of hours to christen him '˜Yogi'.
Wigan Warriors' new signing Joe Greenwood.Wigan Warriors' new signing Joe Greenwood.
Wigan Warriors' new signing Joe Greenwood.

The ex-St Helens second-row only arrived from Australia on Sunday after leaving Gold Coast Titans to sign a three-and-a-half-year deal at DW Stadium.

England hopeful Greenwood played 22 NRL games last term but hadn’t featured in 2018 for new boss Garth Brennan.

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“I was driving in on robot mode (on Monday) turning up here where I used to play in the academy,” he said.

“It only seemed two minutes ago I was packing up and leaving the Gold Coast and now here I am, getting ready for my first game.

“But it’s good to get started. I was nervous; it was like first day of school again, getting to know the coaches and players.

“My brother James used to play here, and they called him Bear. The lads said I need a nickname. That was at 9am, and by 1pm I was told I’m going to be called ‘Yogi’.”

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On his time Down Under, Greenwood, added: “I loved the lifestyle and I would have liked to stay for a couple more years.

“But it’s a short career, and when this opportunity came up I couldn’t turn it down.

“I’ve been keeping my eye on Super League and Wigan are up there, they’re pushing for silverware and coming here was a no-brainer.

“They’ve got some quality back-rowers already and hopefully I can learn off them.

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“It’s just good to get straight back into it, rather than have to wait for my shot.

“Hopefully I can bring some energy and my size to the team.

“It’s going to be a big game against Leeds. They’re struggling at the minute and are falling short on the wins but we can’t let our guard down.

“They’re an off-the-cuff team; you can’t switch off when you play against them.”