THE contract news from Warrington Wolves this week will be welcomed by all primrose and blue followers.

Hopefully the current negotiations with Tyrone McCarthy will conclude favourably for both parties too, leaving only Adrian Morley, Garreth Carvell and Mike Cooper to be departing at the end of this season.

When speculation has continued over the past few months that the likes of Michael Monaghan, Joel Monaghan, Ryan Atkins and Glenn Riley could be heading for pastures new – or retiring as some thought with Michael – this week’s announcement clears a few things up.

Not every talented player in Super League wants to head to Australia and test themselves in the NRL equivalent, including those who made their name there initially.

It is a big thumbs-up to Super League and to the progress made by Warrington Wolves that the 11 with new deals want to stick around and play a further part in what has been a revolutionary change since the move to The Halliwell Jones Stadium, especially since Tony Smith has been able to build on some solid foundations that were put in place.

I love the idea of being able to watch and report Joel Monaghan’s try-scoring feats for another three years. Many were thinking he may head back Down Under when his older brother, Mick, decides to hang up his boots. Mick has had knee and shoulder problems but has had a new lease of life in his original scrum-half slot recently and his experience next year will be immense when it is considered who is saying goodbye.

I’m just as pleased that the rise of Cumbrian prop forward Glenn Riley, Chris Bridge’s younger brother Danny and Ryan Shaw – a centre or winger awaiting his first-team debut – will continue under Smith and his coaches.

There are big hopes for all three of them, with Warrington and the international set-up, and we’ve all witnessed with Ben Currie this year the leaps that are possible when playing in the Wolves system.

And it is a huge statement that academy products – the likes of Ben Harrison, Simon Grix, Chris Riley and Paul Wood – appear to harbour no desires to leave despite having not experienced first-team rugby anywhere alse.