Tony Smith is keen to get back to matters on the field on Friday night when Warrington visit Salford Red Devils, after expressing his disappointment over what he described as the most unusual transfer of his coaching career.
Warrington sold the veteran hooker Micky Higham to Leigh Centurions for £50,000 after the player submitted a transfer request to enable a move back to the club where he started his career.
The Wolves released a statement last week saying a bid for Higham had been turned down but he was left out of the squad to face Dewsbury in the Challenge Cup, and the transfer went through on Wednesday.
Smith said: “I’m pleased it’s over. It came as a shock to the team and staff, and I’m glad to draw a line under it. It gives you a lesson in that you don’t know everybody quite in the way you think you do. Sometimes you find out a bit more about people than you first knew but I’m pleased it’s been resolved and we’ve got a crew here now that are 100% committed to the cause.
“The whole process has disappointed me, it’s been the most unusual deal I’ve come across in my 15 years of coaching; I’ve heard about some strange ones but none like this. We went into the season with two hookers and when one of them suddenly tells you he wants to leave to go to greener pastures it can be disruptive. We’ve tried to manage it the best we can but you can’t avoid it affecting the team.”
Smith had “put his neck on the line” for the 34-year-old in offering him a longer contract than the club were planning on two years ago and admitted he had made an error. “The club would have offered him a one-year deal but I backed him and got him a two-year deal. Looking back I made a mistake. I’m here to comment on things from a club perspective but how it’s affected me you can probably understand by my last comment.”
Smith said Higham did not refuse to play against Dewsbury and he was left out because the player was “in turmoil” over the transfer.
“We didn’t get as far as him refusing to play,” Smith said. “His head wasn’t there, he’s been in turmoil because of it. His last performance for us probably showed he was in some turmoil. We didn’t know about it at that stage but he obviously did, and since then we’ve had to sort a lot of stuff out, and that can affect people.”
Warrington have paid compensation to recall the young hooker Brad Dwyer from a loan spell at London Broncos and Smith has backed the 22-year-old to be a hit as he steps up to partner Daryl Clark for the remainder of the season.
“Brad has been part of our system for a while and the players love him,” said Smith. “He was outstanding against Dewsbury and any concerns the players had about him were washed away in that performance. He played really strongly and he was really confident. He slotted in so well and Brad will get a lot of game time between now and the end of the season.”
Smith described both sides as desperate for form when they meet on Friday and although Salford are second bottom in the Super League table, Warrington will not be taking anything for granted.
“They’ve been plagued with injuries and decimated with suspensions too, and it’s been a tough period for them,” he said. “They’ve had some close games where they’ve just come up short, and we’re not taking them lightly. They’re pretty desperate but so are we – we’re desperate for form ourselves.”
