Kenneth Jarvis, Warrington Wolves Blogger

If any team lost their first choice halves and hooker, then they’d be in big trouble. That’s exactly what happened to Warrington last weekend, but we still manged to get a magnificent win away in France due to the sheer quality of youth players that are in our system at the moment.

A few of the troops are back for Friday’s game vs Widnes, but Warrington will still be relying on the youth that has been playing below first team level for most of the season, but also the young players that have been in the squad all year.

One of the young players to miss out this week with the returning players is 20 year old Jack Johnson, who played well at full back last Saturday, he’s the type of player who would have benefited a lot from such an occasion and will hopefully have a great future at the club. His exclusion is most likely due to the inclusion of a 34 year old in the form of Kurt Gidley, who returns from his Wembley injury, ready to finish the season strongly. As much as fans love seeing young players do well for the club, Kurt Gidley will be a huge factor in whether the club wins a Grand Final or not.

A young player who starred vs Catalans may have to do so again, and next to the veteran of Kurt Gidley, the 21 year old Declan Patton will be once again hoping to show to everyone how good he is in the derby. Whenever he has been given the chance this season, he has excelled, against Catalans he was brilliant and ran onto two of the teams tries. At such a crucial position, it’s hard to find young players that are good enough to represent such a demanding club, but under the guidance of the likes of Gidley, hopefully he can step-up when the Australian retires.

Not only do we have players showing great promise in the reserves and the age restricted teams this year, but it’s sometimes easy to forget how young some of our stars are. First choice Daryl Clark who once again has to miss out is still only 23, as are Brad Dwyer, Rhys Evans and Matty Russell who will play vs Widnes. Then, of course, is Ben Currie. He was the a huge talking point of the Wembley final for unfortunate reasons, but a huge talking point of the Catalans match for great ones. He is only 22 and has the Rugby League world at his feet.

Also with important parts to play vs Widnes are the King brothers, who have been important all season. George (21) and Toby (20) will once again be vital to the team’s performance, they both have many seasons of great rugby ahead of them at Warrington.

Perhaps the most impressive performance vs Catalans due to his age was the 18 year old Morgan Smith who was exceptional, in the absence of Brad Dwyer who missed most of the first half. Warrington may once again have to rely on him from the bench in what should be a great atmosphere in the Friday night derby. He took the heat and ferocity of the Catalans side in his stride, so taking on Widnes won’t phase him either.

Of course, the players mentioned aren’t the only ones at the club who are showing promise, but the last result showed what a great position the club are in with their youth development. Of the nineteen players named in Warrington’s squad for Friday, eleven are aged 23 or under. Whilst Warringtonians will be excited about the opportunity to watch these players grow and develop over the next few years, you never want to rely on youth too much. That’s what Warrington did against Catalans, and it’s what we’ll have to do so again. If we want to win the Grand Final in October, our kids will have played a big part in getting us there.