NOT everything is always as it seems on the rugby league field.
Or any sporting field for that matter.
Take Warrington Wolves half-back Leon Hayes, for example.
Two years ago, he was adored by the Wire faithful as a Warrington lad breaking into Super League and showing bucketloads of promise.
He did so well covering for the injured George Williams that he kept his place at the expense of experienced Josh Drinkwater when the England captain was fit again.
All was going so well and then BANG.
As life often throws up for most people, something happens beyond your control that smashes you in the face and changes everything.
And for Hayes, it was a fracture dislocation of his ankle. A nasty injury.
Then his comeback was delayed due to a hamstring problem and at the time he could have been forgiven for thinking the entire world was against him. Not that I’m saying he did think like that.
Again he grafted behind the scenes to get himself back on the field.
And late into last summer he had earned his spot in the first team again.
But the scrum-half, who was starting for the second consecutive week after his 16-month spell on the sidelines, was forced off during the early stages of The Wire's Round 25 defeat to Leigh Leopards.
He left the field clutching his left arm after making a tackle and after the game, Burgess confirmed Hayes had suffered a broken arm.
Talk about bad luck.
It is no wonder that this season started cautiously for him, with time in the reserves and loan spells with Salford and Widnes to get himself back up to speed.
And the truth is, the 22-year-old was playing so well for Widnes in the Championship that Burgess had no hesitation in bringing him back into the fold when skipper Williams became sidelined long term with a neck problem and veteran Marc Sneyd was having issues with a foot injury.
But being thrust into the Wire limelight this time was different.
A new challenge was presented in that he was suddenly the experienced half, because his partner for the foreseeable future was 18-year-old Ewan Irwin – the new darling of the terraces receiving the plaudits like he was receiving in 2024.
It is a very different dynamic, it comes with extra responsibility and especially when the spine of the team is affected by the absence of the regular full-back – a player with an important role to play in linking up with the halves in attack.
In such circumstances and the journey Hayes has been on, why would anybody expect him to be at his most impactful and effective straight away.
His effort was never in question – or it shouldn’t have been if you were watching closely – and he seemed to be a comfortable fit with Irwin who has continued to blossom alongside him.
Another element here, of course, is the opposition Hayes finds himself up against.
As the shortest player on the field in almost all matches, opponents see that as a chink in his armour and the team’s armour.
So what do they do? They target him. They deliberately run at him, perhaps more so than any other player. And they send the big men his way, the juggernauts, with the intention of galloping over the top of him and breaking away to score or at least achieve big metre gains.
Against Wigan last week, Hayes ended up making 34 tackles. That is a huge number for a half-back. In fact, only Danny Walker and Ben Currie made more tackles in the Warrington team.
It also means that all the work being thrown at Hayes in defence leaves him with less energy to work some magic with the ball in his hands.
And if the Wire are making handling errors, giving ‘six agains’ and penalties away, it means more defending than attacking and Hayes becomes an even busier boy in areas of the game he could do without in terms of how he can best serve the team.
Halves of a smaller stature from years gone by will tell you that handling all of that takes time and that you do get to grips with it slowly but surely – you become hardened to it.
A week later, not as much traffic was chucked at Hayes by Hull KR on Saturday afternoon and surely it was no coincidence that Hayes delivered his best performance of the season.
A second successive game at stand-off instead of scrum-half, switching roles with Irwin, seems to have worked too.
There were two particular eye-catching moments with the ball in his hands.
A lovely little shimmy from Hayes sucked in his marker and then he dropped off an inside ball for James Harrison to gallop through a huge hole for the team's second try.
And it was his long miss-out pass that allowed Toby King to send Matty Ashton away for his 100th Wire try and give Warrington a match-winning 16-0 lead.
There will be more ups and downs to come for Hayes, as with all players when the spotlight is on them, but credit must be given to Burgess and his coaching staff for sticking by him, being patient, allowing him the time to develop and become established.
After Saturday’s game, Burgess said: "I’d have to agree that was his best performance of the season.
"He’s been building that for a month or so.
"I thought his defence was very strong, for a smaller lad in stature.
"But he makes up for that in spirit and he’s pretty courageous defensively.
"He’s an effort player so I’m pleased that people are seeing that as well."
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