Leon Hayes keen to impress in Warrington Wolves first team

And whether or not he ends up pushing his case for a more permanent inclusion in Sam Burgess’ side, the youngster is keen to at the very least emerge from the experience a better and more knowledgeable player.

The ankle injury suffered by star half-back George Williams has opened the door for the Warrington-born 19-year-old to get some more Super League game time.

He started and impressed against Hull FC in Round Two and will once again be in the line-up when Castleford Tigers visit The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday.

With Williams not expected back until the Round Four trip to London Broncos at the earliest, Hayes has a chance to stamp his mark and potentially give Burgess a headache for when the England captain returns to fitness.

The former Bank Quay Bulls junior has advocates aplenty among the fanbase, many of whom believe he should be Williams’ permanent half-back partner, but for now, he is looking to learn all he can.

Leon Hayes takes on the line against Hull FC (Image: SWPix.com)

“George is the best at what he does, but I’ve got my own talents,” he said.

“I try and pick up as much as I can off George but I’m my own player with different ways of approaching different things.

“I will take as much as I can from him, though, as in my opinion, he’s the best there is.

“You have to take things game-by-game because you can never really tell how long these runs will last.

“I have to take the lessons from each game as it comes and if I do that, I know I can only get better.

“Only I can do it, so it’s down to me.”

For now, his half-back partnership will be with veteran Australian Josh Drinkwater, who like him is more of an organiser than a free-spirited half.

And the junior member of the partnership believes having someone as well-versed in the game as the 31-year-old beside him can only help.

“Drinky’s so experienced and he’s good for me to play with,” he said.

“Having someone like him at the side of me helps a lot.

“It almost takes the pressure off me in a way but as a half, you’ve still got to have your own ways you can dominate.”

While Hayes’ main job will be to express himself and create with ball in hand, he will also be required to do his bit in defence.

And due to circumstances beyond his control, he may find himself doing more than most.

At 5ft 4ins tall, Hayes is among the smallest players in the competition in terms of height, making him a natural target for opposition teams.

Indeed, none of his Wire teammates made more than his 27 tackles during the win over Hull FC last week as the Black and Whites regularly attacked a right edge that also included fellow homegrown talents Adam Holroyd, Connor Wrench and Josh Thewlis.

He knows there will be more traffic sent his way, but he had a bullish message for teams looking to target him.

Hayes, left, made more tackles than any of his Wire teammates against Hull FC (Image: Mike Boden)

“I do enjoy it,” he said of the defensive side of the game.

“It’s going to happen a lot – I’m a small player so teams are going to target me.

“Why wouldn’t they? I get it, but I enjoy defending.

“It’s always been the same coming through. I’ve always had to deal with a lot of defensive pressure.

“I’ve got a lot to learn and I know there’s more to come but bring it on.

“I believe in myself in defence – I know I’m not perfect but I understand good processes.”

Hayes and his teammates will look to make it back-to-back victories on Friday against a Tigers side looking for their first win under new head coach Craig Lingard.

The Yorkshiremen have lost to newly-crowned world champions Wigan Warriors and Salford Red Devils thus far, but the scrum-half knows they can cause plenty of damage given the opportunity.

“I saw them against Salford and they looked pretty lively,” he said of their Round Three opponents.

“They’ve got a lot of experience as well so by no means is this going to be an easy game.

“We’re going to have to bring it and apply the lessons we’ve learned from the Hull game.”