BREKING NEWS: ''New long-term deals can be seen as a demonstration'' Director of rugby Gary Chambers stated due to....

LIKE Josh Thewlis and Connor Wrench before them, Leon Hayes and Adam Holroyd can be held up as the latest success stories for the Warrington Wolves academy.

And their new long-term deals can be seen as a demonstration of the club’s faith in them and their desire to build their team around homegrown prospects for years to come.

While both players were in the final year of their deals, the club held options in their favour to trigger automatic one-year extensions should they have wished.

However, The Wire were known to be keen to tie the pair to upgraded deals both to reward their progress and reflect their value to the organisation.

Director of rugby Gary Chambers was at the heart of getting those deals over the line and having overseen their progress through the academy in his previous role as head of youth, he takes more pride in what they have produced than most.

“There’s a lot of people who had more influence over them than me, but I’m massively proud of what they’ve done,” he told the Guardian.

“They’ve been fantastic for us and they were never going to let us down.”

Leon Hayes ‘needed a little bit more time’

For Hayes in particular, there is much excitement and there has been since his talents gained wider acclaim among the fanbase in 2022, when he captained the academy side which also included Holroyd to a play-off finish.

A senior debut followed against Huddersfield Giants in August 2022 and from pretty much that moment on, fans have clamoured to have him more involved

His first season as a full-time member of the senior squad proved a frustrating one as injuries held him back, but having regained his fitness on dual-registration at North Wales Crusaders, guiding them to the League One play-offs, his chance came in the kind of circumstances a Warrington lad could only dream of.

He was thrown into the cauldron of a home game against St Helens and in that game, a common theme began – Saints tried to exploit his diminutive stature defensively and that has continued this year.

However, pretty much all who have tried have been turned away and as the games racked up this season, first as a deputy following injuries to first George Williams and then Josh Drinkwater before playing well enough to nail down a spot in his own right before his crushing injury blow at Salford, his confidence grew.

“When I took the interim job for those last six games last year, there were a lot of people calling for Leon to come in but he just wasn’t ready,” Chambers recalled.

“That came from himself as well – I’d sit and talk to him and he’d tell me he wanted that little bit more time.

“I played him in that game against St Helens and he was very sore afterwards. It’s a lot to ask of a young fella to play week in, week out.

“He needed that pre-season and it’s worked perfectly for him.

“I firmly believe a half-back doesn’t come into their own until they’re in their late 20s or early 30s, so we’ve got to look after him and keep him learning. He’ll be fantastic for us for many years.”

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