MATTY Lees’ call up to the full England squad training for this autumn’s World Cup is further reward for the way the gritty front rower has overcome adversity to cement his place as one of the leading starting props in Super League.
The 24-year-old England Knight would have had a Great Britain tour call up in 2019 had he not suffered an horrific ruptured bowel – the sort of injury surgeons said they only see in car crashes.
And even last year, as he was beginning to establish himself as a starting prop, he suffered a broken ankle early in the season ruling him out for 14 weeks.
But he was back in time to help Saints win the Challenge Cup at Wembley for the first time in 13 years – and to then add to the Super League ring he first won in 2020.
Lees may not produce the spectacular line-denting, bullocking charges of fellow front rowers Alex Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi but his insatiable appetite for work is invaluable.
It may not capture the headlines, but his contribution to the champions’ middle unit is valued by his teammates and coach alike.
Coach Kristian Woolf said: “Matty’s England call is a good reward for him – and his work at Saints does not go unnoticed by any of us here.
“What I think you need, and what we have, in a forward pack is a real balance.
“We all see what Al does in a carry and a big contact in a tackle, he is such an impactful player and loves to be an enforcer. The stuff he does really stands out.
“But Al would be the first to tell you that he cannot do what he does without Matty Lees beside him bringing what he brings to the table, and Morgan Knowles bringing what he brings to the team.
“It is a real positive for us as a team and group that we have players that all have different strengths and skills but bring a real balance at the same time with a great work ethic between them to want to be the best in the competition.
“That is what they are striving to be.”
A product of the Saints Academy after joining from Rochdale Mayfield Lees was Super League’s young player of the year in 2019, with strong performances on the England Knights tour to Papua New Guinea.
The departure of Luke Thompson to the NRL in 2020 handed Lees the opportunity to grab the starting role in tandem with Walmsley.
Lees’ toughness, his aggression in the tackle, line speed, the pace at which he takes the ball in and his engine to keep going are all features to his game.
And Woolf believes, given his relative youth as a prop, there is plenty more to come.
“Matty works extremely hard on his game and I think he is growing more as a starting front rower,” he said.
“What we have to remember, too, is that last year was his first opportunity to try and cement his spot as a starting front rower.
“He had a disrupted season again unfortunately when he broke his ankle in the third week and was out for 13/14 rounds.
“He still finished the year strongly and played his part in Challenge Cup Final and Grand Final wins.
“He is only going to get better like a lot of our players – he is still young, still learning and improving.
“My biggest hope for him is that he gets a real interrupted year this year and we’ll see the best of him at the end of the year.”
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