Super League coach makes George Williams admission amid impressive early season form
Huddersfield boss Ian Watson believes George Williams is looking like a Man of Steel player following his impressive early round Super League performances.
Watson made the comment in agreement with Sky Sports pundit Phil Clarke, who originally made the statement last week.
Williams, 28, has three try assists to his name so far this season and earned three Man of Steel points following his side’s 26-16 victory over the Giants last week.
It was Huddersfield’s first taste of competitive action in 2023, having missed the opening round due to St Helens’ tour to Australia for the World Club Challenge.
England international Williams entered the 2023 season as one of the favourites to win Man of Steel at the end of the year. And Watson was particularly impressed with Warrington’s kicking game at the John Smith’s Stadium in Round Two.
Ian Watson makes George Williams admission
“George Williams and Josh Drinkwater are very good kickers of the ball and they’re experienced players as well, so they know when the right times are to kick,” Watson said, reviewing the game.
“We [Huddersfield] spoke the other day, there was a couple of occasions where Will probably gets his kick selection wrong, which obviously, George Williams didn’t. But he’s been in those situations far more times than what young Will has and he’ll learn from them.
“There was some times when we put the ball in the right areas. Theo [Fages] put them in the right areas.
“Second half, we started to do a little bit better with that. But I think probably one of the biggest things was our selection of passes. We opened them up twice, but threw two intercept passes. And then they come down the other end of the field and score on the back end of that.
“So our selection of passes and then our goal-line defence wasn’t strong enough. Or we probably didn’t work hard enough in that area to keep Warrington out.
“One of those tries was a little kick off George Williams, which was on a plate to be fair. It was pretty undefendable.
“He looks like a Man of Steel”
“But that’s that’s what George is paid for. That’s the difference between players. There’s a difference of levels of players.
“George is a high, high quality player, and he doesn’t generally miss things and he picks them out.
“I think I’ve seen it this week where somebody said, I think Phil Clarke said, in the first two weeks of the season, he looks like a Man of Steel. He definitely is at this moment in time, the way he’s played, and the way he’s picking things at this moment in time.”
Daryl Powell’s Warrington take on Salford on Thursday night, while Huddersfield travel to Wakefield on Friday.
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