A folk hero in Newcastle and his home town of Cessnock, Peden has spent the past three years as strength and conditioning coach at Super League club London Harlequins.

The 39-year-old former utility held a similar position at the Knights in 2006 after learning the ropes alongside current high-performance manager Lee Clark and predecessor Scott Dickinson in 2004 and 2005.

That came after Peden racked up 190 first-grade games between 1994 and 2002, including the ARL and NRL grand final wins in 1997 and 2001.

The seventh most-capped player in Knights history could have signed a new contract to remain in London but he and wife Jodie were keen to raise their daughters Mia, eight, and Zoe, six, in Newcastle.

"I had the opportunity to stay, but if I stayed for another three years, Mia and Zoe are getting to the stage that it would have been their home . . . but now, this is still home for them," said Peden, who is boarding with his parents, Athol and Betty, at Bellbird while he waits for the lease to expire on his own property at Dudley.

"It was a real challenge when I got to the 'Quins because the staffing was probably inadequate, but to be part of the building of the club where they can compete reasonably successfully in the Super League, it was nice to be involved with that.

"But sometimes other priorities pop up rather than just your professional career."

Peden and his daughters arrived in Newcastle earlier this month, but Jodie is still working as a nurse and must complete her contract before returning a week before Christmas.

"I'm the old mother duck at home so it's a bit comical at the moment," he said.

Peden has held informal discussions with coach Rick Stone and hopes to have further talks with Knights management to secure a permanent or temporary position.

"If given the opportunity, I'd like to help the Knights out in whatever capacity I can,"he said. "It would be nice to be full-time but there would be no stress if that doesn't work out."