The Mole: The qualities that won Peter Wallace the NRL's most intimidating job

There's an old saying that "average" players make the best rugby league coaches and Peter Wallace certainly fits that mould.

The likes of Jack Gibson, Wayne Bennett, Phil Gould, Craig Bellamy, Tim Sheens, Warren Ryan and indeed Ivan Cleary weren't superstars but were good, honest first graders over a long period.

Wallace was a player who was very 'coachable', a good, steady first grader who managed to play four State of Origin games for New South Wales and Test football for Scotland.

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Now he's been appointed to the biggest job of his life as he steps into the massive shoes of Ivan Cleary as Panthers head coach from 2028.

Born in Melbourne in 1985, he moved to the Penrith district as a youngster and had two playing stints with the club - from 2005 to 2007 and 2014 to 2018.

In between, he had six seasons with Brisbane from 2008 to 2013, playing 240 games in all.

A bad knee and head knocks resulted in him retiring mid-season in 2018, but Penrith did not want to lose him and immediately appointed him to the coaching staff the day he retired.

When asked about Wallace, Ivan Cleary declared: "I have full faith in Wal", and that echoes the thoughts of the entire Panthers community.

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Former hardman prop Tim Grant played his rookie season at Penrith alongside Wallace in 2007 and is delighted with the choice the club made.

"Pete is a Penrith guy through and through - came throng the grades at St Mary's," Grant said.

"He was a great teammate… he's just a fine bloke, honest and humble.

"As a coach, he will be very popular with the players because he can relate to them.

"He's been through the highs and lows, winning big games… we won a wooden spoon together in 2007 but we don't talk about that much (laughs)."

The Wallace family is a big part of the Penrith club - when the Panthers have family days, his wife Maddy runs the events and makes sure everyone has a great time.

A no frills character, Wallace showed he's not the type to hog the spotlight as he was unveiled as Cleary's successor, politely expressing his pride in being offered the job before a one sentence statement about keeping the focus on 2026.

"Firstly I'd just like to say thanks to [Panthers chairman] Pete [Graham], [CEO] Matt Cameron, [GM of rugby league] Shane Elford and of course Ivan, firstly for the opportunity but also for believing in me and trusting me to lead the club into the future once Ivan's time ... he finishes up here as head coach," Wallace said.

"For now it's business as usual, as Ivan said we've got the Dragons this week, so after this that'll be my sole focus, for this weekend."