Morgan Knowles says that he is taking lots of tips from “wizard” Jonny Lomax as he aims to both become a leader in the St Helens squad and continue to improve his own game.
Last month Knowles committed to a new contract with Saints, keeping him at the club he’s spent his whole professional career to date with for at least another four years.
The 25-year-old rebuffed interest from the NRL to sign the new deal, choosing instead to continue making history with St Helens after three consecutive Super League titles.
After the league-and-cup double last year, Knowles is clear what the target is for the club in 2022: “As successful as last year was, it’s still frustrating to me that we weren’t able to do the treble.
That’s something that we haven’t got.”
On a personal level, the loose-forward says that he now wants to become one of the senior leaders in the group, taking on the mantle from the likes of long-serving skipper James Roby and halfback Lomax.
However, Knowles also believes that he can still make lots of improvements to his game. That’s a worrying thought for Super League opponents, considering he is the only player to have been in the Dream Team for each of the past three years and is learning from Lomax on that too.
“My performances on the field have got to keep improving,” he told League Express.
“I’ve still got plenty more improvement in me.
“I’m looking forward to continuing learning and getting better and better.
“Quite quickly I’m becoming one of the older heads in the team now, which sounds a bit strange, but people will be moving on and won’t be here in four years’ time.
“I’ll have a bigger role to play then in leading the team and trying to help some of the younger players continue what’s been started by people like James Roby, Jonny Lomax and those sorts of players.
“If I could be half the leader James is, then I’d be made up. Speaking out doesn’t come naturally to me, I prefer to lead with my actions, but it’s probably a role that at this age you start to step up to as a more senior player.
“In general, you can always get better. One thing in particular probably is my game smarts, understanding the small nuances and game control.
“I speak a lot to Jonny Lomax and he’s a wizard; he knows everything and is always a couple of steps ahead of everyone else.
“I have to slow him down at times and get him to explain it to me but he’s probably explained it more to me than any coach I’ve had. I’ll continue to pick his brains and try and learn from him.”
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.
