DARYL Powell has confirmed the players who will form Warrington Wolves’ leadership group in 2023.

The four-strong group will consist of half-back George Williams, new recruit Josh McGuire and centres Stefan Ratchford and Peter Mata’utia.

The choice was made by the players, with Powell affirming that their choices matched what his would have been.

Speaking to the Guardian at The Wire’s pre-season training camp, the head coach believes the quartet will challenge both players and coaching staff in the right ways.

A new club captain is needed following Jack Hughes’ departure and while Powell stopped short of confirming who that would be, Ratchford would appear to be the favourite having led the side for much of last year while Hughes was absent through injury.

“We had a goal-setting meeting on Tuesday night and it was a really good one,” Powell said.

“The leadership group is strong – the players picked it themselves and they are exactly the same guys as I would have picked.

“George, Pete, Stef and Josh McGuire are the guys in there. They’re all strong leaders and outstanding players in their own right.

“They’re prepared to say what needs to be said, to disagree with me and the coaching staff if needs be and to have those strong debates you need.

“We’re all in it together and we all want the same thing. We all want to be successful and a strong leadership group is a big part of that.”

Williams captained England in a warm-up match for the Rugby League World Cup against Fiji and also took the armband for the group-stage clash with Greece in the absence of regular skipper Sam Tomkins.

The attitude and leadership skills shown by former Queensland and Australia forward McGuire have impressed many at the club while Mata’utia is one of Powell’s most trusted on-field generals.

However, the head coach insists the driving of standards within the squad will not be limited to the aforementioned four players.

“Even outside that group, there’s players who lead,” he said.

“People like Gil Dudson for example, who is just a doer and a strong leader by action.

“Paul Vaughan is the same and there’s other people there who lead in different ways.

“You can see a real balance of leadership in the group.”