A closer look at Warrington Wolves' 2022 fixtures

For Warrington Wolves, their schedule throws up several talking points as they prepare for Daryl Powell's first season as head coach.

> Click here for Warrington Wolves' full 2022 fixture list

Here, Guardian sports reporter Matt Turner takes a closer look at the fixtures and picks out some interesting points of discussion...

A baptism of fire for Powell

OF course, Daryl Powell’s aim in his first few games as head coach will be to hit the ground running.

That was already going to be tough as the team gets used to a completely different style of play, and the fixtures have just made that even tougher.

Their first five fixtures see trips to Leeds Rhinos, Toulouse Olympique and St Helens, with Castleford Tigers and Catalans Dragons both visiting The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

By anybody’s standards, it is a tricky start to the season littered with stumbling blocks – they will expect to win in Toulouse but a hostile crowd and an unknown quantity in opposition makes it a real banana skin.

Warrington Wolves' first game of the season sees them travel to Leeds Rhinos. Picture by SWPix.com

Challenge Cup makes for fragmented start

The moving of the Challenge Cup Final from mid-July to the end of May means a slightly stop-start opening to the Super League campaign.

Aside from the final – set for Saturday, May 28, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – round dates for this year’s knockout have not been officially confirmed, with Super League sides set to enter at the last-16 stage.

The lack of fixtures scheduled for March 24-27, April 7-10 and May 5-8 appear to confirm when top-flight teams will be in Challenge Cup action, however.

The Challenge Cup Final will be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, May 28. Picture by SWPix.com

A new destination

Many eyes will have been on The Wire's first ever trip to face Super League newcomers Toulouse Olympique.

That comes very early – they make their only scheduled trip to the Stade Ernest Wallon on Saturday, February 26, in Round Three.

There is also another away trip to France – the trip to Perpignan to face Catalans Dragons on Saturday, May 14.

The Wire make their first trip to the Stade Ernest Wallon to face Toulouse Olympique on Saturday, February 26. Picture by SWPix.com

A tough May that could get tougher still

There are only two Super League fixtures scheduled in May, but they are two of the toughest.

The Wire travel to Perpignan to take on Catalans Dragons before welcoming St Helens to The Halliwell Jones Stadium the following week.

Depending on Wolves’ progress in the competition, those two fixtures could be bookended by a Challenge Cup semi-final and the final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 28.

Add a home game against Wigan at the end of April to the mix and it is certainly an eye-catching run of fixtures even without the cup matches.

May contains a trip to face Catalans Dragons and a home game against St Helens, and could also include the Challenge Cup semi-finals and final. Picture by Laurent Selles

Double game weekends still loom

Even though the 2022 season starts more than a month earlier than this year, it also finishes sooner than usual and there are more rounds to squeeze in.

Next year’s competition will be 27 rounds as opposed to 25 – although still two less than the 29-round 2020 competition – and the Grand Final has been moved forward to September 24 to give more preparation time for the Rugby League World Cup.

That means that two double game weekends are in place for the coming campaign – the return of the Easter double header followed by another over the August bank holiday weekend.

The Wire’s Easter helping sees them host Salford Red Devils on Thursday, April 14, before travelling to Hull FC on Easter Monday, while the August double header includes a home game against Castleford Tigers (Thursday, August 25) and a trip to Huddersfield Giants (Monday, August 29).

The Wire will travel to Hull FC on Easter Monday. Picture by SWPix.com

Room for an international

One of the more contentious issues of last season was the playing of Super League fixtures on the same weekend as England’s mid-season match.

It meant several clubs – Warrington Wolves included – were shorn of key players while they played for either Shaun Wane’s side or the Combined Nations All-Stars – a fixture that will be repeated in 2022.

This time, though, the RFL have confirmed it will be a standalone fixture and no league games will be scheduled to clash with it.

The weekend of June 16-19 has been left free on the Super League schedule, so it would appear that would be the date for the international game.

England will once again face the Combined Nations All-Stars during the 2022 season. Picture by SWPix.com

Those pesky loop fixtures

They are a bone of contention for players, officials and supporters alike but the loop fixtures appear to be here to stay.

Each team will play their 11 Super League rivals home and away at least once, with extra fixtures against five teams.

In Warrington Wolves’ case, they will visit both Leeds Rhinos and Huddersfield Giants twice while Castleford Tigers and Salford Red Devils will make two trips to The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

The Wire will also face Catalans Dragons three times in 2022 – once at home, once in France and once at Magic Weekend in Newcastle on July 10.

The Wire are slated for three fixtures against Daryl Powell's former club Castleford Tigers during 2022. Picture by Mike Boden