OLD mates Paul Terzis and Ian Millward are teaming up again. The rugby league coaching duo hope to be one step ahead of the rest when they return from a fact-finding mission to study American sports.

Leigh Centurions boss Terzis and St Helens coach Millward - both former coaches in the lower grades at Illawarra back in their native Australia - have flown to San Francisco where they will spend time studying the training methods of the famous 49ers gridiron team.

"We will meet with gridiron guru Bill Walsh who is recognised as the greatest gridiron coach of all time. We will also be spending time looking at the training drills, conditioning and preparation schedules that the players go through and generally seeing what can be of use to us at Leigh," says Terzis.

"Gridiron is more like rugby league than a lot of people think. There is a lot we can learn from it."

Terzis and Millward will also spend time at Stamford University to study ice hockey.

"That may seem strange to some people but every sport has something, either in its technique, application or psychology that can be of use to other sports.

"It's a case of taking in the knowledge, gaining the insights and then using that knowledge to the benefit of Leigh."