DEC Patton's selection against Leeds Rhinos this Saturday, excitement about the new season and how much game time Bennie Westwood will get this season were all discussed in a Warrington Wolves fans' Q&A.

Warrington Guardian's sports reporting team, Mike Parsons and Matt Turner, invited questions and topics of discussion from Wire supporters during a live Q&A on Facebook yesterday.

> OPINION: Time to enjoy the ride Wire fans!

Super League's new rules, Saturday's potential attendance, the absence of Harvey Livett from Steve Price's 19-man squad and Paul Anderson's thoughts on his role as academy head coach were all talking points.

Watch highlights from the session in the video above or the full session on our Warrington Wolves-Warrington Guardian Facebook page.

But here's the thoughts of the Guardian's Parsons and Turner on the subject of homegrown Patton, 23, stepping up as first-choice scrum half following the sad news of Kevin Brown being ruled out for the season due to rupturing his Achilles' tendon in training last weekend.

Warrington Guardian:

Mike Parsons, left, and Matt Turner

Turner said: “At least in the immediate short term, Dec Patton will be playing scrum half with Blake Austin at stand-off.

“It seems the most plausible solution. It’s a chance that Dec has been waiting for in many ways.

“He’s been waiting in the wings for a few years.

"He’s had sporadic runs in the team but if he can make a success of this he’s got the chance of having a full season in there because of Kevin Brown’s unfortunate injury ruling him out for the rest of the year.

“This is the chance that Dec Patton has been waiting for.”

Warrington Guardian:

Dec Patton, right, celebrating his try against Wigan in the Challenge Cup last year. Picture: Mike Boden

Parsons added: “We saw a lot of him last year off the bench as an interchange hooker.

“There’s a been a lot of discussion over the past few years about what Dec brings to the team when he’s in there.

“We have to remember he was brought into the side very young and was dripped in and out.

Warrington Guardian:

Dec Patton, left, with Micky Higham at the end of his Wolves debut in 2015 - an 80-0 home win against Wakefield. Picture: Mike Boden

"We saw good things and things that he still needed to work on and develop.

“Very often we’ve seen him dropped in when the first-choice might have been injured or out of form, and Dec’s suddenly had to pick up the game and produce what he can, but it takes time to bed in.

“What we haven’t seen yet is Dec have a run of games at scrum half under Steve Price.

“I think that is something we can look forward to. With the way the team is set up – it is a little more structured in style – Dec can really thrive.

“I’ve heard people say they want him to take the line on more when he has the ball, that he hasn’t done it as much as they’d like to see from a half back, well I wonder whether part of the tactic of him playing last year at dummy half was to bring that part of the game out of him.

Warrington Guardian:

The response from Mike Parsons, left, and Matt Turner when it was suggested by fan Andy Bibby that both have a face for radio!

“We did see him darting out of dummy half and taking the line on and I think he will have built a lot of confidence from that. I’ve got good hopes for Dec this year.”

Turner responded: “That’s a good point about coming out of dummy half and hopefully we’ll see more of him taking the line on, but I think more of the onus this year in terms of Dec will be on his kicking game and organisational play.

“I know that a lot of the systems that Warrington are looking to implement are designed to get the best out of Blake Austin and make sure he’s as much of a threat as possible with the running and passing game he brings.

“That was going to be Kev Brown’s role this year, just to run structure and keep the team organised.

“Can Dec step up and do that? He did that at the back end of the 2016 season when he was parachuted in and obviously we’ll be looking for that again.

“But we’ll see how it goes and it’s definitely a chance for him to nail down that spot and make it his own.”

Parsons chipped in: “He’s certainly very capable. It’s his time to show that he’s deserved this spot all along, make it his own and make it difficult for Steve Price to leave him out of the team.”

Turner concluded: “Austin and Patton played together for a lot of the pre-season friendly against Widnes and I thought they looked pretty promising in terms of a link-up but let's see how they get on in the full Super League environment.”

Warrington Guardian: