Warrington Wolves were defeated by Leigh Leopards in the final pre-season friendly.
This left fans concerned and Sam Burgess disappointed but one bright spark was the continued development of halfback Leon Hayes.
Speaking after the game on Leigh’s official YouTube channel, Burgess said of Hayes:
“Yeah, they’ve been really enjoyable to coach through pre-season, you see a few of them. They do a little bit of a job down in the second half, so, I mean, it just gives me a bit of trust in them. If we have a couple of injuries, they can do a good job for us.
“I thought they were really pleased, we were probably better in the second half tonight than we were in the first half. But no, they were good, I thought Leon controlled the game a bit better in the second half as well. I thought particularly his short range gives you a bit of a back up. He’s got both, he’s long and short. I’m happy with Leon, he’s progressing really well. I don’t want to rush him though.”
Warrington Wolves man set for Championship switch
Warrington Wolves v Widnes Vikings Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com – 26/01/2024 – Rugby League – Pre-season friendly – Warrington Wolves v Widnes Vikings – Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, England – Warrington Wolves head Coach Sam Burgess
This came as Burgess addressed the possibility of Hayes moving on dual registration to the Championship with Widnes Vikings.
He said: “Yeah I’ve got a couple of plans that I’ve made, yeah. I’ve got a few, a few of them I just messed up a bit after tonight so yeah I’ve got a couple of plans I’m not sure yet I mean I want Leon around us as much as possible so he’s a great student of the game so the more he’s around us the better but he needs to play as well.”
He continued the praise saying: “He’s a great lad, he loves to learn. We’ve got a great bunch of guys, it’s been a really enjoyable pre-season. I think they’ll be a bit disappointed as well after tonight. As you said, it’s not the way that Joe would have liked to have celebrated his testimonial.”
