Wigan Warriors • Forward watch
NickyKiss wrote:
Smithies is really impressing me this season. He’s quietly going about his business but his output in terms of the ground he’s making is getting better, his discipline has been much improved and he’s rock solid defensively and does all the dirty work really well. I saw him described as a Poundland Morgan Knowles on the Saints forum and they should know more than anyone that players like those two can’t be judged on stats alone. He’s not at Knowles current level but he’s improving and is better than Knowles was at 21. He just needs to keep progressing as Knowles did.
He's way better than Knowles was at 21 who was little more than a bit part player at that age. That's why comparisons between Knowles and O'Loughlin are laughable. Compare their relative careers at similar ages. Knowles isn't even an established international yet. Whether Smithies gets to the Knowles at 25 is the interesting question but he's showing all the necessary year on year improvements to suggest he may. This year has been a quantum leap for him in terms of consistency and attitude. The biggest factor is he's now concentrating on his rugby rather than the niggle and he's twice the player for it.
Smithies, Byrne and Havard are all showing the signs this year of what they are capable of. It's early days for all of them but each has the attributes to get there if they apply themselves.
Statistics: Posted by Phuzzy — Mon Apr 25, 2022 1:51 pm — Replies 274 — Views 263227