STUART Raper reckons Australian centre Jamie Ainscough is finally ready to prove his worth as Wigan enter the 'business end' of the season.

Ainscough was an established star of the NRL and State of Origin competitions in his homeland when Raper managed to persuade him to sign for Warriors in the close season.

But his form since then has been disappointing at best, looking a shadow of the centre who terrorised some of the best defences in world rugby last season.

Finally he exploded into life with a well-taken hat-trick in the recent win at Warrington and again crossed the whitewash in Thursday's success over Halifax.

Now Raper expects him to repay his coach's faith by turning in some world class performances as Warriors bid to reach a third successive Grand Final.

"I am pleased with Jamie. He is showing everybody what he can do," he said.

"It didn't surprise me when he had that great game at Warrington. I always knew he had the ability to play that sort of game. Now he has to be consistent and play like that for the rest of the season.

"I don't know if he was struggling with a lack of confidence or what but it all came back to him when he scored that try at Warrington after hitting the hole created by Mick Cassidy. That's a move they practise in training and one that worked well the week before against Wakefield.

"We have several drills in training and the players learn how their team-mates react in certain situations. It's just about getting used to each other. Jamie is learning that now."

Ainscough and the rest of the uncapped Wigan squad are currently enjoying a week off while Great Britain prepare to take on Australia in a one-off Test in Sydney on Friday.

And Raper admitted his weary charges have welcomed the break after their triumphant Challenge Cup success left them a physically demanding fixture list.

"I think we have all been looking forward to having this break and some of the players are getting a bit of time off," he said.

"We have had a fairly hectic year this year. Ourselves and St Helens have played more matches than anyone else, so it has been tough and it will be good to sit back and rest for a few days.

"Another good thing is that when we get back into Super League action, we will have had two weeks preparation for our next game against Castleford."