Published at 13:02, Friday, 30 July 2010

RISING STAR: Ryan Shaw in action for Warrington

FLYING back Ryan Shaw is being tipped for a place in the Warrington Wolves first team next season.

The 17-year-old former Barrow Island youngster has impressed everyone at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium this season with his ability in the centres and on the wing.

Despite being signed up for the Wolves’ under-18s set-up, he has regularly featured for the under-20s and is expected to make that next step up to Super League in the near future.

Under-18s head coach Gary Chambers, a fellow Cumbrian who helped spot Shaw’s talent and bring him to Cheshire, has no doubt the youngster has what it takes to succeed – demonstrated by his recent move to full-time training with the first team.

“He trains full-time with the first team now, so that is an indication of how well he has been doing and how well he is thought of,” said Chambers. “They really like what he has been doing.

“There is no rush with him. They will plan it out and do it when they think it’s right – if it’s not this year, then maybe next and they will do it properly, like they have all the way through.

“Certainly next year is a realistic proposition for him in the first team. He has another 12 months of growing in him and that is a realistic target.”

Shaw’s progress so far with the Wolves has been astounding.

While the first team are pushing at the top of Super League, he has been lining up in the under-20s Valvoline Cup, where the Wolves are right at the summit, against players three years his senior and with a lot more growth in them.

He has not let that stop him and Shaw scored two tries from the wing – not his favoured position, but one where he has shown a strong proficiency – against the French Federation Roosters, a side made up of the best under-20s players in France.

After that game, which Warrington won 40-20, Wolves under-20s head coach Richard Marshall said: “Ryan came into the side for this game and certainly did his chances of keeping his place no harm at all with a very mature performance.”

That game was played as a curtain-raiser to the first team’s Super League clash with Catalans Dragons, with the teenager travelling with Tony Smith’s squad and being immersed in the environment throughout.

Chambers added of Shaw’s progress: “It’s a tough transition to move away from home and he has taken it all in his stride.

“He’s moving along how they hoped he would, and the biggest indicator of his success is the position he has got.

“He has moved into a bit of an elite position now, so he is doing well.

“It’s all experience for him. He has been involved in that sort of a build-up to a first team game, in that sort of an environment, and he knows what is expected of him.

“It’s all about preparing him now for when he steps up to the first team.”

The under-20s season finishes in August, with the play-offs going on for another month after that.

Shaw will have turned 18 by then and will be ready to negotiate a new contract, though dad Neil – himself a former professional RL player with Barrow – says nothing has been discussed yet.

He added: “I would be surprised if they didn’t come up and offer him something, but we will have to wait and see.

“He has just got to keep putting in the performances on the pitch and the other parts of it will look after themselves.

“He enjoys the chance when he is playing in the under-20s.

“He has been playing on the wing, which is not his position, but he is so young and he is not as well developed as some of the older lads, so they tend to use him out there.

“He still expresses himself well in the games he plays.”

Shaw’s next game could come tomorrow when the under-20s play St Helens as a curtain-raiser to the first team game at the Halliwell Jones.

It will be another chance for the youngster to get a real taste of what surely lies ahead in his future.

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk