Latest news with #WARRINGTONWolves
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Warrington Wolves will hope a recent Wembley trend endures on Saturday
WARRINGTON Wolves supporters will experience the other side of Wembley Stadium for the very first time on Saturday. And if you're a believer in omens, that is very good news indeed based on a trend that has emerged in recent weeks. Advertisement Wembley's West Stand will house Wire fans for Saturday's Challenge Cup Final against Hull KR as well as followers of Wigan Warriors and Featherstone Rovers for the Women's Challenge Cup and 1895 Cup finals respectively. That marks a change from each of Wolves' seven previous trips to the national stadium since its reopening in 2007, with the East Stand having become their home away from home to the tune of four wins and three defeats. They will be hoping for an altogether different experience to this time last year when The Wire failed to fire and were forced to watch neighbours Wigan Warriors lift the trophy, so will a change of ends mean a change of fortunes? Well the West Stand has certainly seen its fair share of celebrations of late and completed an incredible 'shut-out' of victories for teams who have claimed it in recent football cup finals. Advertisement The trend continued on Sunday when Oldham Athletic, whose supporters were massed in that very stand, fought back to beat Southend United in the National League Promotion Final. That followed the three EFL Play-Off Finals that took place at Wembley over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and all three winners – Sunderland, Charlton Athletic and AFC Wimbledon – were left celebrating in front of a jubilant West Stand. And before that, Crystal Palace pulled off a shock victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup Final earlier in May – and we think you can tell where this is going… The West Stand also housed jubilant Aldershot Town fans for their FA Trophy Final victory last month and was the Newcastle United end when they broke their long trophy drought by lifting the Carabao Cup against Liverpool in March. A sign from the rugby league Gods or a dramatic case of straw-clutching? People will make up their own minds, but it is certainly quite the trend.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trio set to return for Wire's Cas clash, but two to miss out
WARRINGTON Wolves look set to welcome back some of their experienced campaigners for Friday night's Super League clash with Castleford Tigers – the last game before the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley. Head coach Sam Burgess said scrum-half Marc Sneyd and hooker Sam Powell are in line to play, and he indicated there is a strong chance of a return for second-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon too. He also said Paul Vaughan and Toby King are 'tracking well' and added: 'Whether I play them or not I'll see.' However, such is life at The Wire at the moment, it is a couple in and a couple out – with neither Oli Leyland or Jordan Crowther in consideration. Both Leyland and Crowther were scheduled to have scans this afternoon. Leyland limped out of the action against Hull KR last Friday after 10 minutes with a knee injury and Crowther succumbed to an ankle issue in the late stages. While ruling both out of contention this week, Burgess remains hopeful that Crowther could regain fitness in time for Wembley. The news does not look good for Leyland though. 'They're both getting scanned this afternoon. With it being a bank holiday Monday, we could only get them in today. 'Jordy's actually pulled up pretty good, so that's good. He won't play this week but depending on what the results say, he's a chance for next week which is good. 'Oli's not looking great, he's not presenting very well, but let's wait and see what the results of the scans say.' More: What Sam Burgess said after George Williams trained today Sneyd and Powell both missed the Round 12 defeat to table toppers Hull KR and Burgess said the decision to leave them out was more than for precautionary measures. 'We had a five-day turnaround from the Wakey game. Sneyd took a bang on the head and it just didn't feel he'd recovered quickly enough,' said Burgess. 'And Sam couldn't quite make it. I reckon if we'd had an eight-day turnaround he'd have played, but it was just too hard on a five-dayer. 'They wouldn't have been able to do a good job and it would probably have injured them further. 'It's a bit of a balancing act. 'But we're getting a couple back now so we'll be a little bit stronger. 'It's nice to get a couple in because we've been really thin the last few weeks. 'We get some senior players back which will be good for the group.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What Sam Burgess said after George Williams trained today
WARRINGTON Wolves skipper George Williams trained today. He is ahead of schedule with his recovery from surgery and his eyes remain firmly fixed on pulling on the Wire shirt in the Challenge Cup Final against Hull Kingston Rovers at Wembley on Saturday, June 7. These remain early days and Williams still has work to do to be available for selection, but the signs are positive that Warrington's most lethal weapon could give his side a massive boost and be on the field for the showpiece decider. Head coach Sam Burgess has commended the England star's drive in his bid to win his fitness race. Williams has missed the last six matches following surgery for ruptured ankle ligaments but in early May he made it known that he was setting the cup final as his return date, should The Wire overcome Leigh Leopards in the semi-finals – which they did. 'He's really pushed the boundaries on his programme and he's ahead of schedule,' said Burgess. 'It's a 10-week injury, and the Wembley game would be about seven-and-a-half weeks. 'Regardless of whether he plays or not next week, he's done a great job in pushing the boundaries on his own performance and his own ability to recover. 'Also the medical staff have seen that the goal posts can be shifted at times. Where there's a will there's a way. 'There is a bit of time between now and then. He's got to get the practise done. He's trained today and he looked to be moving ok so we'll see how he goes. 'George made a commitment that he won't leave a stone unturned and he's not. 'He's really attacked his rehab and the club have been very good. 'He's got a good relationship with Nick Murphy (head physio) and Ade Gardner (head of performance), so they've thought outside the box and they've gone far and wide to push him as hard as they can without making him break down. 'So he'll come back in some good shape hopefully.' More: Trio set to return for Wire's Cas clash, but two to miss out When Williams spoke about his injury and surgery on Sky Sports' The Bench podcast in early May, he revealed he is following a programme aimed at shaving time off his recovery – one that has never been successfully completed by a rugby league player. 'Eight to 10 weeks is what they normally say but we're following a programme that Leinster rugby union have used that gets players back in seven,' he said. 'That's the goal for me – I've had two weeks off already after surgery and it's five weeks until Wembley if we get there. 'That would be seven weeks and two days – it's been done before but I think only two players have managed that, and they're both rugby union players. 'I think the posh word for it is 'syndesmosis' and it's basically ruptured ankle ligaments. 'I did a Grade Two – which isn't a full rupture but a tear – in Round One last year, so it was basically a ticking time bomb for me. 'If you've already got little tears in there then the same movement will eventually snap it, which is what happened to me.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Marc Sneyd included as Wire and Leigh confirm semi-final 21 man squads
WARRINGTON Wolves and Leigh Leopards have confirmed which of their players are preparing to go into battle in Sunday's Challenge Cup semi-final at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens. And just 17 days after fracturing his eye socket in the Super League home win against St Helens, The Wire scrum-half Marc Sneyd could line-up to help steer his side to Wembley. Head coach Sam Burgess has included the 34-year-old in his 21-man squad, along with Stefan Ratchford and Oli Leyland as other half-back options. Burgess had told Warrington Guardian prior to last weekend's Magic match against Wigan in Newcastle that Sneyd had undergone successful surgery and that he would be assessed 'week-to-week' regarding his return to the side. And skipper George Williams, currently sidelined as he recovers from surgery to fix ruptured ankle ligaments, said earlier this week on Sky Sports' The Bench podcast: 'I think Sneydy is going to play pretty soon. He's a lot tougher than I thought,' he said. 'I didn't have him down as a tough player but he's going to play pretty quickly and will be a massive part of us going forward." Matty Ashton and Toby King, who both missed last weekend's match, are also included. 📋 Our 21-man squad for Sunday's huge Challenge Cup semi final! Who's joining us? 🐺 — Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) May 9, 2025 Meanwhile, Adrian Lam looks set to have the majority of his big-name players available to him for selection. His 21-man squad, however, does not include back rower Frankie Halton and former Melbourne Storm prop Arron Pene. Halton was a try scorer for Leigh when they defeated The Wire 18-14 at Leigh Sports Village over Easter. 🐆 𝟮𝟭 𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 The lineup has been chosen, Lammy's 21 man squad for this weekend's Challenge Cup Semi Final. — Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) May 9, 2025
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Major injury blow confirmed as Burgess names Yates' replacement
WARRINGTON Wolves will be without one of their key forwards for the foreseeable future. Prop Luke Yates was forced off during the early stages of Sunday's Super League Round Four defeat to Wakefield Trinity with an ankle injury, and was seen leaving the ground on crutches and wearing a protective boot. In his post-match press conference, head coach Sam Burgess admitted the early prognosis was not a good one but now Yates has undergone scans, ligament damage has been revealed and he will be absent for an extended period. Centre Arron Lindop is also ruled out Saturday's Challenge Cup fourth round trip to neighbours Widnes Vikings under concussion protocol having failed an in-game head injury assessment against Wakefield, with Burgess also confirming he is not expecting any of the players who missed the game through injury to return to fitness That means full-back Matt Dufty, winger Matty Ashton, centre Toby King and second-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon are again likely to sit out alongside longer-term absentees in scrum-half Leon Hayes and centre Connor Wrench. "He will be a while. We're looking at six weeks for him," Burgess said of Yates. "We won't get anyone back this week – we lose Yatesey and Arron Lindop with the concussion. "It's the nature of it – the next guy comes in." Burgess took the step of confirming who 'the next guy' is in terms of replacing Yates, with Zane Musgrove set to come into the team to face the Vikings. The Samoan prop has not featured in any of The Wire's past three matches, but his head coach has now challenged him to nail down a spot in his side. Having featured in the Round One victory at Huddersfield Giants, Zane Musgrove has not played in Wire's last three matches (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire) "Zane is a pretty accomplished player and he's the next man up, so he'll get his job done and the guys around him have got to improve on where they've been over the last couple of weeks," Burgess said. "Zane's just got to do his job. It's hard to pick 17 blokes when there's 30-odd that are fit and ready to go, and I think the middles have been doing a fairly decent job. "It's hard to leave out Jimmy Harrison and Paul Vaughan, who have both been going pretty well, then Jordy Crowther and Joe Philbin bring a different style of game for us. "It's been tough for Zane, but all he's got to do is get his job done. "We've got six weeks where we'll be without Yatesey, so he's the next man up."
