Afternoon all, a while back we used to have player centric threads like this, this year, a year of transition(good transition unlike 22-23) i thought i'd bring this back for a few younger players.

Starting with Leon, whats the consensus opinion so far?

as a young player filling in, i like to think,is he doing the bare minimum of what the player he's replacing would do eg no pressure to have wow of a performance winning games on his shoulders.

personally i think so far he's been a decent fill in for williams and a more than adequate replacement for drinkwater, he's more active as a play maker, he's more active taking the line on, with the occasion half break, or winning tackles for quick ptb's.

Kicking wise, i've not got a problem, he's got a reasonable down field kicking game but in comparison to drinkwater, doesn't get himself caught or positioned in bad areas to put a decent/non rushed kick in.

He's been a more than respectable member of the team, and if you were compare him to riley dean, the most recent junior half that got a chance, its almost night and day in terms of performance and confidence.


Thoughts?

Leon Hayes's enthusiasm amazes me & he has a confidence to play his own game. He isn't afraid to tackle even the biggest opponents

He's 20 years old and played less than 10 games I think. He's easily performing as well (possibly better?) than Harry Smith was when breaking through. If Burgess wants to persevere with him, in the way that Wigan did with Smith, then that's fine with me. Hopefully we'll see the best of him when Williams is back and the weather allows for some more expansive rugby.

I think he has played really well & with great enthusiasm to get involved. His position is the one where it will be really touch & go & upset a few if the "more established" player gets back in when fit. I remember listening to a George Williams early on in the season when he seemed to suggest that Leon would develop throughout the season as he he was called to "fill in". Well things have moved on & he's done more than fill in. Great to see.

Based on what I have seen so far from the lad, I cannot see what Drinkwater can give us over and above what he does - for me, it's him & Williams.

He doesn't seem bothered by playing 1st team rugby and just plays his own game and so far does it to a standard that we can only dream of from Drinkwater.

I think he has done a great job and is better than Drinkwater on current form and I also think he will complement Williams in the halves. I think that is our best half back pairing.

The only thing I would worry about is overplaying he is young and we should be making sure that he is managed properly.

I have confidence based on what I've seen so far that the coaching team will manage it right and will rotate for the best result for both the player and the club.

His defence has stood up well especially considering his size. He will be targeted but he has not missed tackles or been run over. His link play has been good and is involved in the game far more than Drinkwater. So far so good.

He also has something Drinkwater will never possess and that is pride every time he walks out in a Wire jersey. Hayes' defence is very good and he'll give 100% every single time. He's a bloody good player too.

Based on effort and enthusiasm Leon Hayes should partner Williams and Drinkwater shouldn't as he lacks both qualities

I like the look of Hayes, but Drinkwater seemed to be improving in his role. I’ve been critical of his short kicking game, and the Catalan game picked up where he left off, but against Hull it improved dramatically.

I wouldn’t write him off, but I would stick with Hayes right now, neither of the other halves have shown enough this season to take his shirt off him. Same with Holroyd. He was nobody’s first choice at right second row, but Nicholson doesn’t have enough credit in the bank to take that shirt off him right now for me (assuming Currie continues at 13)

I'd like to echo all the positivity about Hayes who's performances are more than simply 'filling in and never letting us down' admittedly off a relatively short run of games.

No problem at all seeing his name on the team, takes on the line, has a bit of guile and presence about him, definitely not intimidated in defensive duties against bigger opponents and has pride in the jersey.

I just hope that I'm not over rating him due to his Andy Gregory-esque stature...

Watched Hayes throughout his Academy days and he is just a natural fit for a RL scrumhalf.

He is confident without the arrogance of a lot of players I have seen play half.

Yet to see his full repertoire in the the 1st team yet, but it will happen, as he develops and moves are created by Gleeson et al to accommodate him.

I always try to look at things objectively, its sometimes easy to hype up a younger player over an overseas one. However, I honestly don't see that Drinkwater offers any more than Hayes does, the big thing for me is that Hayes hasn't even reached 20 years of age or double figures in terms of SL games, whereas Drinkwater is almost 32 with 200 first grade games - he doesn't have any more improvement in him Hayes certainly does.

Hayes is very early in to his SL career but he seems very calm, composed and sure of himself, which is a big thing at his stage, Its up to Chambers & Burgess to manage his development through to first team regular - which may mean taking him out of the firing line at some stage. Its very early days for him. so we probably need to be careful to temper expectation at this stage, but it looks very promising for him.

The comparison with Riley Dean is an interesting one. At this stage I would say that Hayes looks comfortable, and Riley never did. Now that may be more to do with the support he is shown but he coaching team than the previous regime did…but that is whole new can of custard.

Can you imagine Burgess openly (and unjustly) placing the blame on a defeat on Hayes?

The man-management skills of Powell and Burgess seem like night and day.