PAUL WELLENS admits under-fire Tristan Sailor needs to “find improvements” but says criticism of the star signing has been “slightly harsh”.
Sailor was brought in from Brisbane Broncos ahead of this season and has played every game so far, scoring nine tries in twelve appearances.
After starting the season at stand-off, he has featured at fullback – swapping positions with Jack Welsby – for the past three games as part of a wider reshuffle which has also seen teen George Whitby play at scrum-half in place of captain Jonny Lomax.
There have been calls from pundits for Sailor to be dropped from the side and Wellens has admitted he needs to deliver more consistent performances.
But the coach said of criticism aimed Sailor’s way: “I think it’s slightly harsh.
“At the weekend (against Warrington) he had a hand in some of the good moments that we had in terms of scoring tries.
“Primarily we brought him in to add something to our attack and I think he’s shown signs he can do that.
“He’s probably one of a number of players in our team who we need to get doing it consistently. That’s key to any team being successful.
“We’re looking to help and support him there. He needs to take responsibility to keep trying to find improvements in his game.”
Skipper Lomax is waiting in the wings for a recall and Wellens said that he does not “leave him out lightly”.
He also acknowledged that playing both Lomax and Whitby in the team was a possibility considering the former’s versatility.
“We’ve had Tristan and Jack in the six and one roles at the start of the year – Tristan was brought in to play one of those roles alongside Jack,” said Wellens.
“Jonny has shown throughout his career that he can play a number of positions really well. He was once a fullback, he moved to six, he started out as a seven and he’s ended back there.
“The fact he knows a number of roles does give us options.”
Wellens has also stressed that not all the focus should be on the performances in the spine, but across the team.
“We’re not getting a lack of effort but we do need a little bit more quality,” he admitted.
“In the last couple of weeks the way we started both games has really put us under pressure from the get-go.
“Halves need to control the game but they also need to be supported by everybody in that. Part of that is holding the ball and getting through your sets early.
“We’re very much a collective in that respect. It’s not the halves’ fault, it’s not the forwards’ fault – we’re all in this together.”