Following a rather disappointing end to an otherwise solid year, Warrington Wolves are looking to make bigger strides in the upcoming 2022 Super League season.
We’ll take a look at the changes that the Wolves have made in their bid to win their first Super League trophy.
Wolves chasing the pack
Warrington’s Super League campaign finished in good fashion, finishing in third place behind the previous two season winners St Helens, and the stalwart League Leaders’ Shield victors – Catalans Dragons.
Despite a strong run in the league, the Wolves’ suffered a shock defeat in the play-offs at home against Hull KR, ending the reign of head-coach Steve Price and four players who have moved onto pastures new, including – Jake Mamo, Chris Hill, Tom Lineham and Blake Austin.
Nevertheless, a new era has begun for Warrington, who will now be coached by former Castleford Tigers boss – Daryl Powell.
The Wolves have also recruited on the field well, replacing their outgoings with five new signings, top of the picks include Peter Mata’utia and Oliver Holmes who have followed Powell from Castleford.
Warrington will be fancying their chances to compete for the Super League trophy this season, and you can hedge your bets on their chances too by visiting bonuscode.co.uk, who offer free bets for major betting sites such as bet365 and William Hill.
Daryl Powell’s new look Warrington
Warrington will be encouraged by the fact that Powell is one of the league’s most experienced managers, first beginning his rugby league coaching career in 1996 with Keighley Cougars.
Powell oversaw Castleford Tigers’ greatest ever season in 2017, winning the League Leaders’ Shield for the first time, and reaching the Grand Final before they were beaten by Leeds Rhinos.
Speaking to Warrington Wolves ahead of their pre-season, Powell stated: “I’ve been sitting down with all of them [Warrington players] individually. It’s really important that I can get into their heads, and that they can understand me before pre-season training so that I can set some things out that I like to do.
“I’m meeting most of the players this week – great blokes, driven blokes and I want to help them reach their potential as individuals and as a group.”
On what he’s going to do differently this season, Powell said: “I actually want to take a little bit of the pressure off the players because they’ve felt it too much.
“We’ll [Warrington] play a completely different way to the way we’ve played in the past – I want to get Warrington fans excited – to play in such an entertaining way that people will be queuing [outside the stadium].”
Tough competition
Warrington’s recruitment has certainly put them on the right trajectory to be competing at the top.
However, Wolves’ closest rivals have also strengthened their squads.
Leeds Rhinos have arguably had the strongest transfer period so far, signing former Wolves half-back Blake Austin, St Helens back-rower James Bentley and NRL winger David Fusitu’a.
Super League champions St Helens have made some big changes to their squad, losing key players such as Lachlan Coote, Bentley and Theo Fages to other Super League clubs, but have bolstered their squad with big signings including Konrad Hurrell from Leeds, Will Hopoate and Curtis Sironen – both NRL players.
Wigan Warriors, who finished just behind the Wolves last season in fourth, have also made major changes to their management – with Matt Peet taking over Adrian Lam as head coach, directed by Shaun Wane.
Warrington Wolves will commence their 2022 Betfred Super League campaign in February 2022.
