IAN WATSON believes Will Pryce will be better for having endured a tough season in Super League before his move to the NRL.
Pryce has now departed Huddersfield after signing a two-year contract with Newcastle Knights at the end of last year.
The 20-year-old is one of four English players making the move to Australia ahead of 2024, with Kai Pearce-Paul also joining the Knights, Morgan Smithies heading to Canberra Raiders, and Wakefield winger Lewis Murphy going to Sydney Roosters.
While Wigan pair Pearce-Paul and Smithies bow out of Super League as Grand Final winners, Pryce had a less successful 2023 season.
The fullback was dropped halfway through the season as Huddersfield endured a poor run of form, spending much of the summer as an unused squad member before returning for the final five games and scoring four tries.
He may have struggled to build on his 2021 breakthrough as an 18-year-old, but Giants coach Watson reckons Pryce’s recent experiences will still prove useful.
“He’s only a young lad. He’s learning,” he said of Pryce, who will have competition from no less than Kalyn Ponga, this year’s Dally M winner, for the fullback jersey at the Knights.
“He’ll probably have that when he goes over to Australia. He’ll play some games, sometimes he’ll be out, sometimes he’ll be in.
“As a player when you’re young and you’re coming through, you’ve got to make mistakes to learn from them.
“Will will learn and get better and will develop but he’s in the infancy of his career.
“Is he going to make errors? Yes he will. Sometimes he’ll have those ups and downs.”
