Warrington Wolves have lost their âheartbeatâ after captain George Williams was ruled out through injury, says Sky Sports expert Sam Tomkins.
The Wolves half-back was injured in the latter stages of his sideâs 28-16 loss to Hull FC and will be out for up to 10 weeks after undergoing surgery.
Warrington face St Helens at home on Thursday, live on Sky Sports from 7.30pm, and Tomkins believes the absence of Williams could be a key factor in the Super League clash.
âHeâs the heartbeat of the team, I think heâs the most influential player for one team [in the league],â Tomkins told Sky Sports.
âWeâve got stars right across the Super League, but what George does, he dictates the full attack for the Warrington side.
âHe can turn up on support plays and has a great kicking game, great passing game, running game. George is a very complete player.
âI think the difficulty for Warrington is going to be what do they do without George.
âDo they try and get somebody to come in a replicate what George does, which I donât think theyâve got the personnel for it.
âAnd if not, theyâre probably going to have to change the way they attack, which eight games into a season, theyâve practiced all pre-season, theyâve had two months of George in there doing his stuff.
âNow theyâre going to have to find a different way because they brought in Marc Sneyd, luckily.
âMarc Sneyd has a great kicking game, real organiser, but that bit of flair that George brings and his connection with [Matthew] Dufty will certainly be missed in the next couple of months.â
After Warringtonâs frailties were exposed in last weekendâs 18-14 loss to Leigh Leopards, Tomkins believes coach Sam Burgess will be seeking more defensive resilience from his players.
âThey show bits of brilliance, when you see the way Warrington can attack with George and Dufty, theyâve got some great edges and some real flair,â Tomkins said.
âBut itâs their defence, Leigh dragged them into a tough, gritty game and hung on as well.
âWhen people like Lachlan Lam are running at a line like that, Warrington have just got to be more resilient in defence, making decisions really close to their own line, which they wouldnât want to be doing.
âI think the absence of George Williams is only going to make that harder for them.
âWhen Sam Burgess came and took over the reins at the start of last year, it made a massive difference in their defence.
âSo heâs going to have to look back at what he changed at the start of last year and get back into that.
âTheyâve got to focus a bit more on their defence I imagine and try and make sure that syncs up with their attack because we know how good they can be in attack.â
Tomkins: Wade is âexcitingâ signing for Wigan
Christian Wade, the former NFL running back, has made the switch from rugby union to league after announcing he was joining reigning champions Wigan Warriors earlier this month.
Tomkins hailed Wadeâs arrival at Wigan as âbrilliant and really exciting for the sport.â
âChristian Wade is an obvious athlete, heâs been over to play American Football, heâs played top-level rugby union, heâs fast, heâs exciting every time he gets the ball,â Tomkins said.
âI wouldnât expect him to come in and be the best player on the field from day one because thereâs massive differences [between league and union].
âI think sometimes itâs underestimated the difference between rugby league and rugby union, thereâs some similarities but also some huge differences positionally.
âIâm sure heâs doing lots of research now and Iâm sure Matty Peat will be in his ear, although heâs finishing the year off with Gloucester heâll have to get doing some studying on rugby league.
âBut itâs exciting, I think itâs a very smart move from Wigan.â
Watch Warrington v St Helens on Thursday (7.30pm) and Hull FC vs Wigan on Sunday (3pm), live on Sky Sports.
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