Harry Smith on new Wigan Warriors attacking detail, post-season surgery and making a bigger impact
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:10 pm
Being thrust into the team with a hell of a lot of responsibility and expectation as well as a chronic shoulder injury clearly wasn’t easy and he speaks very well about putting things right this season.
Really hoping he kicks as it’s clear there is some talent there.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... y-22677425
There are few players at the age of 21 who are trusted with a regular halfback spot in Super League, let alone at a club like Wigan Warriors.
But that was the position thrust on Harry Smith last year as he got to grips with the challenge of managing expectations while finding his feet at the beginning of his professional career.
By his own admission, it was a rollercoaster campaign. Smith played regularly and showed glimpses of what is to come while the Warriors had their challenges in a frustrating campaign.
Smith played a chunk of the season with a shoulder injury which further complicated matters, though post-season surgery has been a success and he's now returned to full training
With that, he's hopeful that he can work on his game and improve again for 2022.
"Last year had its ups and downs," Smith said.
"The positives were getting the experience through a lot of games and learning what it takes physically and mentally, but from my point of view, I need to be more consistent and I need to have more influence on the game. It was tough at times last year, but overall I'm happy while knowing I've things to work on.
"I had an operation on the shoulder, I dealt with it through all last year, then had the operation a few weeks into the off-season. I've rehabbed it in the off-season and I've been building it.
"It was tricky but I had to get on with it to hold my position and to try and get the job done for the team. It restricted my movement and you can have a dislocation sensation, so it restricts a certain range of movements.
"What I've been able to do has been limited but I'm in full training and speaking about what to improve, on last year. Especially for young lads it's important to put your right foot forward in the off-season and rip in to improve."
Smith is clear on what he wants to get better at, and admits the arrival of the new coaching setup has helped him develop a clear understanding of what he will be expected to do, with Lee Briers already playing a role in his latest development.
"It's about picking the time when to grab the game and influence it, hopefully I will be able to do that.
"There's so much you can improve on, but being better physically, especially in defence, and we spoke a lot as a halfback group about improving on our kicking and being effective with that, different options so we can affect the game.
"It's been really good actually, there's a lot more detail in what he (Briers) wants in us as halfbacks and as a team in attack and I'm sure it will continue. We're not going too expansive at the minute, we're getting into it and with the weather, it's not been ideal.
"But mainly, it's about everyone knowing their role to a tee and the role of the person next to them. Knowing our roles means we know what we have to do on almost every play."
Really hoping he kicks as it’s clear there is some talent there.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... y-22677425
There are few players at the age of 21 who are trusted with a regular halfback spot in Super League, let alone at a club like Wigan Warriors.
But that was the position thrust on Harry Smith last year as he got to grips with the challenge of managing expectations while finding his feet at the beginning of his professional career.
By his own admission, it was a rollercoaster campaign. Smith played regularly and showed glimpses of what is to come while the Warriors had their challenges in a frustrating campaign.
Smith played a chunk of the season with a shoulder injury which further complicated matters, though post-season surgery has been a success and he's now returned to full training
With that, he's hopeful that he can work on his game and improve again for 2022.
"Last year had its ups and downs," Smith said.
"The positives were getting the experience through a lot of games and learning what it takes physically and mentally, but from my point of view, I need to be more consistent and I need to have more influence on the game. It was tough at times last year, but overall I'm happy while knowing I've things to work on.
"I had an operation on the shoulder, I dealt with it through all last year, then had the operation a few weeks into the off-season. I've rehabbed it in the off-season and I've been building it.
"It was tricky but I had to get on with it to hold my position and to try and get the job done for the team. It restricted my movement and you can have a dislocation sensation, so it restricts a certain range of movements.
"What I've been able to do has been limited but I'm in full training and speaking about what to improve, on last year. Especially for young lads it's important to put your right foot forward in the off-season and rip in to improve."
Smith is clear on what he wants to get better at, and admits the arrival of the new coaching setup has helped him develop a clear understanding of what he will be expected to do, with Lee Briers already playing a role in his latest development.
"It's about picking the time when to grab the game and influence it, hopefully I will be able to do that.
"There's so much you can improve on, but being better physically, especially in defence, and we spoke a lot as a halfback group about improving on our kicking and being effective with that, different options so we can affect the game.
"It's been really good actually, there's a lot more detail in what he (Briers) wants in us as halfbacks and as a team in attack and I'm sure it will continue. We're not going too expansive at the minute, we're getting into it and with the weather, it's not been ideal.
"But mainly, it's about everyone knowing their role to a tee and the role of the person next to them. Knowing our roles means we know what we have to do on almost every play."