DAN RUSSELL aims to follow the Rhyse Martin path to Super League stardom as he warms up for his first season at Warrington.
The towering 24-year-old lined up alongside fellow backrower Martin for Papua New Guinea in two of their Pacific Championship matches in November.
Now he is preparing to hunt for wins with the Wolves, where he will feature alongside another Kumuls international, Rodrick Tai.
Centre Tai made his mark in his first season at Warrington with nine tries in 23 matches, which included a Challenge Cup final outing against all-conquering Wigan.
That was as Martin completed a sixth impressive season at Leeds ahead of his move to Hull KR, where he is expected to be a key player as coach Willie Peters tries to build on reaching the club’s maiden Grand Final.
Warrington last made the Super League showpiece in 2018, but hopes are high that coach Sam Burgess, who is going into his second season at the helm, can build on making Wembley and the play-off semi-finals.
Russell has signed a two-year contract after moving from St George Illawarra Dragons, for whom he played eight times in the NRL and 36 in the New South Wales Cup.
“There are plenty of PNG players over here now and they all speak highly of Super League as a competition, where they live and things like that,” he said.
“Having watched over the years, and seeing people like Rhyse Martin come over here and stay, it made my decision to sign pretty easy.”
Russell got a taste of Warrington during the 2022 World Cup, when PNG were based in the town and he featured as Cook Islands were beaten 32-16 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium en route to the quarter-finals, where England won 46-6 at Wigan.
“So far it’s been really good. I can’t doubt anything about the move and the club has been awesome,” he added.
“The training is of high quality, and there’s a lot of depth to the squad.”
Warrington head to Halifax on Sunday for former player James Saltonstall’s testimonial match.
