Hailed as the competition’s brightest young star, the son of a Super League legend and the face of a new advertising campaign, Will Pryce knows the spotlight is firmly on him.
But it’s something that doesn’t faze Huddersfield’s talented 19-year-old playmaker one bit.
Pryce has already had more media attention than most players enjoy during their entire careers. After bursting onto the scene with a series of impressive displays in his debut campaign, the stand-off or full-back was quickly being touted as a future England international, perhaps as soon as this year’s World Cup.
That fact that dad Leon is one of the most decorated players of the summer era simply added to Pryce’s story.
When Betfred Super League was looking for marketable figures to front their new season advert, Pryce was handed one of the most prominent roles.
But he insists that won’t have any effect on his main focus - firing on the field again for the Giants when they kick off their season against newly promoted Toulouse on Saturday.
Pryce explained: “I know what my job is and understand that rugby comes first over everything. I wouldn’t be getting this attention now if it wasn’t for my rugby and the way I’ve performed.
“It’s a big responsibility for me and I’ve got a lot of expectation on my shoulders this year. But that’s all outside for me, white noise, and when I get onto the pitch it’s all about how I do and whether I do my job correctly and put the team first.”
Talking about dad Leon, whose own career as a respected TV pundit is blossoming, is equally comfortable for the Bradford-born teenager. Pryce junior said: “I know I’m going to get compared - it’s an easy comparison for anyone to make. We’re father and son and have both ended up playing rugby.
“He’s not always easy on me, he’s quite hard and straight up and will tell me the truth and what I need to hear. He’s brutally honest and that’s the best for me, it’s made me into the player and person I am now.
“He’s had the most experience from anyone I know and he’s been brilliant for me. He’s dealt with the good days and the bad days of every situation you could think of in rugby.
“The biggest thing I was taught as a young lad was to be confident in myself. There’s a big difference between being a humble person and coming across as cocky.
“It’s hard to come across as confident when everybody wants you to be humble. For me it’s about self-belief - if I don’t believe in myself, nobody else will and that’s what I’ve got stuck in my mind.
“I don’t have to prove it to any media people or fans - it’s myself, my teammates, my coaches and the club. The best way to do that is to perform on the rugby pitch and let my rugby do the talking. That’s what I’ll continue to do.”
Pryce is one of a host of gifted young Englishmen lighting up Betfred Super League on a regular basis, and he has high hopes for the whole group.
He added: “If you look at Mikey Lewis, Lewis Dodd, Jack Welsby, they are really influential players at good teams.
“It’s great to see the next generation of rugby league players coming through, and in my opinion this crop we’ve got are going to change the game completely. It’s brilliant to be part of that.”
