STEVE Price says his Wolves players are ready to move “to the next stage” of their preparations for the 2018 season, starting with a “weird and difficult” army camp.

The Wire players are heading to an unspecified location for a two-day camp today, Thursday, before breaking for Christmas.

The group will reassemble ahead of the friendly at Widnes on December 29 before a few more days off over the new year.

Price says his players are “ticking the right boxes” but says their army camp will be crucial in building the resilience he wants from his players.

“I think they’re ready for the next stage. They’ve been working extremely hard,” he told the Guardian.

“There’s a lot of tired and fatigued boys out there, which is fully expected and I’d be disappointed if they weren’t.

“They are ticking the right boxes at the moment, but we’ll come back after Christmas, reassess our goals through the friendlies and go again.

“We’re going on an army camp, somewhere far away. It’s going to be difficult at times, but I’m looking forward to seeing how the guys come together.

“It’s very different to what it is out on the football field, but it’s all about being united and supporting one another.

“There will be some extremely weird and difficult circumstances, but we’re trying to build up their resilience and mental toughness.

“We’ll finish training on Saturday, they’ll only have a couple of days off over Christmas.

“We’ll come back for captain’s run, play the Widnes game, then they’ll have a little more time off over new year.

“After that, we’ll be cracking back down for the trial games against Rochdale and Salford so we’re in the best possible shape.”

The squad is still five players short as Chris Hill, Ben Currie, Kevin Brown, Stefan Ratchford and Ben Murdoch-Masila are still recovering from their exertions at the Rugby League World Cup.

However, Price says the chance to work closely with some of Wolves’ younger players has been “wonderful.”

“As coaches and high performance staff, it’s critical that we produce good people in our organisation,” he said.

“It’s been a good opportunity to put some work into the younger guys and it’s been wonderful to see them learn and grow into men.

“It is a squad game now, so those guys need to be able to contribute when required.”

When the signing of second rower Luis Johnson from Castleford Tigers was confirmed on December 8, Price hinted there was room for one more new arrival for 2018.

Papua New Guinea international Kurt Baptiste had previously been targeted as The Wire searched for someone to cover the hooker and loose forward positions, but he has now joined Leigh Centurions on a one-year deal.

However, Price says he has been impressed with the club’s existing dummy-half options and their efforts in training.

“We have still got a bit of cap space, but at the moment it’s not crossed my mind,” he said.

“I’m happy with how all the boys are travelling and how they are conducting themselves.

“I’ve been really impressed with Morgan Smith’s attitude and how he’s carried himself. I’d like to think that he’s developed in this short amount of time.

“I’ve certainly been impressed with Daryl Clark. He’s led from the front and I expect a lot from him.”