I know he is very well thought of and are high hopes for him from the England set up.

He kicked the touring Australia Schoolboys team to death when they last toured these shores with a masterclass of kicking. Those displays more than anything were probably why he got his England Knights call up.

He is only a baby still and there are certain things I’d like to see more from him particularly with ball in hand, the main one being to take the ball into the line more often.

He is still only a baby though and will be the junior partner at Wigan this year when he plays but that being said I’d also like him to stamp a bit more authority on the team.

He’s a great talent I just hope he is allowed time and patience to grow into his potential, rather than being written off because of a few iffy games.

Agree fully here. He did something that an English half hasn't done in a while when he destroyed the Aussies so there is definitely something there we just need to give him the time he needs rather than write him off as I do think he has the potential.

I think he’s looked a little nervous since stepping up and that’s understandable. He’s also shown some flashes of genius in his short first team career with little kick and chases and I recall a superb switch of play towards the back end of last season. It’s going to take time IMO because he’s the sort of half who to get the best from, you need to give him control of a team but at 20/21 that takes some guts and confidence and he’ll have to build that. You can throw a young halfback in with the style of play like George Williams, Sam Tomkins, Kyle Eastmond etc and it’s a bit easier for them because they were all running halves and from memory had dominant partners and you’re just asking them to look after their own game. Once Harry Smith has settled down and built up that experience and confidence, you’re going to be asking him to not only manage his own game but manage the team.

It’ll take time but he’ll get there.

He's definitely a confident sort of character. I didn't like him in person frankly but I can definitely see that kind of arrogance translating well to playing in the halves. I've watched him since even before Rogues and he tore it up at kids level which isn't that common for a player relying on skill rather than just being stronger or faster than everyone else. Having said all that, there are tons of academy superstars who went on to do bugger all in SL. He needs regular rugby somewhere this year.

I think its those raw physical attributes that concern me a little. He looks to have a good mind for the game and you'll get a strong kicking game out of him 9 times out of 10 but no real standouts in terms of pace, agility, acceleration or strength. Could mean he ends up as a Marc Sneyd/Matty Smith type but we'll see. Certainly not writing him off by the way.

Yeah of course. I've heard there are ways to predict how big they'll be pretty early on (think it's to do with the length of the femur and things like that) but I've no idea how widely it's used. JonH might know. If the floor of his potential is a starting SL halfback then I'm pretty happy to be honest. We have had plenty highly rated academy players who didn't get that far. In fact if he's much better than that then we're unlikely to be able to keep him this side of the world anyway, how depressing is that!

if i was Adrian Lam i would be using George Williams and Ryan Hampshire as examples to him

From the outside looking in both had talent. 1 knuckled down and got his break, and is currently in Oz plying his trade, whilst the other seemed to be making lots of noise (or his agent was) about how good he was, as far as i know is still in Wakey?

if he has the talent and applies himself, then injuries aside he has a good chance of making it both as a Wigan player and poss in Oz as Grimmy aludes to. if he has talent but cant be d, then he could finish up mid SL or championship

smiths already been given more of a chance than Hampshire did

Maybe he kept his mouth shut

do you think Sam Tomkins was quiet when he was coming through? i dont personally, but had had the talent, ability and work ethic to fulfil his potential (off field antics aside)

its not all about toeing the line, which is what seems to be inferred with the keeping his mouth shut comment. Hampshire played over 30 games for Wigan, and spells with Cas and Leigh didnt exactly set the world on fire with all coaches being unsure of his best position, but none have cemented him as a half back. If you have the ability you need to knuckle down and not just talk about how good you are etc, you still need to deliver. Under Shaun Wane's tenure there are many youth players that made the grade, and i am guessing equally as many (or more) that didnt.

there was a lot of forum talk about Williams and Hampshire being our half back pairing for years to come. IMO 1 has fulfilled his potential and currently plying his trade in Oz, whilst the other hasnt (although making it as a professional player shouldnt be sniffed at). It could genuinely be that Hampshire has found his level, and was over hyped, i genuinely dont know as i dont get to watch the youth players coming through.

I'm not seeing the comparison to be honest. Hampshire never got a crack in the first place (in the halves anyway).

what i was trying to suggest is that you have 2 young half backs who came through at the same time. Lots of hype about them. 1 is fulfilling his potential whilst the other (based on the hype on forums / agent talk etc) isnt

if you was going to advise Harry Smith about fulfilling his potential, as Adrian Lam what would you be saying to him? I was using the Williams / Hampshire as an example of what can be achieved if you knuckle down. I am sure there are many other examples that he could use. George Williams wasnt always played in the halfs if i recall correctly, as he spent quite a bit of time at hooker.

The other way to look at it is 1 had a successful career at Wigan and now in Oz, whilst the other didnt, Whether fans think Hampshire was given a fair chance or not is now irrelevant, as coaches at Cas and Leigh also didnt see him as a half back, and i dont think he plays much time there at Wakey either.

i have nothing against Ryan Hampshire. Like i've said in another post, based on forum talk both him and Williams were the next Wigan / GB half back pairing for years to come, but it clearly hasnt worked out that way for whatever reason. It could be ability, work ethic, talent, i genuinely dont know

Nothing to do with toeing the line and everything about attitude.

If you asked Sam to play at prop he would and he would give 110% He probably wouldn't like but he would crack on.

Hampshire (or his 'agent') decided to voice their concerns over his position rather than knuckle down and cement a place in the team such as Sam, George etc

Yeah I think Hampshire is more an example that you can't choose what position you get to play, or that sometimes the only way to get regular rugby is to leave the club. Different situation with Williams, played a tiny bit off the bench at 9 but was almost always in his preferred position, didn't need to leave to get regular rugby. If he was struggling to get a game and then only being used at hooker when he did get a game then maybe he would have done the same thing Hampshire did, or maybe he would have cracked on. We'll never know.

Heard it was more his dad.

*You know the type..... there's a number of them at every age group at every amateur club up and down the country.

I had a PM once saying a bloke voicing his displeasure on here was Hampshire’s dad. Not the way to go about things surely and after being peeved about being a utility player here, he’s gone on to be a utility player at Cas, Leigh and Wakey, so it looks like even teams lower down the pecking order haven’t fancied him as a halfback either.

Rocky is one of the hardest working players playing the game.

I think there were a few issues with his time at Wigan which caused him to lose a bit of career momentum.

Wigan youth system is getting a bit of a reputation of not looking after the junior players from Yorkshire as it does the local lads. Appreciate there is always going to be banter but it seems a little more than that almost an us against them mentality.

Not saying it is true but I’ve heard it from quite a few lads and it probably doesn’t do our ability to attract lads from Yorkshire any favours. Rocky certainly felt that way.

Another issue was the rigidity of the systems. He was a natural off the cuff player and one of the best you will see. Played with his eyes up, Wigan wanted him to conform to a more structured style of play which isn’t really his game. He did try to go along with it but ultimately it was a bit of a square peg round hole situation.

His advisors could see it wasn’t working for him and probably became a bit too vocal about it.

I think the time he spent at Wigan ultimately damaged his progress and if he had worked with another coach/system that allowed him to play his natural game he’d currently be held in higher regard,

Smith for me is much more suited to the organiser structured role he will be asked to play. I’d say there are more comparisons with Deacon than others mentioned. A lad with a controlling style who can also offer that bit of threat from time to time, but generally directs traffic and sets up field position/plays.

Is it really? Who said that? What evidence is there?

As I said not sure if it’s true but it is certainly the way some of the lads that have been in the system have said and felt and it is certainly a perception around some of the more elite juniors amateur level perhaps perpetuated by lads who still have links with their junior clubs.

Whichever way it goes with Smith, he couldn't ask for a better setup or have better people around him.

Lam & Tommy are two top draw mentors. Hastings will be able to tell him a cautionary tale, or two, as well as other things.

Outside of that our development systems are 2nd to none. He'll get support, opportunity and a fair crack at establishing himself.

I'm trying to think what young Yorkshire lads we've even got:

Smithies - first choice every week, even post-ban

Kilner - I'd expect to get more of a go this year. I'd assumed he was younger than Partington and Byrne but he isn't actually. Maybe he has a bit of a case that he should have had more than the one game to be fair. He looked good on debut.

Borough - Don't think he can claim he's better than Powell or Leuluai.

Anyone I missed?

These tend to be lads that haven’t made first grade.

Now I appreciate there may be an element of sour grapes however I’ve known plenty of lads that haven’t made it at other clubs who speak highly of the experience regardless.

Micky Mac,

EDIT - sorry just saw you meant who weve got now

was his Dad, but the club acted very poorly in it all also

Ah fair enough. Hard to say to be honest without really scrutinising at that level. The fact we are getting plenty lads from other areas coming through does show the door isn't shut at least.

I'd wager there is probably some basis to it at scholarship level though. You have a Wigan kid who the club have probably been keeping an eye on since he was 12, likely knows some of the people at the club already on a personal level, his club coach will probably know the scholarship coach. Then you have someone picked up by a scout based on a BARLA Cup game against Pats. Don't know him, no club coach in your ear about him.

You don't get to train with them much at that level and only have a few games. No prizes for guessing which player is probably going to get picked at first, especially in some positions where there are only one or two spots in the 17. If they can get past that hurdle then by academy stage I'd hope it would level out more as they are training together regularly and the coaches will have had more time to get to know the players. Not ideal but I don't know how it gets fixed without having more time with the players at an earlier stage somehow, but that's difficult at that age when they can't drive themselves, have school commitments and rarely play against teams from outside the county for their clubs.