EVERY player wants to start the new season well, but Mitch Brown has more reason than some.

For the 30-year-old former Wests Tigers, Canterbury Bulldogs, Cronulla Sharks and Leigh Centurions utility back has a one-year deal with Warrington Wolves.

A key element of his campaign, he said, is to earn himself a new contract.

“It is. I have to perform,” he added.

“I can’t afford to be playing badly. I’m performance-based here, so the better I play the better it’s going to be for me.”

Not having the security of a contract beyond 12 months can be unsettling but Brown’s focused on the job at hand.

“Being on a ‘one-year’ is not the best. I would have been off contract with Leigh, so I’d have been in the same boat if I’d still been there,” he said.

“I’ve just got to play some good football and hopefully get a start.

“I know what’s expected, I’ve been around footy long enough.

“There is a lot of pressure on. I’ve got a young family and I’ve got to concentrate on them and my football.”

He has another clear ambition, too.

“I want to win a trophy while I’m over here,” said Brown, who can feature in any of the backline positions.

In 12 years as a professional he has not quite got over the finish line.

“In 2014 I made the Grand Final with Bulldogs but Souths got over the top of us that game so it was disappointing,” said Brown, who was on the left wing for Des Hasler’s side that night.

“We got really close when I was at the Tigers. We got knocked out by St George and they went on to win it the week after. I’ve been close, but haven’t got a bit of the glory yet.”

Brown has worked with The Wire’s new head coach Steve Price before – at Cronulla – and has high hopes for the team this year.

“Steve has got his own style. I like his style of play and hopefully it can bring us trophies here,” he said.

“I love it here. It’s a really good family club, very welcoming.

“It’s very professional – the facilities, the coaching staff, the corporate side of things, the whole club in general is very professional and very welcoming.

“Warrington are an established Super League team, one of the big four teams in Super League. It’s got that feel.”

Brown has battled through many a pre-season campaign in the NRL to be able to compare how gruelling it has been for The Wire players in their preparations for Super League XXIII.

“It’s been tough and conditions have made it hard,” he said.

“A couple of weeks back it was -4 degrees when we turned up to training.

“The ground was half frozen, so you’d be on a frozen half of the pitch and then on a boggy half.

“I think the conditions have made it harder but it definitely has been tough.”

“Pricey’s trying to make us more disciplined and working us hard for rewards.”

Brown explained how the months leading into a new campaign can play such an important part in providing a platform for its success.

“You want to get the best start possible,” he said.

“During the year we play so many games, sometimes three in 10 days, so in those 10 days it’s all about recovery so you can’t build muscle. Then it’s all about recovering and maintaining.

“So you want to build as much muscle, fitness, and strength in this little short block to try and last throughout the season.

“All the building and the strength work is going to help with injuries through the year.

“If you’ve got a dodgy hamstring or dodgy shoulder you can build that muscle up and it can take care of that to get it through the year.

“If you look at the teams that have performed well, like Castleford last year when they killed the comp, they barely had any injuries and virtually fielded the same team every week.

“When I was at Cronulla and they won the comp that year, up to round 18 they’d only used 20 players.

“If you can keep your team on the field, build combinations, you’ll win games. The less changes you make the better the team could go.”

Brown likes the atmosphere of Super League matches compared to the NRL.

“That’s the biggest difference I’ve found here to the NRL,” he said.

“If you get 5,000 people at a game here, they’re louder than 30,000 back home.

“And the fans don’t stop cheering and chanting. They really get into it, so the crowds make the game.

“The fans are a lot closer in stadiums built for rugby league. It gets you in the game more, gives you a hand up. Players do thrive on that.”