Greg Inglis motivated by ‘fear of failure’ after Super League arrival at Warrington Wolves

01/13/2021

Former Australia international Greg Inglis will be motivated by the fear of failure as he prepares to come out of retirement in Super League and warns it will take him “five or six rounds” to get up to speed.

Inglis, who retired in April 2019, arrived in England at the weekend to take up a 12-month contract with Warrington and spoke of his excitement for his new challenge in his first press conference held via zoom.

✈️ Ohhhhh yes! Welcome to the UK, @greg_inglis! ?? pic.twitter.com/pYIMSgFZlB

Inglis, who turns 34 on Friday, will be the most high-profile addition to Super League in 2021, having made 32 State of Origin appearances for Queensland and won 39 caps for the Kangaroos and won Grand Finals with South Sydney and Melbourne.

Asked if he was worried about the risk to his reputation, Inglis said: “I don’t know about fear because I know what I’m capable of and I know the standards I set myself. The one thing I thrive on is the fear of failure.

“It’s going to take me five or six rounds to get back to my best but I know I can get there and I know hard work does pay off, that’s a given.

“I’ve been out of the game for two years and it’s just about getting back on the bike, get the oil changes and the tyres pumped back up and making sure the gears are still working.”

Inglis says the decision to make a comeback stemmed from a chance conversation with his old South Sydney team-mate Jason Clark, who joined Warrington two years ago.

“Clarky and I stayed in contact since he left,” Inglis recalled. “I was having a chat and said ‘what’s it like playing over there?’ and he said ‘why don’t you come and join us?’

“I said ‘yeah, why not? I’ve nothing else to do’. My junior comp stopped where I was coaching so I had no job and my partner was working from home. A couple of weeks later, Warrington were on the phone and we got really excited.”

Inglis says he was undertaking two gym sessions a week before leaving Australia and is confident about being able to make an impact with the Wolves, who have yet to win a Super League title despite reaching four of the last nine Grand Finals.

“I just want to come over, put my best foot forward and add value to the team,” he said.

“I’m asking fans to be patient because I won’t be at my best for five or six rounds, that’s being completely honest.”

Inglis is following in the footsteps of fellow Australians Andrew Johns, Matt King and Allan Langer, who all made their mark on the Warrington club, but he insists he will not seek to emulate the latter, who famously answered an SOS call from Wayne Bennett to return to play State of Origin for Queensland in 2000.

“I answered the SOS call last year and I said ‘no’,” he said. “I left the rep arena on good terms and I’d hate to go back and undo a lot of the good stuff that I’ve done there.”

Inglis also ruled out another stint as a player in the NRL but could return to the representative scene in this country by playing for the Exiles in the proposed mid-season game against England.

“If my body is right and it comes about, I’m not too sure,” he said.

“I’m always about being Australian and I don’t know if I want to help the English out in a World Cup year but I think it’d be something you’d be tempted to look at.”

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