Tawera Nikau, one of Warrington's high-profile overseas recruits for Super League V, is relishing his return to the British game.

The classy Kiwi back-rower sprung a surprise when he quit Melbourne Storm at the end of last season after leading them to Grand Final glory against Bulls new boy Brad Mackay's St George Illwarra side.

After previous spells with Sheffield Eagles, York and Castleford, Nikau is no stranger to the English game and, even at 33, has the hunger to succeed under his former Wheldon Road coach Darryl van de Velde.

He accepts that events at Stadium Australia last September have left him with a hard act to follow but defeat in the 1992 cup final at Wembley has left him with unfinished business.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't still have that enthusiasm," he said. "The way I looked at it, winning the Grand Final in front of a world record crowd (107, 558) would take some beating Down Under so it was not that tough a decision to leave.

"It was always my ambition to come back to England. There are still a few goals I want to achieve and winning the championship here in England is one of them. "Another cup final would be fantastic and I think we're in with a very good chance.

"I played against Warrington quite a bit and they used to be a tough side to play against.

"And every time I came here I got a bit of stick. I play aggressively and sailed pretty close to the line so it was pretty tough for me."

Nikau is joined by another 33-year-old in Aussie scrum-half Allan Langer, probably the biggest overseas capture since Peter Sterling joined Hull in the mid-Eighties.

Langer is happy to risk his reputation at Wilderspool where former Bulls marketing man Peter Deakin is engineering the re-awakening of one of the British game's sleeping giants.

"I'm not here for a holiday," says Langer.

"It's been an ambition of mine to play in England, especially after being dropped after the first Tests of two Kangaroo tours.

"That was disappointing, and it's bugged me ever since. It's good to come to a club that is on the up.

"I've had some good times over the years with the Broncos but I want to be competitive and play consistently well every week.

"Probably the pressure comes back to me to produce my best. I have no injury problems, I'm feeling fit."

While Nikau and Langer have understandably grabbed the headlines the scrum-half's former Broncos colleague Andrew Gee has also made a big impact in the Wolves front-row.

And added to the a pretty handy squad, including the likes of pacybacks Alan Hunte and Toa Kohe-Love, strong running full-back Lee Penny plus livewire hooker Danny Farrar, it provides a real threat to the Bulls 100 per cent record to date.

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