Leeds coach backs duo to get better
Leeds head coach Neil Back has backed Christian Lewis-Pratt and James Tincknell to continue their good starts to the season.
The duo made their debuts for Leeds during the 22-21 defeat to Gloucester. Both players performed well during the game with Lewis-Pratt scoring 16 of Leeds' points and Tincknell making a number of important
tackles.
Back believes the pair will now become two of the first names on the team sheet every week. He says it's important Leeds gives the younger members of the team a chance to get better.
Back said: "Christian showed great maturity in his game management. He knows what he needs to work on and he will continue to improve. James also gave a fantastic show and he will be a key player for us
later in the season. He [Lewis-Pratt] was a kid we brought in, seen as a development player. But through pre-season and the A League games he is continuing to climb."
Lewis-Pratt and Tincknell both have sets of attributes that should guarantee they remain in the Leeds team for a long time. However, the rest of the team has to do more if Leeds is going to avoid the drop.
Fantastic players
Lewis-Pratt will be key to any win that Leeds achieves in the next few weeks. He holds the kicking role in the side, which means he has more chances to score from penalties and conversions. His performance
with the boot against Gloucester shows he has a great eye and kicking technique.
Lewis-Pratt is very quick, strong and agile. He will have to do a lot of running against better teams in the Premiership because of his position at fly-half. His youthful energy and enthusiasm should counter
any questions over fitness.
Tincknell relies much more on his power and timing. He needs to get stuck into the heart of the opposition to hold ground and win the ball back during tight games.
Other players
Leeds cannot rely on a pair of young players if the club is going to avoid relegation. The team is not playing fluently and the individual errors have to disappear from Leeds' play.
The attacking players in Leeds team have to do more to take the pressure off of Lewis-Pratt. A 19-year-old should not carry the burden of scoring all the points for a team. Hendrie Fourie has to do more
on the flanks to score tries.
The experienced players in the side have to step up and take more responsibility. Marco Wentzel has to do more as captain to unite the players and make the team much harder to break down.
Back added: "He [Tincknell] wanted to show what he could do the in Premiership and he did well. Potentially he kept it a bit long and could have offloaded to his support more. But we can help him improve
and he will be a key player for us."
Betting advice
A lot of people will be thinking of betting on Leeds to go down this season. Other sides tipped for relegation have started the season well and Leeds is one of the teams at the bottom propping up the table.
The side has to improve as a unit and must start competing for longer in matches. It is very naive to expect two younger members of the squad to carry the club through the early stages of the season.
A safer angle could be to back an individual. Lewis-Pratt looks very comfortable at fly-half and with the kicking role. He is a very good bet to be top scorer at the club by the end of the season.
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