Wilde About The Wolves
Back row forward Sam Wilde has signed up to the Wolves' Academy from the club's respected scholarship scheme.
Sam played his community club rugby for Shevington Sharks on the outskirts of Wigan but is now enjoying his time at Warrington and is looking forward to the next stage.
He joined the Warrington Wolves scholarship two years ago having been watched and identified by the Head of Talent ID Peter Farrell. Sam identified himself that he had plenty to develop but he was prepared to go the extra mile and put in the extra hours of practice and fitness to get to where he is.
Peter said: "I first watched Sam in a game at St John Rigby, although at the time Shevington were playing in the lower division there was something about Sam and his swashbuckling approach that caught my eye.
"I made enquiries around his club at the time and all the feedback was about another player in the Shevington team that club officials and parents thought was the player perhaps with a bigger future. However I continued to watch Sam and each game he impressed with his high work rate and his ability to hit the line without slowing down.
"Sam has a big future in front of him and there is no doubt about his ability. If I could give him one piece of advice to improve his game it would be to start each game with the intensity he finishes. He is a player that other people follow and lift their games and will possibly develop into a fine Captain in the near future."
First team player Tyrone McCarthy, a U16 assistant coach, has worked closely with Sam as a fellow back rower and believes that there is much, much more to come from him,
"I've been working with Sam on his skills. He's developed over the last two years immensely. His general game is just working hard and he has a high work-rate during games; taking tackles and running some really nice lines. We've been trying to add to his game and he's done really well. He's good for the group too, for the other lads to look to, when you're doing reviews he is one of the stand-out performers.
"He just gets on with things at training and never backs down. Considering that he's a quiet lad he's not afraid to ask a question and comes across quite bright. He has the sorts of qualities you want from a back-row forward and if he can continue to build on that base and add little strings to his bow he can only get better and better."
Sam is looking forward to taking this next step and is already enjoying the training.
He said: "Training is really good and we are starting to step it up to four sessions a week now. I got spotted at the early stages of under 15s and Warrington have kept me through all the way. I've seen a massive improvement in everything; the facilities are really good with the gym, pitches, canteen and video room where we do our analysis."
He added on working with Tyrone: "He's been like another coach. He's brought first team drills in for us and he's a good lad to get on with and talk to as well. He's come from where we've come from and got to the top. My goal is to do like Tyrone's done, get into the first and establish a place in the squad."
Sam (L) pictured with Tyrone McCarthy
More academy player features to follow over the next few weeks.
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14, Nov, 2012
