WOLVES’ under 19s Academy coaches revealed their pride in the club’s youngsters, despite falling narrowly short in Saturday’s Grand Final.

A hat-trick of tries from Joe Philbin and one for Jack Johnson was not enough for Wolves, who were beaten 22-24 by their Wigan Warriors counterparts.

But head coach Danny Fullerton could not fault the effort of his players throughout the season.

“I couldn’t be any more proud of the way that the boys have conducted themselves this year, on and off the pitch,” he said.

“From the very first day of pre-season in the mud at Birchwood last November they have been fully focussed and they earned the right to be in the final by their performances throughout the campaign.

“We have come up just short but I cannot fault any of them. They gave their all and maybe if we had one more set we could have snatched it but it wasn’t meant to be.

“The way that everybody has stuck together is unbelievable and they are certainly all winners in my eyes.”

Fellow head coach Lee Briers added: “Whether we got the result or not we were immensely proud of every member of the squad.

“Not just the players but the coaches, management, strength and conditioners, medical staff and performance analysts.

There is over 40 of us and there is not one chink in our armour, everybody is working together, we are like brothers and sisters and everybody trusts each other.

“The lads have been asked to go to some dark places during the year and haven’t moaned once and that is why we have done so well.

“This game doesn’t define whether we have had a successful season or not – when you finish top of the league and have been consistent each week then that is successful.

“We haven’t got the result that we desired but we will come back bigger and better next year.”