BY making wholesale changes to his Warrington Wolves team to face Toulouse Olympique on Friday, Sam Burgess has made his priorities abundantly clear.
And as opposed to being too concerned about where his side end up in the final Super League table, he insists preserving the health of his key stars ahead of the start of the play-offs is his biggest motivation.
The Wire’s 21-man squad for the Round 27 clash at The Halliwell Jones Stadium shows eight changes with the likes of Matty Ashton, Albert Hopoate, Ben Currie and Toby King among others dropping out.
There are three potential Super League debutants in the squad in forward Dan Coop and half-backs Pat Irwin and Tommy Rhodes, with Burgess hinting that all three will be involved in some way.
Warrington are already guaranteed a home eliminator tie and avoiding defeat on Friday will secure a third-place finish. It will also be secured by Wakefield Trinity failing to beat Leigh Leopards.
If Wire lose and Wakefield win, points difference will come into play with Warrington currently 37 points better off in that respect.
However, whether his side finish third or fourth is something Burgess insists he is “not too fussed about.”
“It’s important, but it’s not everything,” he said.
“What helped the decision was giving us the best chance of being healthy for the finals series, as it all starts again next week.
“Regardless of where we end up, it wasn’t about that. It was about being ready to roll but I’m expecting the players that are selected on Friday to do the job.”
When asked how much attention he will pay to what is happening at Leigh on Friday, he replied: “Not much at all.
“I’m not too fussed on where we finish – third or fourth. It doesn’t make a huge difference.
“In week one of the finals, you have to go and win and then in week two, you have to go and win.
“We’ve got a home game and we’re happy with that.
“It’s about getting ourselves in the best position to be healthy for next week.
“That was it, really – it gives us the best opportunity to be at our best next week.
“Also, a lot of players who will play this week have been supporting our group all year so it’s a bit of a reward for them as well to play first-team at home.”
Burgess’ approach is something of a double-edged sword – while it preserves the health of the first team, he admits it will “damage” the prospects of the club’s Reserves for their Grand Final against Wigan Warriors on Saturday.
Many of the players selected to face Toulouse have been a key part of the Reserves’ run to a second consecutive title decider, but Burgess insists reserves boss Ryan O’Brien is fully understanding and supportive.
“Obviously, the shame is for the Reserves Grand Final – it happened to us last year as well so that is a shame I guess. It will damage that game,” he said.
“I spoke to Ryan O’Brien and he was very supportive of the decision. For him, it’s about producing players for the first team.
“It’s testament to our academy system that we’ve been in the Grand Finals of both grades for the past two years.
“It’s a great success for the club that that’s happening.”
Josh Thewlis, Liam Byrne and Kelepi Tanginoa are also out of contention as is Sam Stone, who was ruled out under concussion protocol after failing a head injury assessment during Saturday’s defeat to Wakefield Trinity.
Burgess confirmed that Stone is the only fresh injury concern and that both half-back Ewan Irwin and prop Joe Philbin remain on track to return for Wire’s eliminator tie.
“Everyone was available, but they’ve had some miles in their legs over the last couple of months,” he said.
“Obviously at this time of year, everyone has bumps and bruises so it’s about getting us fresh for week one.
“We trained a bit harder today because the boys that are playing are fresh and the ones that aren’t, we’re not preparing them to play this weekend.
“We can get the loads right between now and next Friday or Saturday. There’s not too much time off but it will help our training intensity be a bit better next week.”
On Irwin and Philbin, he added: “I think they’re both on track – we’ll know more about that early next week but as it stands, it’s looking that way.”
Rhodes has had some first-team exposure before having become the club’s youngest ever try-scorer while making his senior debut against Sheffield Eagles in the Challenge Cup back in January.
However, it will be the first taste of Super League for him as well as academy graduates Coop and Pat Irwin, who is the older brother of teenage star Ewan and returned to the club earlier this year after spending time in Australia, where he played in the Queensland Cup for Townsville Blackhawks.
“More than likely they will all play,” Burgess said of the trio.
“I didn’t have a lot to do with Pat when he was in the system before he went to Australia but since he’s been back, he’s been full-time with us.
“He’s a good character – very different to Ewan – and we’ll look forward to seeing him on Friday.
“Ewan’s quiet whereas Pat is always in and around having a laugh, so they’re different but I’m happy for him.
“I think his parents are away on holiday which is unfortunate, but I’m sure they’ll watch it somewhere.
“Dan’s an awesome project at the club. When I first came, we saw him as a back-rower but he’s pushed into that 13 role.
“He’s played a couple of trial games for us and has had a really good year for the Reserves.
“It’s exciting when these players come through and make their debuts – he was over the moon when I spoke to him earlier in the week so he’s looking forward to it.”
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