WITH Sam Burgess opting to keep his front-line first-team players in reserve, there were opportunities to impress aplenty for those on the fringes at Warrington Wolves.
There was senior representation in the team that lined up against Widnes Vikings in the shape of Brad Dwyer, Gil Dudson and Matty Russell, but Burgess’ first selection as head coach was a largely youthful one.
It’s fair to say those on show took their chance to shine as they ran out 46-40 victors in an entertaining friendly match at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Our Wire reporter Matt Turner was there and picks out five players who stood out for him on the night…
BRAD DWYER
With Danny Walker a clear first-choice, Dwyer could have been forgiven for having slumped shoulders when he arrived at pre-season to see Sam Powell having been signed to add to the hooking stocks.
Even though he has effectively been relegated to third choice, however, the noises coming from the club have been overwhelmingly positive about Dwyer’s attitude and performances during pre-season.
He was given the task of marshalling a young pack in this game and he did so expertly, bringing them onto the ball well and exploiting the ruck speed they were able to generate.
That way, he was able to use his well-renowned sharpness from dummy-half to cause chaos and he capped his showing with a first-half try, kicking against the post pad before reacting quickest to the loose ball to score.
All Dwyer can do is make the most of any chance he gets to impress Burgess, and he did himself no harm here.
TOM WHITEHEAD
Stefan Ratchford’s withdrawal through injury forced Whitehead – a second rower or loose forward by trade – to line up out of position in the halves alongside Leon Hayes.
While he is a pack player, the youngster is a very skilful one – an ‘old-school’ loose forward as opposed to the kind of auxiliary prop the number 13 in a modern team tends to be.
He showed great hands at times – his deft pass to send Cai Taylor-Wray through for the first of his two tries was superb while he then showed his running game by weaving and stepping through the line from close range.
His brace of tries capped an impressive showing against the side he is likely to spend a chunk of time with on dual-registration, and regularly playing at a good level can only aid the development of a clearly talented young player.
LUKE THOMAS
The fact the Wales international has been handed a new long-term contract with the club despite only a handful of first-team appearances shows you how highly thought-of he is.
Even the previous regime clearly saw something in him to give him as many goes in the first team as he did and while there may be bigger prop forwards around, the aggression and intent with which he plays can only serve him well.
Thomas attacks and defends without a hint of self-preservation and in the Burgess era, those characteristics will clearly get you places.
For me, he was the game’s stand-out middle unit player. Do not be surprised if he features regularly in the first team this year.
MAX WOOD
Wood’s first showing in a Wire shirt caught the eye of many supporters as he gave glimpses of the form that has convinced the club to take a chance on him.
Like Thomas, he is the kind of forward Burgess and his coaching staff want to their pack to feature – young, hungry and aggressive.
He took both of his tries excellently and was busy on both sides of the ball, linking up with Thomas and Dwyer to create some impressive ruck speed.
He may end up featuring a lot for Widnes on dual-registration but it is clear to see why Burgess was keen to keep him around.
CAI TAYLOR-WRAY
An electric display from a full-back who is clearly quite the livewire.
His showing featured all the hallmarks of a good number one – good positioning, brave yardage carries, near-faultless under the high ball and in possession, the ability to break lines.
At 17, he is still very young but his first taste of action against an experienced side showed he can more than handle things at this kind of level.
Josh Thewlis may well be the next in line at full-back after Matt Dufty, but Taylor-Wray is definitely one to watch.
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