Huddersfield Giants tyro Will Pryce is primed for an even better second season in Super League

The teenage stand-off produced some of the competition’s best highlights reel moments last term despite only bursting onto the scene in July.

Pryce scored six tries in just 13 games and earmarked himself as one of the sport’s leading young talents, highlighted by the fact he also made his England Knights debut at the end of the campaign.

With his mesmeric running, electric pace and silky skills, he is an obvious crowd-pleaser and Super League showed their own belief in him by making the 19-year-old a central figure on their new advert to launch the season.

Now, though, defenders will know what to expect from the son of ex-Bradford Bulls, St Helens and Great Britain star Leon Pryce.

Will he have to raise his game again just to maintain his previous level of dynamism?

“In a sense. But not really. It’s my game,” he said.

“The amount of work I’ve put in in pre-season has allowed me to do that anyway.

“I didn’t have a pre-season last year; I kind of got chucked in at the deep end when I first got brought into the first-team.

“I managed to kick on from there and the trust and confidence Watto (Giants coach Ian Watson) has put into me led to me being so confident when I was playing.

“But with this pre-season behind me now, I know with about three months of training and the tempo of the squad, getting to know the players has helped me…

“We have a new spine and we have a new hooker, two new half-backs that are teaching me things day in, day out that have played at the highest level of the game.

“It’s brilliant for me and my education as a player to grow.

“Teams obviously do their homework on every player so people will be expecting me to do similar things to last year.

“So it’s about imitating stuff I did last year - as I think I went okay for my first 12 games - and adding things onto that and building myself into a more rounded game now.”

And it will be a different Pryce regardless as Watson has switched him to full-back for the new season, with Giants due to start at newly-promoted Toulouse Olympique on Saturday.

The arrival of Tonga stand-off Tui Lolohea and St Helens’ France scrum-half Theo Fages has facilitated that move which should make the most of Pryce’s running talent.

“I’m really looking forward to this season with the amount of players that Watto’s brought in - the added depth and quality that we have got,” he said.

“We have got a big squad this year but it feels like a tight-knit group.

“It feels like we have known each other a lot longer than what we have.

“There’s players like Danny Levi who came in around Christmas. We’ve not been together a long, long time.

“Most players started pre-season together. Theo had a longer break, as did Chris Hill as they made the finals last year.

“But the squad we have is really exciting and I’m really excited about how this season will go.”

Many people in the sport believe Pryce has a massive future and it is good to see the competition promoting him as they did in the season launch advert as they did last week.

The youngster embraced the concept and admitted: “It was really good fun.

“It was about a month ago and I really enjoyed it and made a day out of it.

“I enjoyed doing the film in the house and then seeing (Hull KR’s) Albert Vete, who was doing the shot after me cutting the bonsai tree.

“We then went around to the studio and did some stuff in the lights with the ball in hand. It was a good day out.

“I was lucky enough to get chosen by Super League to do it and I enjoyed being in the advert.

“It’s great publicity for me as a young player, and for Huddersfield Giants as a club showing that young boys are pushing through here and it’s got a good youth system.”