Todd Payten has explained the last-minute U-turn that led to him revealing his decision to reject an offer to coach the Warriors on live television.
Payten, the team’s interim coach, dropped the bombshell during an appearance on Fox Sports show NRL 360 on Monday night while also confirming his interest in the vacancy at the North Queensland Cowboys.
A report on the Fox Sports website said the initial plan was to run a pre-recorded interview with Payten, in which he “talked at length” about leading the Warriors in a new direction.
However, shortly after the pre-recording took place, Payten rang the control room out of the blue and asked if he could redo the interview, where he proceeded to stun hosts Ben Ikin and Paul Kent.
“Have you run that interview?” Payten reportedly asked an NRL 360 producer.
“Can you get me back on live? I’ve been offered the job but I’ve decided not to take it.”
Talking to Newstalk ZB on Tuesday, Payten said he knew he had made a mistake as soon as he put the phone down and immediately went about setting the record straight.
“I got off the phone and for 25 minutes it didn’t really sit well with me that I was dishonest,” Payten said. “I ask my players to be honest and accountable and how can they do it and not me?
“So I rang them immediately and asked to go to air live and I just addressed it. I’m glad I did because it’s been put to bed now.”
Payten said the main reason for not revealing his decision in the first place was to prevent the matter from playing out in public.
“But in the end, it was always going to. I’m just glad I did the right thing,” he told Newstalk ZB.
The Fox Sports report said Payten wore a Warriors training top in the earlier interview, which was replaced with a generic grey hoodie when he went on to reveal how he had declined the Warriors offer.
On Monday, the 41-year-old Payten, who was born in Parramatta, said the decision was based on family reasons, although he confirmed there were other factors in play.
“It’s not an easy decision. [It is] something I agonised over for a few days,” he said.
“But in the end, it was the first time I put my family first in a decision – it just wasn’t the right timing.
“Not many people know this, but my wife’s father just started chemotherapy, so that was at the forefront of my mind.
