Daryl Powell is pleased with the prospect of a bigger and better Warrington Wolves squad following the arrival of Thomas Mikaele and the imminent returns from injury of James Harrison and Greg Minikin.
Mikaele was due to land in the country over the weekend following his transfer from NRL side Wests Tigers.
Meanwhile both Harrison and Minikin could also soon make their debuts, having been in recovery from ACL injuries since signing for the Wolves from Featherstone Rovers and Hull Kingston Rovers respectively last year.
Powell says that he doesn’t expect New Zealander Mikaele to need too long to get ready for his Warrington bow.
“I expect him to be in good shape,” said the Wolves coach, who desperately needs a boost for the trip to Wakefield Trinity this Sunday after Friday’s heavy defeat to Leeds Rhinos.
“He’s missed a bit of pre-season but he’s been playing NRL consistently until he said he was making the move over to the UK. He’ll be in great nick.
“He’s a big dude playing consistently, starting last year in the NRL, while this year he’s been coming off the bench. He’ll add a lot to us.”
Powell is also excited to see returns for Harrison and Minikin, with the pair back to fitness after long lay-offs and slated to play their first match in Warrington colours for the Reserves this Saturday, away at Wigan.
“I’m looking forward to seeing both of those guys playing and putting themselves forward,” he said.
“In terms of competition for places, fingers crossed we’ll soon be in a much better place with those two guys coming back.”
Warrington already have Kyle Amor on the front line following his loan move from St Helens, and Powell has been pleased with his impact on his squad – though revealed the Wolves would not be signing him permanently as he already has a contract lined up elsewhere for 2023.
“Some things he’s said from a leadership perspective have been great; he’s been at St Helens and they’ve been awesome for the past years, and he’s been a senior player there, so you would expect some of that,” said Powell.
“He’s brought some real smart titbits and he’s a good guy, a solid player. He’s fitted in pretty easily and he’ll be important for us on the field.”
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