Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves, Round One talking points

It is nearly time for the talking to stop and the action to start as The Wire kick off a new era under new head coach Sam Burgess.

Their first assignment is a tough one as they head to Perpignan to take on last season's beaten Grand Finalists Catalans Dragons.

Here, our Wire reporter Matt Turner assesses five key talking points surrounding Warrington ahead of their trip to the Stade Gilbert Brutus...

The toughest possible opening?

Could Sam Burgess have wished for a tougher opening to his time as Warrington head coach?

Perhaps – games against Wigan and St Helens would have perhaps been the ultimate short straw to pull first up but with everything involved in a trip to Catalans, this is certainly up there.

It can be said this is perhaps the best time to visit Perpignan – the Dragons squad has undergone a lot of upheaval in the off-season while they have an entirely new creative spine to bed in.

However, the same conversations will be being had in the home dressing room as Steve McNamara’s side look to build their fortress for another year.

Whatever the form and make-up of the Catalans side, a trip to the Stade Gilbert Brutus will always be regarded as one of the toughest Super League has to offer.

Quite a way to make your debut as head coach…

Sam Burgess takes charge of his first Super League game on Saturday (Image: Mike Boden)

How will the pack stand up?

If you ask Warrington fans for their thoughts on their squad for 2024, there will be a few who cast doubt over the team’s middle-unit.

Zane Musgrove may have come in while Jordy Crowther is sticking around after impressing at the back end of 2023 but in raw terms, the pack has lost size and depth following the departures of Sam Kasiano and Thomas Mikaele.

Add to that pre-season injury problems for Joe Bullock and Luke Thomas, who by all accounts was set for a big role before suffering the dreaded ACL rupture, and you can perhaps see their point.

While any pre-season friendly should be put into context, Warrington firmly lost the battle up the middle against Leigh in Joe Philbin’s Testimonial and while they were missing the cornerstone of their pack in Paul Vaughan that night, will the addition of one man make that much of a difference?

We will soon find out whether Wire’s big six can hang with the best as they go up against a big and physical Catalans side.

Having sat out both pre-season games to complete a suspension, Paul Vaughan will be back in the Wire side to face Catalans (Image: Mike Boden)

All eyes on Drinkwater

Another big talking point among fans surrounds Josh Drinkwater, who looks to have seen off the challenge of youngster Leon Hayes to keep his place alongside George Williams in the halves – for now at least.

There are many who believe Hayes – a Warrington lad who has been labelled “the future of the club” by director of rugby Gary Chambers – should be the man to take up the scrum-half mantle full-time despite having made just three Super League appearances.

By contrast, Drinkwater was a target for fans’ frustrations during last year and by his own admission, his form during his first season at the club was nowhere near his best.

At the very least, Hayes looks set for a bigger role this year with Burgess seemingly reluctant to offer him up as a loan or dual-registration candidate, preferring instead to keep him close.

Will a change of attacking system bring more out of the experienced Drinkwater? If it doesn’t, expect the calls for Hayes to take his place to grow louder.

Josh Drinkwater looks set to start in the halves alongside George Williams (Image: Mike Boden)

Will Ratchford’s role become clearer?

There were doubts about Stefan Ratchford’s participation in Round One having picked up a calf strain in recent weeks, but he has been cleared for selection.

He has retained the club captaincy for 2024, an indication that Burgess feels he still has a big role to play – but what will that role be? While he may no longer be an automatic choice at centre, can his goal-kicking prowess be ignored?

On Saturday, we may see the answer to that question become a little clearer.

It would appear unlikely that he starts in the centres, but a potential utility role from the bench is not out of the question with Sam Powell being utilised as a loose forward option, as he was for a period against Leigh in pre-season.

That would depend on whether Burgess wants an extra big body on the bench, which would probably give Gil Dudson the edge.

Stefan Ratchford is available for selection for Round One having overcome a calf injury (Image: Warrington Wolves)

Will a change in routine pay off?

Since Catalans’ introduction to Super League, Warrington and the rest of their rivals have varied ways in which they have dealt with the cross-Channel travel.

In recent years either side of the Covid pandemic, The Wire have preferred to travel into and out of France on the day of the game with varying degrees of success – they won both of their games in Perpignan last year, remember.

However, Burgess has switched things up to the point that the team are already in France now.

The travelling party left England on Wednesday evening before having a rest day today. They will hold their usual “captain’s run” session on Friday before the match on Saturday evening, after which they will remain in France until Sunday morning.

It will be deemed a successful approach should they come away with a win but like anything else, the change in routine will no doubt be used as ammunition for critics should they lose.