Warrington Wolves boss Sam Burgess has explained the decision to drop Marc Sneyd from his side this afternoon in favour of giving youngster Leon Hayes a chance to start against Bradford Bulls.
It would be a decision that proved fruitful, with Hayes helping Wire to a 26-12 win over the promoted side, and it took mere minutes to notch his first assist of the game.
The half-back set up Josh Thewlis’ opening try, in what was one of many clinical moments from the former Widnes loanee.
Hayes partnered with 18-year-old Ewan Irwin in the halves, and whilst it wasn’t as young as George Mardsen and Jack Farrimond for Wigan a few weeks ago, it was still a heavily inexperenced partnership.
All the talk this season has been on Irwin, and how he has the potential to be the next big thing. He certainly showed that this afternoon, as he capped off his display with a wonderful solo try, taking the line on and jinking his way under the posts.
Burgess was left pleased with how the pair performed together, especially considering it was Hayes’ first Super League start since September last season.
“I’m really proud with Leon,” the boss said to Sky Sports. “Obviously, Ewan’s been growing over the last month or so.
“But Leon, the work he’s put in behind the scenes over the last two years, and certainly over the last three months, he probably deserved to play a month or two ago, but he’s ground away.
“I thought he looked really complete today. I thought his game was very balanced defensively. He’s very tenacious for a little lad.”
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Warrington Wolves beat Bradford Bulls 26-12 to go joint-top of Super League
Giving his overall verdict of the win, Burgess said: “[I’m] pleased with parts of it. I thought our energy was much better today. I thought we worked harder for each other.
“I thought some of our defensive efforts were better. I think we left a few points out there, maybe. I don’t know.
“There are some points out there that we should be capitalising on, but that’s a good place to be this time of the year. We’ve got a lot to get better at.”
Warrington now head into the Challenge Cup break second in the table, level on points with Leeds Rhinos and St Helens at the top.
Offering his assessment of where the club sit just before the half-way stage, he explained: “We’re comfortable.
“We’re happy with the start we’ve had for the year. Probably performance-wise, over the last month, we’ve not been where we need to be.
“We accept that at certain times during the year, with injury and everything like that, that might happen.
“We’ve got a lot to improve on. If we’re going to have a run at the back end of the year, we need to get better in a few areas.
“Today, a completely new spine to round one. Completely new halves, completely new full-back. Started with Sam Powell as well. It’s great to see that we’ve got that depth in the squad when it’s needed.”
