Midweek matches would be a tough ask, says Morgan Smithies

Leeds captain Stevie Ward yesterday warned such a demand may impact on player welfare – just days after his club CEO Gary Hetherington had said three games a week would not be a player welfare issue.

Some other players have voiced their issues with cramming all the fixtures into a short period once the lockdown is over.

And Wigan forward Smithies admits it would be tough on the players.

He said: “I saw something about possibly playing three games a week and I think that would be a bit ridiculous really.

“It’s tough enough playing Sunday to Thursday, your body is in pieces.

“When we had the Good Friday to Easter Monday, it’s a tough ask... to play three, I don’t think the quality of the games would be as good, or it’d be good for the players.

“I recover quite quickly but the older players may end up picking up more injuries.”

He believes a sensible alternative would be trimming the fixture list down, depending on when the competition can restart.

Last week, Sky Sports’ Brian Carney took issue with Hetherington’s comments that playing midweek matches would not be a player welfare issue.

And yesterday, Leeds’ own captain, Ward, said: “As a player, I’d have a concern of how many games you play in a week. It’s a brutal game.”

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