AROUND a year ago, Warrington Wolves were in dire straits and Sam Burgess was fighting for his job.
As August turned to September in 2025, The Wire had just been humbled at home by financially stricken Salford Red Devils as a torrid season hit the lowest of lows and their head coach was forced to answer questions – both privately and publicly – about his future.
Now, things could not look more different – as a result of their longest winning run of the year, Warrington are guaranteed not only a play-off place but a home eliminator tie with two rounds of the regular season still to go, and they head to Wakefield Trinity today knowing a win will lock up third place.
But even in the darkest of times, Burgess insisted he knew the dawn was coming.
“I said publicly last year that a lot of good would come from this period, as tough as it was sitting through it,” he said.
“I think you’re seeing that now because we’ve got players now who are ready to go when called upon.
“In the middle of this year, we had 14 players sitting on the sidelines at points, and not just for one or two weeks. The academy system has propped us up and we’re seeing the benefits of that.
“We’re creating a good environment in which players are keeping each other accountable.”
Third place will still be very much in their hands regardless of today’s result, but a victory will keep alive their faint hopes of snatching a top-two spot, with Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors facing off in what looks set to be a League Leaders’ Shield decider later tonight.
The loser of that game would be level on points with Warrington should Burgess’ side win at Wakefield, albeit with a vastly superior points difference.
So with all the signs pointing to a third place finish and with the team emerging from a manic August that saw them play six times, there may have been a temptation to keep the most crucial troops in reserve.
But while he has been forced into a few alterations by injury, Burgess is having none of that.
“There’s a lot to play for, so we’re full steam ahead,” he said.
“We’ve got a great task on Saturday afternoon which will be a big challenge for us.
“The guys have needed some recovery because of the residual effect of the last month or so. We gave them a few days off and have done a different programme leading into the game.
“As much as I’ve not agreed with the period we’ve had, it’s been really good for the players.
“We’ve toughened up and learned some great lessons, so it’s been great for us as a team.
“We’re pretty focused on the week. Wakefield away traditionally isn’t a good tie for the club, so our focus has to be on getting a strong performance out this week.
“You sometimes see strange things happen, but we don’t want to have any regrets. We want to give ourselves the best opportunity.”
As Burgess alluded to, Warrington’s recent record in trips to Belle Vue is wretched – their last five visits have ended in defeat, with their last victory there coming all the way back in 2019.
This time around, they face a Trinity side that knows a win will all but seal a home play-off tie and keep their hopes of snatching third spot alive, but they have been in a sticky run of form of late, with their win over York Knights last time out ending a run of three straight defeats.
“I see them as a very strong team and very well-organised,” he said.
“They’ve got some great attack and they defend well for each other.
“They’ve had a run of fixtures in which they’ve been a bit unfortunate even though they’ve been playing well, and I understand what that’s like going through those patches.
“We expect them to be good at the weekend.”
Share