I was very clear on what I was hoping for going into the new campaign. The halves were the biggest problem for Wire in 2019, with a horrific lack of creativity at times and over-reliance on Blake Austin. One of Wire's better players was Bryson Goodwin, who has departed to South Sydney Rabbitohs following the expiration of his contract. A replacement for Goodwin was high on my priority list, a centre with real ball-playing abilities who could give Tom Lineham and Josh Charnley plenty of good service out wide. Added firepower through the middle was something I was very keen for Warrington to add in the off-season - so many games were lost by Wire in the pack. Chris Hill and Mike Cooper are both good props still but both are the wrong side of 30 and with little backup for them from the bench, strengthening the forward pack was a key target for this recruitment window. It was very unclear who Warrington's first choice loose forward was in 2019 - Ben Westwood, Jason Clark, Lama Tasi, Jack Hughes, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Joe Philbin, Sitaleki Akauola, Matt Davis all started games there, a clear indicator of how much uncertainty surrounded the 13 position. Something I hoped we'd see in 2020 was a clear first-choice loose forward, whether through Steve Price assigning an existing player there, or dipping into the recruitment market for one. Finally, with the return of reserve-grade rugby league in 2020, the overall bolstering of the squad in all areas was something which all Super League clubs would need to do, preferably with some talented youngsters with the potential to break into the first-team.
Let's start then with Gareth Widdop. A phenomenally talented player and an England international who has been brought in to revolutionise Wire's team and bring some much-needed creativity to the side. Widdop will take the number seven position and partner Austin in the halves, in what should be an incredible duo at six and seven. His passing game, short kicking ability and eye for splitting a defence will bring something that was so desperately missing in 2019. The only concern over Widdop is his injury history. He will be unavailable for the start of the season, though hopefully this will only be a small number of games and he will have enough time to have an influence on our season - he's good enough to have a big impact on his own.
Matty Ashton is a 21-year-old who has been signed by Warrington from Swinton Lions. He can play as a full-back or a winger and scored a hugely impressive 30 tries last season. Ashton's pace is incredible and Price has likened him to a Ferrari. In terms of his role this season, he has been handed the shirt number 26, which perhaps shows his current standing in the pecking order. I expect Ashton to play much of 2020 in the newly-reformed reserves, with a handful of first-team appearances, before becoming a bigger part of the first-team in 2021, particularly when you consider that current full-back Stefan Ratchford is out of contract at the end of 2020.
Warrington's acquisition of Keanan Brand is very much in the Ashton mould. Brand is a centre who has been signed from Widnes after scoring nine tries in the Championship last season. He is very highly-rated and is 21 years of age. He will wear shirt number 25, so is likely to start in the reserves just like Ashton. However, I have plenty of hope that he will have some involvement this season, as he could be the ball-playing centre that this team badly lacks. He should certainly rack up a few first-team appearances and by the time 2021 comes around, I'd like him to be competing for a first-choice centre slot. Both Ashton and Brand are good pieces of long-term business, picking up players who are possible stars of the future.
The third of Warrington's young signings is prop forward Samy Kibula. The 20-year-old Congolese player has been signed from Wigan's academy after spending time on loan with Dewsbury Rams and Swinton Lions in the Championship last year. Kibula has been given number 24, so it looks like he will also start the year in the reserves. I saw Kibula live in a Challenge Cup game for Dewsbury last year and the Rams were dominated in the pack. Wigan fans don't seem too downbeat about the fact he has left, though Price has commented on how much weight he has lost in pre-season. If I'm being totally honest, I'm not sure at all about this one.
Anthony Gelling is likely to be the only new face who actually starts for the first-team in the opening game. Gelling has been signed from Widnes though the Cook Islands centre has also played for Wigan. He has taken the number 3 shirt and looks set to start the season in the centres alongside the new number 4, Toby King. Gelling is a competent enough player, but for me will not be as good for Wire as Goodwin was, and that is who he is effectively replacing. He is also not exactly the ball-playing centre I was hoping for, though with Luther Burrell and Keanan Brand in the reserves, at least there is some competition for his place.
Wire's sixth and final signing for 2020 is prop Leilani Latu. The 26-year-old has been signed from Gold Coast Titans, who finished bottom of the NRL last season. Latu played just three times in 2019 and six times in 2018, so he hasn't exactly been a regular. He has taken the number 16 shirt that Lama Tasi wore last season, so is likely to feature on the interchange bench a lot this year. While I am pleased that we have finally added a prop to the squad, there's not much to suggest that this guy is going to be a game-changer for us.
The most glaring and obvious failure in this window has been not adding anything of real quality to the pack - I was hoping for a higher calibre of prop than Latu. Wire have not brought in a loose forward - so let's hope Price is sure on who he wants to hold down that position in 2020. We haven't brought in a first-choice centre with good ball-playing abilities, and overall haven't refreshed the squad as much as I was hoping. It all feels very samey, indeed with Widdop's injury and Ashton, Brand and Kibula all likely to start in the reserves, Gelling and Latu will be the only difference between the team that ended 2019 and the one that will start 2020. However, as I have already alluded to, I feel Gelling is probably a slight downgrade on Goodwin, meaning you could make the case that we are actually starting 2020 with a weaker squad than the one that finished 2019. Gareth Widdop can't come back soon enough - it really is all on him.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
No comments:
Post a Comment