Latest news with #SamBurgess'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Warrington Wolves' Super League task explained as season resumes
Warrington Wolves resume their Super League campaign on Saturday after their heartbreaking Challenge Cup Final loss (Image: Neil Ashurst/P&B Pictures) IT'S time to move on… The pain of Saturday's Challenge Cup Final defeat will no doubt take a while to fully disappear for Warrington Wolves, but it must now be suppressed. Having been given two days off following their agonising Wembley loss to Hull KR, the players are back in training today to prepare for the resumption of their Super League campaign. Advertisement And with the season at its halfway point, they are not in a position for a malaise to set in given they sit eighth in the table, two points shy of the play-off places. In losing seven times so far this season, they have already been beaten as many times as they were in the entirety of the 2024 regular season. Here is how the table looks ahead of Round 14... While Hull KR and Wigan Warriors have started to pull away at the top, the sides in the play-off pack are relatively bunched up – despite being down in eighth, Warrington can close to within four points of Leeds in third with a win at Headingley on Saturday. Advertisement What could count against them, however, is their points difference which is significantly worse than all of the sides currently above them in the table. What is coming up for Warrington Wolves? Sam Burgess' side have 14 games of their Super League regular season remaining, starting with a trip to high-flying Leeds Rhinos on Saturday. That is one of eight away games The Wire still have to play, including four in a row through July and into August due to pitch repair work at The Halliwell Jones Stadium. Indeed, after back-to-back home fixtures against Huddersfield Giants and Hull FC to finish June, they will not play at home again until Wigan Warriors' visit on Friday, August 8. Advertisement Warrington's next Super League game sees them visit Leeds Rhinos, whom they beat at The Halliwell Jones Stadium in Round Six (Image: Olly Hassell/ Warrington Wolves remaining fixtures, 2025 season June Sat 14…Leeds Rhinos (A) 5.30pm Sat 21…Huddersfield Giants (H) 3pm Sat 28…Hull FC (H) 5.30pm (Sky) July Fri 4…Salford Red Devils (A) 8pm Sat 12…Catalans Dragons (A) 5pm UK time Sun 20…Castleford Tigers (A) 3pm August Fri 1…Leigh Leopards (A) 8pm Fri 8…Wigan Warriors (H) 8pm Thu 14…Catalans Dragons (H) 8pm Sat 23…Huddersfield Giants (A) 3pm Fri 29…Salford Red Devils (H) 8pm September Sat 6…Leigh Leopards (H) 3pm Advertisement Sat 13…Hull FC (A) 5.30pm 18-21…Hull KR (A) (date and time TBC) How did Wire fare after Wembley defeat last year? After losing last year's Challenge Cup Final to Wigan Warriors, Warrington had a much better platform from which to attack what remained of the Super League campaign. After 13 rounds of 2024, they sat fourth in the table, two points shy of then leaders St Helens with a four-point cushion inside the play-off spots. They lost the game immediately after the final as they were beaten 25-14 by Salford Red Devils, but they then won 11 of the 13 matches that followed. The 22 points they gained kept them in contention for a top-two spot until the final round of the season, but they were forced to settle for third before beating St Helens in a thrilling play-off eliminator and then losing in the semi-finals at Hull KR. Advertisement Gaining the same number of points this time around would get them to 34 – six shy of what they achieved last year but perhaps more importantly given their current situation, a total that has always been comfortably enough for play-off qualification in recent years. Within the current top-six system that has been in place for the past three seasons, 30 points has been enough to secure a play-off berth every year except last year, when Catalans Dragons reached that figure but lost out on points difference. To reach 30 points, Warrington will need to win nine of their remaining 14 matches.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
THE WRAP-UP PODCAST: The final word on the most painful of defeats
A PLACE that holds so many happy memories is fast becoming something of a graveyard for Warrington Wolves. Those three Challenge Cup Final victories in four years in 2009, 2010 and 2012 will always be remembered but now, four of their five trips to Wembley Stadium since then have ended in defeat. Advertisement And in the circumstances, this was perhaps the most painful of the lot as despite a superb performance on the day, Sam Burgess' side saw victory snatched away at the death by Hull KR. We've brought you plenty of post-match reaction since the full-time hooter sounded on Saturday afternoon but now, our final word comes in the shape of our match review podcast "The Wrap-Up." Our Warrington Wolves reporter Matt Turner hosts with help from Wire fans Gareth Dunning and Rob Croston to help unpack the key moments of the 8-6 defeat. We bring you head coach Sam Burgess' press conference in full while we also bring you a chat with Marc Sneyd, who became only the second player in history to win the Lance Todd Trophy three times having been voted as player of the match despite being on the losing side. Listen to this week's episode below
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
What Sam Burgess says it will take for Wire to leave Wembley victorious
WARRINGTON Wolves are heading to Wembley as underdogs – of that, there cannot be much doubt. Whether it's the pundits, the bookmakers, general observers or even large sections of their own fanbase, you will not find too many willing to give Sam Burgess' side any more than a puncher's chance against Hull KR in the Challenge Cup Final. Advertisement Indeed, the Super League-leading Robins are a whopping 2-7 on with competition sponsors Betfred to finally end their 40-year wait for a major trophy. There is good reason for that – Rovers have won all but one of their 16 matches in all competitions this season including a 31-12 victory at The Halliwell Jones Stadium just a fortnight ago while The Wire have been inconsistent and come into the game with several star players either injured or drastically short of match fitness. And yet, there is an internal belief that, in similar fashion to the last time they lifted the Challenge Cup in 2019 by stunning a heavily favoured St Helens side, Warrington can ensure that whenever Burgess' tenure as head coach ends, it will do so with at least one glorious memory. However, he is acutely aware of the task facing his side and outlined exactly what it is going to take for them to come out on top. Advertisement Warrington were beaten by Wembley opponents Hull KR in Super League just a fortnight ago (Image: Richard Walker) 'They're deservedly heavy favourites,' Burgess said. 'We have to be good because they're not going to beat themselves. They're really consistent, so we have to be on our game. 'All of our players are going to have to be at least an eight or nine out of 10 and when our moments and opportunities come, we have to take them. 'That's what I think the game will come down to on Saturday – who takes their moments. 'Traditionally, they start hot but I thought we handled that in the first half the other week so we could get a bit of confidence out of that. Advertisement 'We'll have to manage them early again – there's no doubt about that.' This is, of course, not the first time Warrington have stood on the very brink of silverware since Burgess took the reins at the start of last year. Twelve months ago, they found themselves in this very position having made much more serene progress through the campaign but the stage proved just too big for a side just returning to contention for honours as the winning machine that is Wigan Warriors won out at Wembley. For many, that was their first experience at Wembley and one they will be keen to turn the page on. Now, they have the perfect opportunity to do so. Advertisement Sam Burgess applauds the Warrington fans following last year's Wembley defeat to Wigan Warriors (Image: John Walton/PA Wire) 'We're looking forward to going back,' Burgess said. 'We've had a tough run in the cup with some great games – we're proud of getting here but we've still got a load of work to do. 'KR are a fantastic side who have dominated everyone they've played against really so we know we've got a tough task but we're looking forward to it. 'Last year was like smooth sailing but this year has been much more challenging. 'There's been a number of things on and off the field – making hard decisions and losing players at key times – that have really made me think about things coaching-wise, but I've enjoyed that side of it. Advertisement 'I'm learning a bit more and the group are learning more about each other as well. 'This weekend is another chance for us to grow as a group, for the club to go forwards and for me to grow as a coach.' Burgess is all too aware that opportunities to win trophies do not come around often, for the playing career that marked him out as a modern-day great contained just one final victory – a memorable 2014 NRL Premiership with South Sydney Rabbitohs having played virtually the entire Grand Final with a fractured cheekbone. Winning a first trophy as a head coach would make headlines on both sides of the globe, but it is clear he is not allowing himself to dream. Advertisement 'There's a lot of hard work to be done between now and the final hooter on Saturday,' he said. 'I try not to live in 'fantasy land.' I try and stay in the present. 'Any chance of winning silverware is important so it will mean something for sure. 'As a player, you're actually really selfish but as a coach, your vision is so much wider on so many different things. 'You can draw on certain experiences from playing that you thing might help the group, but what might work for me might not work for everyone.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
THE WRAP-UP PODCAST: On our way back to 'HJ South'
WEMBLEY again olé olé... The song that's no doubt been running through every Warrington Wolves fan's head since Sunday evening, so a fitting way in which to start this week's episode of "The Wrap-Up." Our weekly match review podcast is back this week to dissect and have the final say on what was a memorable Challenge Cup semi-final against Leigh Leopards. The Wire ran out 21-14 winners at the Totally Wicked Stadium to book their eighth visit to Wembley Stadium since it reopened in 2007 - so can it now officially be known as "HJ South?" This week's podcast includes an exclusive chat with prop James Harrison and audio from head coach Sam Burgess' post-match press conference. We also have our usual fan contributors Gareth Dunning and Rob Croston back to have their say on the action as excitement for the final against Hull KR starts to build.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
THE WRAP-UP PODCAST: No points but plenty of credit
"THE Wrap-Up" is back! In the aftermath of Magic Weekend, it's time to bring you the latest episode of our weekly Warrington Wolves match review podcast. Our Warrington Wolves reporter Matt Turner is your host as we take a final, more considered look back at The Wire's 22-20 defeat to Wigan Warriors - a game in which the scoreline barely begins to tell the whole story. A depleted Wire side fought back from going 12-0 down inside the opening 13 minutes and then from being 22-10 down with seven minutes remaining to move to within a conversion of forcing golden point, but the Warriors held on. In this week's podcast, we bring you the full audio from head coach Sam Burgess' post-match press conference and our regular fan contributors Gareth Dunning and Rob Croston bring us their thoughts on the action. To round off, we start to look ahead to the biggest game of Warrington's season to date - Sunday's Challenge Cup semi-final against Leigh Leopards.
