IF there was a team that perhaps underperformed the most in 2022 then it is the Warrington Wolves.
Taken over by former Castleford Tigers head coach Daryl Powell, Warrington fans had high hopes for the season just gone with some pundits even tipping the Cheshire club to reach the Grand Final.
Of course, those predictions fell wide of the mark as the Wolves managed just nine wins from 27 games in Super League to finish second bottom with only relegated Toulouse Olympique below them.
With a high number of Warrington players out of contract at the end of 2022, Powell knew it would be a major rebuild going into 2023, but with the May 1st deadline looming, the Yorkshireman realised that there would be a number of factors hindering the club’s season.
“It’s been a really difficult season, it started really positively. We felt like we had a really good pre-season, there were some difficulties in there but we won our three first games,” Powell told the Warrington Wolves podcast.
“What happened then was defining on how I saw the future of the current team.
“The cloud that was hanging over us were quite a lot of players out of contract and me making potential decisions on some of those players and May 1 being a significant date within the season.
“So, there were quite a few things that happened that set the scene for the difficulties we had in the second half of the season.
“I think the unease that were created with a few of the things that happened during the season made it difficult for us to achieve what we had set out to.”
Credit to Powell, he was incredibly honest about the trials and tribulations faced by the Wolves in 2022 and spoke of his desire to provide honesty to the fans that suffered during the season.
“We didn’t achieve anywhere near what we wanted to; we finished second bottom and it was an unbelievably disappointing place to finish. It’s important you are honest on the inside.”
Listen to the full podcast here.
