AS he prepares to make his senior rugby league debut for Warrington Wolves, Luther Burrell has taken nobody by surprise by how quickly he has picked things up.

The England rugby union international will make his Wire bow at London Broncos on Saturday, kick off 3pm, but it is not yet known whether it will be from the start or off the bench.

Burrell has been training with his new teammates for four weeks now and head coach Steve Price feels the time is right to integrate him into the matchday squad.

Price feels the 31-year-old will bring “something different” to his side at Trailfinders Sports Club on Saturday.

“I’m not really surprised by how quickly Luther has picked things up,” he said.

“To be an England rugby union international, you have to have a fair few good things going for you.

“He has a lot of good game sense but he’s been a terrific trainer. He’s been very detailed in his preparation.

“When you do that and get those things right, you’re going to tick more boxes than you’re not.

“He’s a big thing and if he does get on, I’m sure he’s going to bring something different.”

> Burrell to make Warrington Wolves debut against London Broncos

Warrington Guardian:

Luther Burrell will make his Wire debut on Saturday. Picture by Mike Boden

The Wire will be without co-captain Chris Hill for Saturday’s game and next week’s clash with Salford Red Devils after he was handed a two-match suspension for a “crusher tackle” on Mark Percival during Friday’s 21-10 defeat to St Helens.

Second rower Ben Murdoch-Masila will miss two to three weeks after having ankle surgery on Tuesday, joining Stefan Ratchford (pectoral) and Kevin Brown (Achilles) on the sidelines.

Trips to Super League’s bottom side have seen rivals rotate their squads on occasion this term but apart from the necessary changes, Price has ruled out doing the same in the capital.

He also said Hill’s suspension represents an opportunity for the England prop to freshen up ahead of a busy end to the campaign.

> Wire co-captain banned for 'crusher tackle'

“I’m not considering rotating the squad – we’ll be going all out this weekend,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that Hilly has copped a two-week suspension as I thought he had his best game of the season on Friday.

“Whoever comes into his spot needs to step up.

“They have turned over some quality teams on their own turf and we have to be at our best to beat them.

“We’re trying to use this suspension as a positive for Chris.

“He’s played a lot of rugby over the past couple of years in coming off international periods straight into pre-seasons.

“It won’t hurt him to have a couple of weeks off. He’ll be in good shape when he returns.

“We’ve got to have the right attitude and mentality from minute one. We need to be ruthless in every area.

“If the players turn up and think someone else will do their job for them, we’re going to be on the wrong end of the scoreline.”