Warrington Wolves star breaks silence on Sam Burgess NRL links as honest verdict delivered

Warrington captain George Williams says he doesn’t think Wolves boss Sam Burgess will become the head coach of new NRL franchise Perth Bears, but admitted he may well join another club Down Under.

Perth will enter the NRL in 2027, with talks now well underway about who will lead the side in their first campaign in the competition.

Current Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur has been among the frontrunners in the media, but last week, Burgess himself openly admitted his interest in the job.

The 36-year-old spent over a decade Down Under as a player, establishing himself as an icon with South Sydney Rabbitohs, and started his coaching journey in Australia before taking on his first senior leading role at Warrington ahead of 2024.

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‘I reckon that decision will have to be made pretty soon’

Wire skipper Williams is currently out injured with an ankle injury, and formed part of Sky Sports’ team on day two at Magic Weekend – where Warrington lost out 22-20 against his former employers Wigan Warriors.

Williams made a guest appearance on Sky’s ‘The Bench‘ podcast at St James’ Park, with the episode released on Tuesday morning.

Unsurprisingly, he was asked about the potential of Burgess departing for Perth, and said: “That’s controversial, I’ll be honest, because he’s off-contract at the end of 2026.

“A lot will depend on how we go for the remainder of the year, but I reckon that decision will have to be made pretty soon.

“Sam’s been spoken about, Brad Arthur’s been spoken about.

“(I think) he’ll either stay at Warrington or he might go back to the NRL, but not with the Perth Bears.”

Under Burgess, the Wolves reached the Challenge Cup final last year as well as the Super League play-off semi-finals.

They take on Leigh Leopards in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup this weekend, but in terms of Super League, sit ninth after ten rounds having already lost five games.

Williams maintains their aims haven’t changed this season though, adding: “The goal’s not changed, we’re still trying to win the Grand Final. That’s not changed and it’s never changed at Warrington, because it’s never been done.

“We were striving to finish top and do it that way. Now, we might have to do it a bit of a different route through the play-offs and do it the hard way.

“Last year, we finished third. If we can be in and around the play-offs, it’s all about momentum. At the minute, we’ve got none.”

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