More Wolves young guns on the way to top
4:00am Friday 10th October 2008
RHYS Williams is expected to become the latest Wolves youngster to emerge from the Academy ranks with an appearance for Wales against World Cup chasers England at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium tonight, Friday.
And the 18-year-old star of Wales’ European Under 18s Championship success last month is one of many rising talents that Wolves reserve team boss Richard Marshall is exciited about for the future.
Marshall believes more youngsters could soon be making their name in the first team.
Academy graduates Lee Mitchell and Matty Blythe impressed in Super League during 2008 after starting the season in the reserves, joining fellow former second-string players Kevin Penny, Chris Riley, Steve Pickersgill, Mike Cooper, Simon Grix, Andy Bracek and Ben Harrison in first-team contention.
Adam Neal also featured for the first team in the Challenge Cup win at Leigh in April.
And Marshall thinks there are more players where they came from, particularly after the reserves’ impressive form during the second half of their campaign.
Wolves’ second team were bottom of the Reserve Team Championship with one win in their first nine games but they finished the season with nine victories in 11 matches.
That run, which came despite several players going to the University World Cup in Australia during the summer, moved them up to fifth position before defeat in the first round of the play-offs at Harlequins.
Marshall, who also works full time as the Warrington schools community rugby union coach, joined Wolves at the start of 2008 and was assistant coach to the first team after Paul Cullen’s departure.
Gary Chambers also assisted head coach Jimmy Lowes and Marshall has paid tribute to Chambers’ work.
Speaking about the reserves’ remarkable revival, Marshall said: “We had people coming back from injury and we found a formula that worked.
“The guys coming back from injury like Tyrone McCarthy and Dave Saxon did really well.
“Yaad Johal also had a fantastic season, as did Rhys Williams.
“We’ve got a good youth system in place. Gary Chambers has done marvellously with that and I’m really excited about the players we’ve got coming through.
“And I do think there are players that can go on to the first team.
“At the start of the season we had Lee Mitchell, Matty Blythe and Mike Cooper in the team and they’ve gone on and got better and better.
“Now we’ve got Alex Hurst and Rhys Williams, and Liam Hulme is a good prospect as well.”
Back rower Hulme, aged 17, is the son of former Warrington captain Paul Hulme and has been offered a new Academy contract along with the likes of Johal, Scott Leatherbarrow, Alex Thompson and Paul Cullen’s son Josh.