He' starred for New Zealand and is an NRL Grand Final winner but Kevin Proctor reckons relegation favourites Wakefield are as gifted as any of his former sides.
It’s a bold claim from the veteran second-row, 33, who’s set to make his Super League debut on Friday. Perennial strugglers Trinity start their campaign against Catalans and are widely tipped for the drop. But ex-Melbourne Storm star Proctor has laughed that off after assessing his new team-mates.
“I’ve played in a few teams now and reckon these guys are as skilful as any that I’ve ever played with,” said the forward, who played alongside Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk in Storm’s 2012 title win.
“There’s a good younger base and an older base, which is a good balance, but it’s the whole team… if they put their mind to it. It’s more if they want to do it or not. It’s an attitude thing. Wakefield have the players to do it. It’s just about confidence and I reckon they can challenge any of the top teams. From what I've seen I don’t see why they can't and they should have confidence to do that.”
Rookie Trinity coach Mark Applegarth will hope the big-name recruit, who won the 2012 Four Nations with the Kiwis, will help bring the best out of his squad. And Proctor admitted: “That is a job for me to try and drive those standards, try to instill some confidence in these young guys and make them believe they can beat the best.
“There’s a big difference between just competing or being there to collect a pay cheque. The quicker we change some of these guys’ mindsets, the more success will happen. They're good enough."
Proctor will look to fire them off to a quick start against Catalans. And put his own frustrations behind him. He was sacked by Gold Coast Titans last July after vaping in the toilets during an NRL game and then posting the video on social media. Proctor had played more than 100 matches for the club.
He recalled: “It was a bit of a kick in the ar*e. You see all those guys doing it in the middle of the sheds after a game. It was more the club/NRL thing. It is what it is. I’ve put it all behind me. I could have been salty about that and be a negative person.
“But I’ve got to spend more time with my kids and thought about the positives that came out of it and being able to do some of the things I couldn’t do before. And now I’m looking forward to Super League action with Wakefield. I’ve always wanted to play here.”
