IF there was one club which disappointed in Super League 2022 then it was the Warrington Wolves under new head coach Daryl Powell.
Powell, who had just left the Castleford Tigers after almost nine seasons at the Jungle, took over at the Cheshire club in a bid to turn Warrington from nearly men to Super League winners.
That being said, it couldn’t have gone much different for the Wolves with Powell’s men finishing second bottom in Super League as a whole host of players departed including former captain Jack Hughes and stalwart Mike Cooper.
According to Warrington star Joe Philbin, however, the club has learnt the lessons from 2022 and explained why last season went so wrong.
“It was a year of lessons for everyone at the club. I think there’s been a lot of turnover of personnel and obviously Daryl (head coach Daryl Powell) has brought in the players he wants now,” Philbin told League Express.
“But I think when quite a lot of your squad finds out they will be going somewhere else halfway through the year, I think it can disrupt certain things, but I’m not making any excuses, it wasn’t good enough.
“We’ve taken a lot of lessons from it, in 2017 we had a similar year in the Middle 8s when we finished ninth.
“Obviously we could have got relegated then but then in 2018 we got to the Challenge Cup Final and the Grand Final so things can change very quickly. I’ve been through that before but there’s a good feeling around the camp.”
In terms of new signings, Powell has brought in the likes of Sam Kasiano, Gil Dudson, Paul Vaughan and Josh McGuire and Philbin has hailed the impact of the new boys – as well as their size!
“The new signings, they are large and in charge! There are some big boys in the gym, but its’ been a brilliant feeling to be honest,” Philbin continued.
“It’s been refreshing, everyone that has come in has brought a little bit of quality and edge. And I think there should be a massive shout out to our young lads who have made it really competitive and put their front foot forward and that’s what we need to improve. The younger boys are fighting tooth and nail against the older heads which is good to see.”
Though people are anticipating Warrington to improve, Philbin does not believe that the players should be making any grandiose predictions for 2023.
“I don’t think we have any right to put out any statement like that after finishing 11th last season. We will keep our goals and aims in house but we should always aim high.
“For example, in 2017 we were in the Middle 8s but then 2018, we got to a Grand Final and Challenge Cup Final so it’s definitely achievable.
“But we don’t have the right to go out in the press and say we will get to a Challenge Cup Final or Grand Final, we need to do the hard work behind the scenes.”
Philbin recently signed a deal until the end of 2024, and the forward is holding out hope of being a one-club man, but knows that anything can change in rugby league.
“I’d definitely like to retire here, being a one-club man is certainly an attractive prospect especially for my hometown club.
“I’ve still got two years left and I want to go as hard as I can. First of all, I want to get back to full fitness but then I want to play well.
“You can’t think too far into the future, the sporting world is crazy. I’ve just got to focus on what I can control and if I do that as well as I can then there is no reason why retiring here can’t become realistic.”
