Wigan put faith in teenager
RUGBY LEAGUE
WIGAN coach Shaun Wane will offer a glimpse into the future on Friday when he gives a debut to exciting youngster Sam Powell against Hull.
Powell, 19, will get his chance in the absence of Australian stand-off Brett Finch, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Powell, who has come through the ranks at Wigan, would have had a run earlier this season but for breaking a leg in the Under-20s.
Pressure
“I’m excited to see how he goes,” said Wane (below), who predicts a big future for Powell.
“If he hadn’t broken his leg, I’d have rested Finchy and Tommy Leuluai before now and played him because he’s the next in and he’ll be playing next year.
“He’s a Wigan-born lad and he’s a great kid to have around. He loves being coached by us and always wants information from us.
“He’s very skilful and defensively he’s tough. It’s his debut so I’m not going to pile a load of pressure on him, but I expect him to do a halves’ job which is to direct us around the park.”
Finch, who returns to Australia at the end of the season, will miss his first Super League game of the season after damaging a hamstring in the 40-16 win over Castleford. “He kept quiet about it and told us about it after the game,” said Wane. “That was special.”
Loose forward Sean O’Loughlin is still struggling with a hamstring injury.
“It’s not really cleared up,” added Wane. “If something was to go wrong it would be six weeks and I’m not prepared
to risk that.”