Warrington Wolves half-back hint dropped as 21-man squad named for St Helens clash
Sam Burgess has spoken for the first time about the prospect of coaching Perth Bears.
Warrington Wolves boss Sam Burgess has again left his options for Marc Sneyd’s half-back partner open ahead of their clash with St Helens: but Oli Leyland won’t feature having been omitted from his 21-man squad.
It was revealed ahead of last weekend’s game at Leigh Leopards that Warrington would be without influential captain George Williams for circa two-and-a-half months.
Williams suffered an ankle injury in the latter stages of Wire’s home defeat to Hull FC the week prior, and had surgery in the week leading up to the trip to Leigh.
Burgess’ 21-man squad for that game at the Leopards’ Den included veteran Stefan Ratchford, off-season recruit Leyland and youngster Ewan Irwin.
But as Ratchford and Irwin missed out on selection, so too did Leyland, who was allowed to play on dual-registration for Championship side Widnes Vikings.
Instead, hooker Danny Walker partnered Sneyd in the halves at Leigh as Warrington were beaten 18-14, with Ben Currie and Jody Crowther both also filling in at 6 throughout that game.
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Warrington Wolves half-back hint dropped as 21-man squad named for St Helens clash
Wire host Saints at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in the opening game of Round 9 on Thursday night, and the question on everybody’s lips remains around who will take on the role of partnering Sneyd.
Ratchford, Irwin and Walker all remain candidates to do so, but Leyland hasn’t even made Burgess’ 21-man squad this time around.
Having joined on a two-year deal from relegated London Broncos ahead of 2025, the Maidstone-born playmaker featured three times across all competitions for the Wolves at the start of the campaign.
His last appearance came in Las Vegas as Burgess’ side were thumped 48-24 by Wigan Warriors on March 1 though, and having been the unused 18th man twice since then, he played for Widnes in their 10-10 draw at home against Oldham on Good Friday.
Featuring at full-back for the Vikings in that draw, Leyland has been replaced in Wire’s 21 for their game against Saints by prop James Harrison, as announced on Tuesday afternoon.
It’s unknown at this stage whether Leyland will again feature for Widnes this weekend, with Allan Coleman’s side travelling to York on Sunday.
Warrington’s 21-man squad: Matty Ashton, Jordy Crowther, Ben Currie, Matt Dufty, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, James Harrison, Adam Holroyd, Ewan Irwin, Toby King, Zane Musgrove, Joe Philbin, Sam Powell, Stefan Ratchford, Dan Russell, Marc Sneyd, Rodrick Tai, Josh Thewlis, Paul Vaughan, Danny Walker, Max Wood, Luke Yates
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