JOE PHILBIN made his debut for Warrington as a teenager in a 34-4 away victory over Hull KR in June 2014.
And now, at the age of 29, almost ten years later, Philbin has played 192 games as a dedicated one-club man and has represented Ireland, England and Great Britain, as well as being a Challenge Cup winner (and Wembley try-scorer) with Warrington in 2019.
This Friday, Philbin will step out for his testimonial game when Leigh visit the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
“I like to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible but I’m really proud of the achievement so I will celebrate it,” says Philbin.
“My career has gone in what seems like a blink of the eye and sometimes I have to tell myself that I’m not a young player any more. I now have a leadership role but I have had to really work to get to where I’ve got to.
“I have plenty of good memories. The Challenge Cup Final in 2019 was very special as were my England and Great Britain debuts.”
Philbin admits he has never thought about leaving Warrington: “I’m living the dream, playing for the club that I love and, with a young family, I’m very happy here.”
And he says that it hasn’t been difficult to adjust to life under the club’s new head coach Sam Burgess.
“The one thing that could have been questioned of us in recent years is our resilience. When things have gone well for us, we’re a really good team, but when things go against us, we have folded to some extent,” says Philbin.
“The one thing Sam has brought is resilience. From the start of pre-season he told us how he wanted us to work. From day one we were running some long, hard hills and he really set the tone that day and continued it.
“But we are having fun and enjoying it. We are a group of mates going out and playing a game of rugby together. The more you can do that and keep the pressure off, the more that players’ skills can come out.”
