Andy Last has praised Lewis Martin for his attitude and professionalism.
Hull FC winger Lewis Martin.(Image: SW PIX)
Andy Last has praised Hull FC winger Lewis Martin for his attitude and performance playing reserve grade over the weekend but is seemingly set to go with Harvey Barron and Tom Briscoe once again in Thursday’s Super League game at Huddersfield Giants.
Martin suffered a category one head knock at York Knights earlier this month and after passing his return-to-play protocols last week, he was left out of the derby match against Hull KR, instead playing for the reserves against Wigan Warriors.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference this Wednesday, Last said: “Lewis did okay. He carried the ball out of the backfield strongly. He showed that he was a Super League player playing at reserve grade level.
“There were a couple of defensive reads that he’d probably like back, but he’s gone there and he’s been a good leader, being a senior player, and putting a good shift in a hotly contested game.
“It’s hard (to drop into reserves), but then it’s about the mental side of it. Lewis will be learning the challenge of mentally getting himself ready to play when he hasn’t got 15,000 fans watching him, so he has to find a way to motivate himself to play in that reserve grade, and he did that exceptionally well last week.
“He showed some real professionalism, and he showed some leadership with the younger boys. Danny Houghton said he came in and he didn’t show a bad attitude towards it and that is credit to Lewis.
“He’s had a quite meteoric rise in terms of his form and exposure, and he’s just having a little bit of a flatter spot this season, but you’ve also got to pay a bit of credit to Harvey Barron and Tommy Briscoe.
“They’ve been strong in those wing positions and they need to make sure that they continue playing strongly because Lewis is obviously there waiting in the wings for an opportunity and once he gets it, he’s got good minutes under his belt from playing in reserve grade and ironing out a few of those issues that we’ve touched on. I’m sure once he gets the opportunity, he will be better for it.”
With no fresh injuries after the derby game last week, Last has got the option to name an unchanged matchday side against Huddersfield, although Yusuf Aydin may come into the fold after overcoming a recent head knock.
“It was nice that we’ve come out of that contest with a clean bill of health,” Last, whose side has been derailed by injury, said. “There are no major bumps, bruises, or concerns, so that was really pleasing.
“If I chose to name an unchanged side, it’ll be the first time I’ve done that, but Yusuf is obviously a guy who I have got a huge amount of respect for and he contributes a lot to the group. We’ll see where I go when it comes to gameday.
“It’s definitely nice (to have a couple of options). I think that’s a big thing; it puts people on notice, not only from a training point of view but also performance, and if certain aspects of performance, whether it be attack, defence, or decision-making, are lacking, being able to freshen your team up with a new body who’s motivated and keen for his opportunity to stake his claim, that’s a big strength for having a fitter squad available to you.”