Huddersfield Giants Under 19s coach Chris Thorman has praised Liam Johnson’s positive response to missing out on a final England Academy call to face the Australian Schoolboys.
Former England Youth captain and new Huddersfield Super League squad man Johnson was part of his nation’s Academy squad that squared the two-Test series with the young Kangaroos earlier this month.
But while Giants teammates Tyler Dickinson and Mikey Wood featured in both games, 17-year-old back-row forward Johnson missed the final cut.
The fact the teenager was almost two years younger than some of his England contemporaries may have been a factor in him missing out.
And Thorman knows that’s something that’s contributed to Johnson’s attitude since he’s returned to his club to continue his first full-time pre-season.
“For Liam to have been called up to the England Academy squad at the age of just 17 is a massive achievement in itself,” acknowledged Thorman.
“You’ve got to remember, Liam’s just completed his first year at Academy level, while many of his England teammates had just finished their third.
“But despite that fact, he was still included in the squad, which shows what an immense talent Liam is.
“I know that having been picked for the squad, he’d have been bitterly disappointed not to have had a crack at the Aussies.
“But that disappointment has had no affect on the way he’s got straight back into his pre-season work with us.
“Everyone knows he’s going to be a great player, but he’s the first to accept he’s still got a lot of learning and developing to do, both physically and mentally, and he’s also got to work on his defence and game awareness.
“And he’s immediately slotted straight back into working on improving those areas, rather than reflecting on missing out on playing for his country. I think everyone knows his time will come.”
Yet even though Thorman knows there are areas he needs to improve, he’s aware Johnson is light years ahead of many players of his age.
“The plan at the beginning of last season was to give him five or six games in the Academy,” added the former Giants captain. “But in the end he played every game apart from one, when I rested him for the trip to London Broncos.
“That in itself showed how he surpassed all our expectations. We obviously knew we had a very exciting player on our hands, but he surprised everyone with how well he adapted to this level.
“To be honest, I’ve already seen him do some things on a rugby field I’ve hardly ever seen from a back-row forward before.
“Even though he plays in the pack he can score 80 metre tries, and that’s because of his out-and-out pace, which as a back-rower is a rare commodity.
“He’s also a natural leader, which is why he was England Youth captain in 2013, and also why at the age of 17 he’s already in our Super League squad.
“We’ve got to be careful we don’t build him up too much at this stage, but everyone knows he could potentially have a very bright future in our game.”
