St.Helens' young scrum-half discusses taking his recent opportunities to play, his development, and our upcoming game against Catalans Dragons.
The Saints’ Main Match Sponsor for our Round 11 fixture against Catalans Dragons is Principal Club Partner – Home Bargains – and our Digital Sponsor for the match is local charity Willowbrook Hospice.
Recent results have been difficult and whilst it has been a tough period for the Saints, this time has seen a young halfback get his chance to step into the team for consecutive games and show he has got what it takes to be a First Team player.
George Whitby’s adoration for rugby league is infectious, and he is embracing every opportunity to play, learn, and grow as a professional athlete.
In this edition of Saints & Proud’s BIG READ, Whitby talks about learning from his teammates and coaches, his dual registration stint with Halifax, and turning our form around.
George Whitby is proudly sponsored by S&R Fire Protection Ltd.
We sat with George a few days before the Red V’s return home to the Totally Wicked Stadium for the first time in a month, when they will face Catalans Dragons in the only home First Team match in May.
On the back of three defeats on the road, unusual by Saints standards, this may be a period which George could look back on as a time where he and his peers showed some steel to pull back together.
“I think all the lads, we feel really close at the moment because together we are trying to put things right,” Whitby told Saints & Proud.
“We are working hard and doing everything that we can in training with the coaches, and they are putting in loads into each player on how we can get better every single day.
“I know it has been tough recently with how we have been going, but for me personally, I feel like I am learning loads out of this period, from an individual perspective, and I think it is only going to help me grow as a player.
“I am confident that we will turn things around soon, and hopefully we will look back at this period as a time that helped me become a better player on the field.”
Whitby’s first Super League run-out of the year was our last home fixture against Wakefield, and he put in a Player of the Match effort in a strong showing. The young scrum-half believes that the two-week period he spent on dual registration with Halifax Panthers was important to his growth in confidence.
“That was the next step up for me from the Reserves level. I got to go and work alongside Kyle Eastmond, and we all know he has been a great number seven for this club. Learning from him – I wanted to be a sponge, and he guided me in those weeks. That in turn gave me the confidence to be that dominating seven, and it has given me more confidence to go and try to do it for this team.”
They say never fall in love with a loan player in the football world. It may be different in rugby league because the Halifax supporters in the space of two weeks had a song for George and were asking to keep hold of Whitby for longer!
“That [fan song] was special, I wasn’t expecting it at all but the crowd in York was maybe two or three hundred of the Fax fans and they made some atmosphere – it was unreal. A great set of fans, and I wish them the best in the Championship.”
Daily business sees Whitby working alongside the likes of Paul Wellens, Lee Briers, and Eamon O’Carroll as his coaches, but mentors such as Jonny Lomax, Jack Welsby, and Tristan Sailor too. Any opportunity to improve, it seems that George is all ears, ready to listen.
“I don’t think I could ask for anyone better to get advice from. The group of players we have, men with experience in the Super League and over in the NRL, too. Jonny and Jack know what it is about to play here, so I am taking in everything that I can from them, and it has been good.”
On Saturday, George will celebrate his 19th birthday, and the past month has seen the 18-year-old play four big Super League matches in a row, with the Wakefield home tie, followed by Wigan away, Warrington away, and then Magic Weekend against Leeds. Whitby did not expect this run of games but is relishing his chance.
“Looking back at the start of the year, I never thought I would have gotten the opportunity so early to stay in the team as I have been doing in the past few weeks. Wello [Paul Wellens] has been so clear with me, and I cannot thank him enough for the clarity he has given, the detail. He just wants me to go out there and back myself – he gave me that opportunity and backed me 100%.
“It’s the same with Briersy [Lee Briers] and all the lads who have been outstanding with me and my progression. Now I want to kick on and help us turn things around in a positive way.
“The Derby, Magic, they are the games you want to play in and to be in the heat of the battle in consecutive games so early in my career. I want to be in the team for big occasions, and the more of those games I play in, the more they will benefit me in growing further.”
Some players may have a set target of the number of games they want to play in, or the number of tries or tackles they make. George is not focusing on his game time like that, though.
“I am taking it game by game, just learning every day I come into training. Whenever the opportunity comes to put on that Red V again, I’m more than happy to go out there and play my heart out, I’m not worried about reaching a number of games or points.”
Onto the next task then, and it is a fiery encounter that awaits George if selected against the Catalans Dragons, who will be stinging after their Semi-Final Challenge Cup exit last time out. Plus, matches between Saints and Catalans in recent years have been bruising, nail-biting affairs.
“I am confident with the way things have been recently in training, we are working hard in our game as individuals and as a collective. Hopefully, we can do that this week, and I can be part of it on the field.
“Off the back of that Challenge Cup loss, they are going to be charged up and come out firing and try to use that as fuel against us. We know they are a big, physical side; we want to go after them and disrupt them.”
Having more time together as a team to build into this fixture, Whitby believes that whilst the team would have preferred to be playing, it had been a week of team bonding too.
“We’ve been together all week, and we’ve really gone into detail, both on the field and spent more time together off the it too. We must find that right balance, get through what we need to do, and have full focus on this next game together.”
In closing, the lifelong Saints fan encouraged our supporters to keep backing the boys on the field with plenty of chants, songs, and cheers, as together we all look to move forward with positive results and performances.
“Stick with us, I know our fans always turn up in such great numbers, and I know it has been frustrating. From the outside looking in, this period is not what you expect from a Saints side, and we have been disappointed too, as you can imagine. I am really confident that if the fans stick by us, keep turning up loud and proud, we will be right very, very soon.”
