WOLVES centre Ryan Atkins believes he is currently playing the best rugby of his career as he leads the club’s league try scoring charts.

The 30-year-old’s try against Huddersfield last week was his 15th of the campaign and his sparkling form has seen him nominated for the Super League Player of the Month award for July.

Atkins says he puts his form down to greater maturity and says he is feeling the benefits of a full pre-season.

“I know I’ve been playing better than I have been in recent years and I feel a lot more confident in myself and my performances,” he said.

“All things considered I’m up there now playing the best rugby I’ve ever played. I think this is definitely the best I’ve played since 2012 when I got in the Super League Dream Team.

“I think I’ve matured a lot recently, having a big pre-season was very beneficial for me.”

The England international has stayed relatively injury-free this year and says that too is a big contributing factor to his improved showings.

“I was carrying a lot of injuries last year and I had to play through them because we had a lot of guys whose injuries were more serious.

“I could afford to patch myself up and play on but I was playing with a double hernia, fractured sternum, I needed a wrist reconstruction, and I had a tear in my glute. The fans don’t see that and it frustrated me as I couldn’t play at the level I wanted to.”