HARRY Newman walked the walk at Test level after talking the talk with England boss Shaun Wane – and giving as good as he got.
The national boss told how he held ‘honest chats’ with the Leeds ace about his on-field persona that has seen him explode verbally at team-mates and officials.
Harry Newman (front) has told how ‘honest chats’ with England boss Shaun Wane were not a one way discussionSWPIX.COM
But after keeping a lid on his behaviour and impressing as England saw off Tonga 22-18 on Sunday’s first Test, he revealed it was far from a one way discussion.
Newman said: “It didn’t ram things home. We just had some honest chats, from my end and from his end.
“I accepted what Shaun said and he accepted what I said, 100 per cent, but I took a massive step towards showing what I really am about.
“I’ve nothing to prove other than to myself, my coaches and my family. I ain’t going to listen to all the stuff people say about me.
“People who aren’t close to me don’t understand it. I’m passionate and I care – it’s about channelling that aggression and sometimes it can boil over.
“That performance showed a lot of channelled aggression – no speaking to referees, nothing. It was a massive moment for myself, a massive step for my career.
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“And after everything I’ve been through – a leg break, two hamstring injuries and the slating I’ve had this year – I think I did that jersey justice.”
Newman, 23, is likely to keep his place for Saturday’s second Test in home town Huddersfield, while winger Dom Young is out completely after an infection and abscess left him in hospital.
His agent Michael Cincotta said: “It was pretty frightening because he was getting severe headaches and got so bad that he couldn’t stand any sort of bright light.
“He had mild headaches before travelling to England but then the long flight really knocked him around.
“They put him in hospital and traced it back to a sinus infection that spread throughout his head.”
Dom Young has been ruled out of the Test series after being left in hospital after an infection spread across his head.Reuters
Newman, however, believes his England experience and the step up in intensity can only help him when he heads back to Leeds.
He added: “Sunday was the most physical game I’ve ever been involved in but I loved every minute. It was a massively different level than a league game, it was relentless.
“Super League is physical, don’t get me wrong, but a Test match is non-stop. You can never switch off. Three quarters of their team are NRL players and if you do that, they catch you.
“I’m going into my final year at Leeds. We’ll see what happens there but I’ll be going right back into it. I’ll be ripping in and this was a massive step forward.”
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