Jason Clark on Warrington Wolves return to training for 2021

For Warrington Wolves, they have begun preparations for a season that as yet has no certain start date.

March 11 was the date pencilled in but with Covid rates still increasing, it may well be closer to Easter when the campaign gets underway.

Still, with the country now in its third national lockdown in the space of a year, it is a touch of normality the players are grateful for and a privilege they do not take lightly.

“It’s not the ideal situation at training right now but it’s a bit of a routine for us,” forward Jason Clark said.

“The wife’s doing it a bit harder at the moment with home-schooling our three kids, so it’s tougher for her when I’m not there.

“That said, the whole world is going through the same thing. We can’t complain.

“We’ve got some great staff who have done what needs to be done to meet the Covid criteria.

“The club have done a really good job to keep us socially distanced. They are doing the best they can for us and putting everything there to keep the game going.

“It’s been nearly a year now that we’ve been in this pandemic.

“There’s a lot more that we understand about what needs to be done with social distancing, masks and as little face-to-face contact as possible.

“Playing rugby, that’s difficult amid all of this but we’re getting a lot better at it that’s for sure.”

Pre-season training

On the field, The Wire are once again starting their preparations with the aim and intention of being there at the very end of the campaign in nine months’ time.

It has become familiar territory but as yet, the final step of getting that first Super League title over the line remains elusive.

For the past two years, that quest has ended in play-off disappointment, with November’s loss to Hull FC a second consecutive first-hurdle defeat.

So where does Clark feel they need to step up in order to finally break their duck?

“A big thing we ended up speaking about was our discipline,” he said.

“It was those little areas where we would forfeit a penalty and give our opponents another set of six was really biting us in games.

“That’s one area we definitely want to work on.”

Three new players have arrived thus far – Australian icon Greg Inglis and England Knights international props Rob Butler and Robbie Mulhern.

Robbie Mulhern in training with his new Wire teammates

However, much of the core personnel remains from 2020 and that is something Clark, who penned a new deal to keep him at the club until the end of 2021 last November, thinks will work in their favour.

“As a group, we have been together for a while now,” he said.

“There has only been three new boys come into the team so far, so there’s not a lot of integration that needs to be done.

“I’d like to think we’re all on the same page now and we’re definitely looking forward to getting going again.”