So, who will succeed Steve Price at Warrington – and when?
Announcements about coaches leaving well in advance of it actually happening are fairly common back in his home country of Australia, but not so much here.
Steve’s contract runs out at the end of this season, and there has been confirmation that there won’t be another one.
How will the players, particularly those who aren’t in the team week in, week out, react, given that Steve’s position might not be quite as powerful as it once was?
Will he still be here come the end of the season? To be honest, I’d be surprised.
Warrington lifted the Challenge Cup in 2019, having been beaten finalists the year before, but we all know that what they really want is to win the Grand Final and be crowned champions for the first time since 1955.
They haven’t got to a Grand Final since Steve’s first season at the helm in 2018, and after disappointing play-off defeats by Castleford in 2019 and Hull last year, the pressure is on, especially considering the level of investment in a squad which includes the likes of Blake Austin, Gareth Widdop and now Greg Inglis.
If they hit a rough patch, will the board get itchy feet and send Steve on his way early?
As for his replacement, I’d like to see Warrington go with a British coach.
Shaun Wane and Brian McDermott have both been mentioned, and both have Grand Final successes on the old CV.
Then there’s Lee Radford and Daryl Powell.
But the man I’d really like to see given the role is Lee Briers, Steve’s assistant at the Halliwell Jones, and someone who has certainly served his apprenticeship.
After representing Warrington as a top player for long before joining the coaching staff, he knows the club inside out, and he knows the kind of rugby the fans respond to.
I think he’s ready to step up to being a head coach, and I’d love to see Sean Long working alongside him.
I know Longy is currently with Richard Agar at Leeds, but I reckon Warrington have the wherewithal to prise him from Headingley.
After all, there’s no point investing in the pool of players if you don’t have the right people guiding them.
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