ALTHOUGH Leon Pryce made his first start since March in last Sunday’s Cup win over Hull KR Royce Simmons has been keen to recognise the performances of fellow halves Lee Gaskell and Jonny Lomax.
The former Bradford Bull played for 65 minutes in the 54-6 thumping of the Robins to bring to an end the injury nightmare that beset him for nearly a full year.
“Leon went good in his first run back,” Simmons said, “and I was impressed that when he got the ball for the first time he took the line on, That have me and him confidence he was ready to go and be back.
“The side made it easier for him too as they controlled the ball better and played down Hull’s end of the park. If we hadn’t done that he wouldn’t have got 65 minutes as he would have had to do a lot of tackling.
“We gave Lee [Gaskell] a rest as he deserved it. It’s his first year of playing regular first grade and you wouldn’t have expected him to play close to 20 games would you?
“He had a few bumps and bruises and we felt it was time for him to have a little break.
“Leon brings a lot of talk to the side and communication – but Jonny [Lomax] and Lee did a great job there didn’t they? They are naturally quieter people but they communicated well.
“And they will only get better.”
Gaskell returns to the 19-man squad for Sunday’s trip to Castleford and is expected to feature in the 17 as Kyle Eastmond looks set to start at centre.
