IN the absence of some senior players in his position, James Harrison appears to have taken his game to another level in recent weeks.

And that has not gone unnoticed by Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess, who affirmed the prop was “pretty much the first name on the team sheet.”

Harrison has among the stars for The Wire all season and has been a consistent performer since making his Wire debut in 2022, but the past two games have seen him particularly standout in a front row shorn of the services of Paul Vaughan and Zane Musgrove.

His display in the win at Leeds Rhinos – a game in which Joe Philbin was also missing from the middle unit – saw him awarded three Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel points while he was a try-scorer during the Challenge Cup win at St Helens on Sunday.

Having joined his father Karl in earning international recognition last year by making his England debut, a return to Shaun Wane’s national team could be on the cards for the mid-season Test against France in Toulouse in June should his form continue.

For now, though, Burgess has backed Harrison to keep emerging as an increasingly key part of his Warrington side.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Jimmy,” he said.

“I think I’ve said before that he’s pretty much the first name on the team sheet. He’s in that group of players that you can really hang your hat on because he’s so consistent.

“He really has grown over the past couple of weeks – he’s starting to find himself and his position in the team – but above all else, he’s just a quality bloke.

“He’s from great stock – his Dad was an unbelievable player and I used to love watching him play, so it’s no surprise that Jimmy shares all of the same attributes.

“Sometimes I look at him and I’m not sure how he’s getting the job done as he’s not your typical, front-row looking type of bloke but he’s just ferocious out there.

“He’s getting the rewards he deserves – he’s scored a couple of tries and he’s getting himself in some good positions.”

Harrison’s route to being among Super League’s elite players in his position was not a conventional one having not emerged through an academy.

Instead, he plied his trade in the lower leagues with Batley Bulldogs and Featherstone Rovers and, barring a brief loan spell with Leeds Rhinos in 2020, he had not experienced a full-time environment until joining Warrington ahead of 2022.

“Often you find players who have come through the harder route have longer, more successful careers,” Burgess said.

“They understand the privilege of being at this level and the hard work side of the game, so they generally become great professionals.

“Jimmy’s a great example not just for players who maybe aren’t cracking it at 19, 20, 21 but older pros as well that if you work hard consistently, you’ll make a career out of it.”