I doubt anyone has seen that much of him unless they follow London academy. He signed in a year when the academy season was cancelled, and did one stint off the bench in the first team where he racked up 10 tackles (2 missed), 8 carries and an offload. On the basis of this and a London academy highlights reel we have deemed him a Joel Tomkins/Gareth Hock hybrid who can offload in impossible situations. We did similar with Samy Kibula, Kyle Shelford and Rhodri Lloyd before him.

Update - world class!

I’ve only seen the extensive highlights video on YouTube (check it out if you haven’t already) and obviously his game against Saints.

Can’t wait to see how he develops.

Was looking forward to watching him down in London in the capital Challenge. It was the first one I attended and due to a supposed heavy pitch (which was a joke) it ending up being ten a side and a bit of a waste of time. It seems like it was a sign of things to come looking back regards the youngsters getting a chance to kick on.

I don’t think any of us know enough about him to form a solid judgment. His highlight reel looked good when he signed but so do any players. The most promising performances I recall seeing from him where in a Lancashire vs Yorkshire academy series I saw a bit of online. I started watching the review of the season earlier on Wigan TV and it showed some clips from training part way through the season and he looked like he’d bulked up from when he played in that capital Challenge. To look at him physically he could develop in to a big, athletic thing and cause some problems. Here’s hoping he does as he could potentially offer a bit of a different style than some of our other back rows. The great thing from our perspective is that there’s no rush or desperation to push him as we’re extremely strong in that position.

Pretty sure he absolutely smashed somebody in that Saints game although can’t recall who it was.

Not sure if there will be any warm up games given current circumstances but it would be good to see him feature if that’s the case.

Barring injuries I think we have something potentially world class on our hands. He can offload, he can run, he is big and athletic and all the club needs to do is hone those talents and nurture him until he is ready for the first team. Very exciting prospect. I agree he is on the same mould as Hock but taller and quicker.

If he’s got all the attributes and the size.

Groom him as a centre. I love watching huge fast centres boss the smaller super league sized ones we get these days.

2nd row is already full of these types of players and they all play very similar games these days.

Can we induct him into the hall of fame yet or do we need to wait until the end of lockdown? We should keep the 34 jersey retired. It wouldn't be fair for another player to have to deal with the weight of expectation taking over from Pearce - Paul following that first team bench stint.

There's players like Lockers, Sam Powell, George Williams, Sarg who were slated every week and yet KPP already has a statue.

There’s some weird extremes on this thread.

The kid has obviously got talent but he is largely an untested kid. Along with a lot of other players his development will be hampered by not being able to get any game time as the reserves have been scrapped and all RL stopped except SL due to COVID.

I personally propose renaming the Billy Boston stand the KPP Stand. I don’t know how Lam hasn’t named him captain yet. Disgrace if you ask me.

True, some people seem unusually sensitive about a player that clearly has ‘potential’ and has been compared to two players from the past in terms of his playing style.

Really excited to see how he develops.

I see the usual suspects pick up on one sentence and run with it. He has all the attributes to be a top class player. I did say POTENTIALLY world class. He could be. I thought I was stating the obvious. Must be in a minority of 1. All the club have to do is their usual brilliant job of nurturing him through. If he has the right mental attributes then he has the rest already in his locker. Yes it may be a highlight reel but to have one at such a young age is testament to his natural ability.

Agree with the post about him being a potential centre too. I think he would be more suited there for now whilst he still has his pace and that offload. Second row later in his career.

Slightly OT, but it's interesting to hear him being talked about as a centre.

I know it's a sweeping generalisation, but the NRL seem to be moving away from what you'd call "traditional" centres like Gasnier, Gidley or Lyon for more pure athletes like Crichton or Staggs. They might not have the slick hands, but they've still been carving it up.

I'm not saying KPP will be one of those, but it's an interesting view point and one to discuss.

It was a joke, not aimed at you.

FWIW I agree.

This thread is catching on, Ben Flower's just given him a big thumbs up in tonight's Post