NRL: Warriors coach Todd Payten's heartwarming reunion with his children after months apart

Todd Payten's emotional reunion with his three children. Photo / Twitter

Warriors coach Todd Payten was finally reunited with his children after not seeing them for almost four months.

With the Warriors being forced to relocate to Australia because of the global pandemic and the resulting border restrictions, many players and staff were forced to be separated from their families for months.

Payten has often paid tribute to the sacrifices made by his players, but his own personal sacrifice was less publicised.

The heartwarming moment he reunited with his kids was captured on video after his family finished their 14-day quarantine period upon arrival in Australia on August 30. Payten had not seen his kids in person since May 2.

The video was posted to social media a week later to celebrate Father's Day, with fans praising the emotional scene and huge sacrifices made by the Warriors.

"Brilliant," said one commentor on Twitter. "Legends. Must be some dust near my eyes. Thanks for keeping our competition running. We will always remember and respect your sacrifices. ALL of you. Manly fan in Knights territory. Triple M NRL staffer."

"So Beautiful," said another. "The club have made immense sacrifices to keep the competition afloat and we are all extremely grateful for that. Not a Warriors supporter but I wish you all the best for today and the rest of the competition."

"Special moment. Brought a tear to my eye," added another fan.

Toddy hadn't seen his kids for nearly four months. This was the moment they were reunited 🥰

Happy Father's Day #WarriorNation pic.twitter.com/QoZKWGwrEm

— One NZ Warriors (@NZWarriors) September 6, 2020

The 41-year-old Payten has been widely praised for his time as Warriors interim coach, where he has turned the struggling Kiwi club into unlikely playoff contenders.

He was offered the job fulltime but turned it down because of family reasons.

"Not many people know this but my wife's father just started chemotherapy, so that was at the forefront of my mind," Peyten told NRL 360 in early August.

"Obviously, there is the Covid thing. For her to travel back and forth is very difficult, so that was a big part of it."

Last week, Payten signed a three-year deal with the Cowboys to become head coach from next season.

Former Knights and Dragons coach Nathan Brown will take over as Warriors coach from 2021.