Whitehead Set to Face Off Against Pryce, Decade After Playing Alongside the Young Star’s Father
On Saturday, England and former Bradford Bulls and Catalans Dragons star Elliott Whitehead is set to face off against Will Pryce, a decade after playing alongside the young half-back’s father, Leon Pryce.
Leon Pryce, a Great Britain and England international, enjoyed a remarkable career, winning the Super League title four times and the Challenge Cup six times with the Bradford Bulls and St Helens. Meanwhile, Whitehead began his own Super League journey in 2009 with the Bradford Bulls, before joining Pryce at the Catalans Dragons in 2013. The two played together for two seasons before Pryce departed for Hull FC in 2015, with Whitehead following suit a year later to sign with the Canberra Raiders in the NRL.
Now, 34-year-old Whitehead, who has amassed 374 first-grade appearances across Super League and the NRL, will take on the 21-year-old Will Pryce, who is set to play just his second NRL game this weekend. The young Pryce made a memorable debut last week, scoring a try in Newcastle Knights’ 32-26 victory over the Parramatta Eels.
“I knew Leon since I was young, I left Bradford at 16 and went back to play at West Bowling where he was head coach, he’d pick me up and take me to training,” Whitehead recalled. “His aura stood out. What he’d done in the game, how good he was as a player, how much people respected him. You’d take everything he said on board. He was laid back, but he knew how to switch on.”
Whitehead’s Challenge Cup debut in 2007 came under the guidance of Leon Pryce, and the two faced each other in 2010 when St Helens took on the Bradford Bulls in the league.
Now, a decade after their time together, Elliott Whitehead will line up against Will Pryce, the son of his former teammate and coach, in what promises to be an intriguing clash between NRL veterans and rising stars.
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