Ashton Sims tells us what he thinks of his skipper and fellow prop Chris Hill

I RATE Chris Hill as one of the best prop forwards in the world.

A lot of people I’ve spoken to back home in Australia who have watched Warrington games and the England versus New Zealand games last autumn always asked about the big guy with the head gear.

He’s got a really high standing across the competitions in both hemispheres.

When you watch the way he trains and the way he treats his body for injuries you can see why he’s got good longevity.

He’s never out with an injury, touch wood, and never shirks the workload.

It’s really tough to defend a big man at speed with the kind of footwork that Hilly’s got. It’s one of the most difficult things to combat.

But as well as that, he’s got the hard core quality of a of a hard work ethic. You can’t just pick that up down the street or at the local shop, it’s got to be engrained in you and it is with Chris.

Like everyone, I get a little bit nervous before a game but when you see the big man with the head gear on next to you - because we get changed next to each other - it just brings a certain calmness about me.

We’re going out into the arena, into the lion’s den, but we’re going out there with someone who can rip the lion’s head off pretty quickly.

We were having a couple of coffees one day and he told me about his back story in the game, coming up through the Championship with Leigh.

Considering the level he is at now, that’s just determination and not giving up on something that you really want in life.

And it doesn’t just have to be in rugby league, if you’ve got that kind of work ethic then good things will happen to you.

In terms of the captaincy, he’s the right man for the job, the right man to lead this club forward. He’s got the whole playing and coaching staff behind him.

Last season he was great, winning the Player of the Year Award for us and then playing well in the series against New Zealand too. He’s got many a good year left in him at international level with England - hopefully not too much against Australia though!

This year I’d like to see him lift the Challenge Cup, the Super League trophy and the League Leaders’ Shield (ha ha).

He’ll just keep progressing this season and we’re here to help him with that, so fingers crossed he’ll be lofting a bit of silverware.

He’s a funny bloke too. His sense of humour is a bit dry at times but that’s what makes his personality so cool and he’s good to have around the place.

And I like the way he conducts himself. He’s a good family man, a good husband and father, and an even better friend.

He’s a good, honest, respectable bloke and that’s something I really love in my mates. I don’t really like the big-headed showboating kind of people.

Chris is straight down the line and I think he will be one of my good mates for the rest of my life.

We have kids around the same ages, our families try to catch up as much as we can too outside of rugby league. Our two tribes always go to the games, so there’s a good family atmosphere and that’s the same between a lot of the players.