 so he'd feel comfortable doing it! But I hadn't really. He said I could come back and play there and, when I did, it was good. "It also freed Jai up; he can just worry about being at full-back now, his preferred position. We've seen the last few weeks he's been lighting things up. So I'm more than happy to do it. And my reaction to being told about it was sweet: because I was the one who planted the seed!' French, one of Super League's big stars since moving to the UK in 2019, conceded this is his first real stab at the playmaker role having neve){kind=link}
Australian speedster, 27, has been brilliant at full-back and on the wing for Super League club but, ahead of their Challenge Cup semi-final against Hull KR, he explains how he kidded coach Matt Peet into his latest switch to stand-off
Wigan superstar Bevan French has no qualms with yet another positional switch – as he essentially tricked his coach into making it.
Stand-off is the Aussie flyer’s third different role this season but he’s not complaining ahead of Sunday’s crunch Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final against Hull KR. French was Super League’s top scorer last term with a walloping 31 tries, mainly from the wing, so it was no surprise he started this campaign there. But most people reckon the speedster’s best position is full-back where his electric pace burns has helped produce some sublime displays for Matt Peet’s side this year.
However, French is set to play No.6 again at Headingley as the Cup holders bid to reach Wembley again. Fellow countryman Jai Field recently reverted to his favoured full-back role and with Liam Marshall and Abbas Miski in great nick on the flanks, French has a new slot. Such constant shuffling could be problematic but the gifted 27-year-old insisted otherwise.
The ex-Parramatta ace, who’s featured in the last half-dozen games in a new half-back pairing with Harry Smith, explained: “Matt doesn’t know this but I’d sort of painted the scene. I told him I had done it before (played stand-off) so he’d feel comfortable doing it! But I hadn’t really. He said I could come back and play there and, when I did, it was good.