ONCE again, Warrington Wolves will take the field without the services of several first-choice players this weekend.
However, head coach Sam Burgess insists he tries not to get “too bogged down” by the ever-fluid area of player availability.
The Wire have had their fair share of injury and personal issues to deal with this year, including both first-choice half-backs in George Williams and Josh Drinkwater being hampered by ankle and thigh issues respectively.
Until this weekend, he had not been able to call upon the services of Rodrick Tai and Matty Nicholson, Lachlan Fitzgibbon briefly returned home to Australia due to a family bereavement while Josh Thewlis, Danny Walker and Ben Currie have all missed matches to await the arrival of newborn children.
And with young players like Leon Hayes and Adam Holroyd getting to play for extended periods of time in the team, it has probably been the most impressive part of their promising start to the season.
In light of this, has Burgess’ perception of his ideal 17 changed during the first few weeks?
“I try not to get too caught up in who is in and out or to look too far ahead with that,” he remarked.
“I just try to go out there and play the best 17 players we have for that particular week, and I’ll keep doing that as we go.”
We do have a couple guys returning in the next month or two, but things are constantly changing.
“I’ve learnt not to be too dependent on people coming back or remaining healthy because you’ll get a couple of men back and then lose one, or you’ll get one back then lose two.
We’ve been doing alright, but it’s a difficult sport, and managing that is part of my job description.
Contrary to the circumstances surrounding player availability, many have been eager to add additional context to The Wire’s launch in 2024 in
Conversely, regarding player availability, many have been eager to provide more context for The Wire’s start to 2024, pointing out that three of their four victories to date have come against the teams now occupying the bottom three spots in the Super League: Hull FC, Castleford Tigers, and London Broncos.
More challenging matches are in store in the upcoming weeks, starting with a home game against Challenge Cup holders Leigh Leopards, a trip to Leeds Rhinos, a visit to the rapidly rising Salford Red Devils, and a game against the Catalans Dragons, the only team to have blotted their copy book thus far.
If they win their cup match against London on Saturday in the sixth round, their quarterfinal match will take place between those
Is Burgess of the opinion that the experiences they have had thus far have provided them with a sufficient basis to face more difficult examinations in the future?
He declared, “We’re slowly building.”
“We’ve played a few big games; the Catalans game was hard from the start, and we played a great game against Hull KR on a difficult pitch, hanging in there to win the points.
“We’re working to improve so that we can compete in every game, no matter who the opposition is.
Our task is to participate in each and every game. Though we haven’t completely mastered it yet, we are moving in the correct path.
Leave a Reply