IN all but one of the past 10 seasons, the right winger has been Warrington Wolves’ most lethal weapon.

Pressure’s on then for new recruit Tom Lineham.

After the heroics of Joel Monaghan, Chris Hicks and Henry Fa’afili, the £140,000 buy from Hull FC has an opportunity to crown himself the new king on the wing at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

With tries in each of the two friendlies he has played, and helping to create the winner against Leeds Rhinos in Round One, he has made an encouraging start following on from finishing second to Huddersfield’s Jermaine McGillvary in Super League’s try stakes last season.

“I much prefer pressure to no pressure, that’s the kind of personality I am,” said the 23-year-old, who started his career with York Knights.

“I like the big games and the big occasions.

“When there’s pressure on I always think I perform better.

“It’s good when there’s history before you, because you’ll always be compared to people before you and after you.

“I’ve got a four-year contract here and hopefully we can have some good times, create history and come away with some silverware.”

He is an admirer of the man whose boots he is expected to fill.

“Joel Monaghan is up there with the top wingers to have ever played in Super League. You look at Lesley Vainikolo and Joel Monaghan,” he said.

“Joel’s an absolutely brilliant try scorer.

“I think he really finessed the art of scoring tries and now every winger’s getting better over the past few seasons.

“I think he was probably the first one with a fancy dive into the corner with a one-handed put down.

“I’ve always been an admirer of the way he plays. He had a tremendous scoring record here and is one of the best players to have pulled on a Warrington shirt.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve got shoes to fill but I want to come in and do the best that I can. My favoured spot is the right wing but I’m one of four wingers. So you’ve got to train well and play well. A few bad games you’ll be out and nobody’s guaranteed selection so that brings out the best in you. I get on really well with all of them and it’s healthy competition.”

Despite his success already, Lineham accepts he is not the finished article and still learning after being a latecomer to rugby league.

“I played football right through primary and high schools. Then I did a year at union,” revealed the born-and-raised Leeds man.

“At 16 I went to college, where they had a rugby league team coached by the York Knights coach. So I ended up going down to the Knights where I was played on the wing but I was at prop for the college.

“I played there for two seasons and then moved to Hull Academy.

“I was in the Academy for a year, then went into the first team and it all went from there really.

“There’s no massive background as an amateur or as a kid playing rugby league and so I have the knowledge of about a 14-year-old at the minute.”

So Lineham is continuing to catch up in a sport where he comes face-to-face with opponents whose natural instincts go back to them playing in their gardens from the age of a toddler.

“Yes, I still don’t know all the rules, I’m just learning them,” he joked.

“Some things come naturally. It helps with your kicking from a football background, I have a sweet right foot.

“Little things you pick up as a kid as you grow up I’ve been learning at 17, 18, 19 and 23.

“It’s difficult but it’s exciting as well, it all happens fast and you learn as you go along. You learn from your mistakes.

“Maybe a bit of rawness helps with my performance as well because I take more risks and I do things a bit off-the-cuff that wouldn’t be expected or wouldn’t be done by a player with more experience.

“It’s exciting, you just go for it. It has its positives and negatives.

“I think I’m in the right place to develop my all-round game and progress my career further.

“I think Tony Smith (head coach) is a very good person with his pedigree, Richard Agar (first team coach) as well, and Lee Briers (assistant coach) is a club legend isn’t he.”

Like any finisher – and he crossed the line 26 times in Challenge Cup and Super League matches last year – he loves the act of scoring tries, but a winger’s job does not end there.

“No, that’s just what gets your name in the papers,” said Lineham, whose most memorable score against The Wire would have been his 80-metre kick return that helped Hull FC end the 2013 Wembley dream at the semi-finals stage at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium.

“There is a lot more expected of wingers in the modern game, so it’s all about your all-round game.

“You want to make that cover tackle and put the other winger into touch, you want to catch that high ball. 

“And there’s the back three working as a unit.

“There’s the carries out of backfield too.

“Some wingers these days are seen as an extra forward – you have your big wingers and then your little nippy ones for quick play-the-balls.

“You’ve always got a job to do, always got to stay alert no matter what area of the field you are in.

“Like Tony Smith (head coach) said to me, it’s the hardest position to defend.

“You’re like a goalkeeper, sometimes you’re two-on-one or even three-on-one and you’ve got to come up with that decision.

“If you get it wrong you can look silly. If there’s a high ball and you don’t catch it, again you look silly. So you’re concentration levels have to be right.

“Tony’s very good with his man-management. I knew about this before I came, from speaking with Gareth Ellis, the captain at Hull. He said Tony was the best coach he’d had (at Leeds).

“He’s got a very good way with him. He’s very constructive in the way he gives his feedback, he’ll help you, and he’s very complimentary when you get it right. I’ve got a very good working relationship since being here, picking up tips, helping and guiding me. The overall outcome is to become a better player which will then have a more positive outcome for the team.”