As expected, Warrington Wolves full-back Matt Dufty has been selected to the club’s reserves with head coach Sam Burgess laying down a challenge.
Initially sat down for last week’s loss to Wigan Warriors due to an ‘internal discipline’ matter, Dufty was again omitted on Thursday night when Warrington hosted Catalans Dragons.
Stefan Ratchford would again play at full-back as Dufty watched on from the sidelines along with fellow senior absentees Toby King and Paul Vaughan.
Sam Burgess confirmed post-match that King was another who would play for the reserves, as has now been confirmed, whilst Vaughan’s absence was revealed to be as a result of a knock.
Matt Dufty and Toby King are the standout names in the squad named for Warrington Wolves’ reserves with rugby union convert Alfie Johnson and half-back pairing Ewan Irwin and Leon Hayes among others to have featured in Super League within the squad, as well as prop Max Wood.
What Warrington Wolves’ boss said on Matt Dufty
Speaking after the game to Sky Sports, Burgess again confirmed that Dufty’s omission was simply selection, arguing that “the guys were good enough last week and he’s got a good bit of work to gt himself back in the side”.
Burgess would elaborate further when speaking to the media post-match with the Warrington Guardian reporting those comments.
“He’s got to show me he wants to play at this club and play to our standards,” the head coach said post match, per The Warrington Guardian.
King was also confirmed to be a selection issue, however, the injury to Zack Gardner could prompt his return.
Speaking further on Dufty, the Warrington Wolves coach said: “If he gets a good performance out on Saturday, more than likely we’ll see him back in the side next week.
“Nobody believes in Matt Dufty more than me, but we have standards here and he just missed them.
“That’s where we’re going as a club. We’re changing a few things.”
📋 Today’s line-up for our Reserves clash against Wigan pic.twitter.com/DIWONEIgLb
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) August 16, 2025
