THE countdown to the 2019 season starts now for Warrington Wolves.

In 75 days, they will take on Leeds Rhinos in their opening Super League game and preparations for the campaign are now fully underway.

The Wire squad – excluding those who had post-season international commitments – started pre-season training this morning.

Warrington Guardian:

Head coach Steve Price gathers the players together. Picture by Warrington Wolves

As new head of performance Ade Gardner explained, they now have a five-week block of hard graft ahead of them before a short break for Christmas.

“It’s going to be a busy five weeks, but I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

“We’ve got a really good, fit squad so I’m not expecting anybody to come back in bad nick.

“We’ve got a pretty short window to get their conditioning up to the levels we need before Christmas. We’ll try and get as much bang for our buck as we can during that time.

“From my experiences as an ex-player, the boys want the sessions to be hard.

Warrington Guardian:

The players make their way out onto the training field at their Padgate base. Picture by Warrington Wolves

“They want to feel battle-hardened going into Christmas when they can have a bit of a break.

“The key is to get everybody through it safely and not pick anything up.

“We have to be really methodical and assess things from day-to-day to see if anything needs to change.”

New signings Blake Austin, Jason Clark, Jake Mamo, Danny Walker, Lama Tasi and Matt Davis are all part of the group that starts training today.

As with last year, the Wire squad will attend an army camp before Christmas to aid their pre-season preparations.

Warrington Guardian:

Blake Austin on his first day of training with The Wire. Picture by Warrington Wolves