Marsh smashes Australia to glory in World Cup final
parents and that has definitely made Will a smart footballer.”
Pryce, of course, is the son of Bradford Bulls and St Helens legend Leon Pryce, the former Great Britain stand-off who enjoyed a stellar career.
Watson added: “While Leon may have been his inspiration, I think Will’s mum has also had a big part to play in his upbringing and keeping him level-headed.
“He has been brought up really well and is a great kid to work with.”
Watson believes he will have a strong spine at his disposal next season as Giants seek to become a force in the game.
He said: “Lolohea is the same as Will in that he can play six and one, and probably a few more positions as well, but we’ll have to see how we get on in pre-season because we’ve got some really good halves.
“I think we’ve got a spine to build a team around for a few years and we want to create a legacy about competing at the top end of the table.
“We’ve got Tui and Theo, who are 26 and 27 respectively, and Olly Russell and Jack Cogger, who are 23 and 24, and then Will is still only 18, so we’ve got a spine there who we can build a team around for a number of years.
“You put Danny Levi in as well and Adam O’Brien, they’re at a good age, so I feel we’re in a good position with our spine.
“It’s about getting them to work together but it’s exciting. The best teams generally have a consistent spine and I don’t think Huddersfield have had that since 2013 with people like Danny Brough and Luke Robinson.
“We’re really pleased with what we’ve got because this should really be a strong spine for a number of years to create something special at Huddersfield.”
I think we’ve got a spine to build a team around for a few years and we want to create a legacy
here
AUSTRALIA were crowned T20 World Cup champions for the first time as twin fifties from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh consigned New
Zealand to another runners-up finish on the global stage.
The Black Caps were seeking a maiden T20 crown themselves to add to their World Test Championship triumph and were given hope by Kane Williamson’s belligerent 85 from 48 balls following a ponderous start batting first in Dubai.
New Zealand’s 172 for four represented the highest score in a T20 final but it was not enough as they lost by eight wickets, with Warner’s 53 off 38 deliveries and Marsh’s 77 not out off 50 deliveries getting Australia home.
Unlike the 2016 showpiece, when the West Indies beat England thanks to four consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite in the last over, there was no grandstand finish as Australia overhauled their target with seven balls to spare.
Williamson, who has been troubled by a longstanding elbow injury in recent weeks, benefited from being dropped on 21 to hammer 10 fours and three sixes, with Mitchell Starc coming in for heavy punishment.
He finished with 4-0-60-0, the worst bowling figures in a T20 World Cup final, but Josh Hazlewood was exemplary as he mixed up his speeds to finish with three for 16 and there was rarely any sense of Australia folding.
While Warner finished behind only Babar Azam in the tournament’s run-scoring standings, with 289 at a 57.8 average and 147.44 strike-rate, Australia’s victory owed much to Marsh, who clubbed six fours and four sixes.
He was peculiarly dropped for what was Australia’s only loss of the campaign against England but proved his worth in the final, crunching his first three deliveries for boundaries as he consistently put New Zealand on the back foot.
Australia head coach Justin Langer described Australia’s victory as ‘a very special moment for everyone’.
He added: “Everyone that wins a World Cup says it’s hard to process, it’s hard to put it into words, but this is such a special group of people.
“I know every coach and every captain says the same thing, but we’ve got some amazing cricketers here.
“We have not had the chance to play with each other for different reasons over the last 12 months, so when we all got back together it was like a reunion.”
New Zealand Williamson said: “Credit to the way the Australians chased that total, they didn’t give us an inch really.
“It wasn’t meant to be, but also really proud of our team’s effort throughout this tournament - real consistency with how we operated, we came here in the final and gave it our best shot, but it was not meant to be.
“The guys committed to what we really tried to do and conditions that varied a lot from venue to venue, we adapted well and played some good cricket and there was a lot of heart shown. I suppose it’s always nice to get to the big dance and the team tried their very best, but credit to the way Australia played.”