New Zealand Warriors interim head coach Todd Payten has revealed he was offered the job on a fulltime basis, but turned the offer down.
Payten, who took over from Stephen Kearney a little over a month ago after Kearney was fired six games through the NRL season, looked the likely candidate to land the role fulltime, but tonight revealed he had to turn it down for family reasons.
"My wife's father just started chemotherapy," he told NRL 360.
"That was at the forefront of our mind. Obviously with the Covid thing, for her to travel back and forth is very, very difficult.
"That was a big part of it. There were some other issues I don't want to make public. That's my decision and I've made it.