Wigan Warriors • O’Neill

The team has such a good balance, with each player bring their strengths to the party and covering other players weaknesses and vice versa and that spreads throughout the whole team. Field and French are as lucky to have somebody like Harry Smith, as he is lucky to have them.

I do think O'Neill is a bit different. The point still stands that he's lucky to have those strike players and a game managing scrum half like Harry Smith and they're all lucky to have him but unlike somebody like Smith, I do think O'Neill has an ability to do more with the ball 'if' he was asked to do so. He can run a ball and cause loads of problems but I sense him doing a Clark and taking a couple of scoots a set isn't part of the the gameplan and he's humble enough to play his role and hand over the ball to the attacking weapons we have. That leaves him fresh to do his thing, which has he showed in the WCC game, is to be the leader of all the effort areas and to really take it to the opposition in defence. It's easy to forget how young the lad is as well. To be doing what he's doing, playing in the middle of the field, at the age of 22 is exceptional and he'll continue to improve. I wouldn't swap him for any other hooker in Superleague.