Sam Burgess hits out at “rumours” over Perth gig after Warrington Wolves lose to Hull KR

After his side lost to Hull KR, Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has hit out at “rumours” linking him to the Perth Bears job.

Warrington fell to a 31-12 defeat with Mikey Lewis’ 79th-minute drop goal capping a comfortable win for Hull KR, albeit in somewhat sloppy fashion.

Having taken the lead early on against a very depleted Warrington side, Hull KR looked prime to kick on but they couldn’t truly take advantage as the Wolves stuck at it, something Sam Burgess commended his side for.

“I was really happy with the effort from the players,” Burgess said in his post-match interview on Sky Sports.

“We had a couple of missed tackles for the points in the first half but I thought we stuck together and tried extremely hard so I’m proud of them.”

Warrington Wolves suffer another injury

The Englishman is set to lead Warrington out at Wembley for the second year in a row and his strong start to his coaching career has seen him linked with jobs Down Under, including the upcoming gig at Perth Bears who enter the NRL in 2027.

Per reports, Burgess will be the assistant to Mal Meninga but the Warrington Wolves boss would not be drawn on any questioning, labelling them as “just rumours”.

“You know that rumours are just rumours don’t you,” was his initial response when quizzed by Jenna Brooks.

He added: “It’s just a rumour for now so there’s nothing confirmed and nothing happening at the moment. A rumour is just a rumour.”

It would be a major blow for Wire if they were to lose Burgess, who is still contracted for 2026, but another blow came as Oli Leyland suffered an injury after just 12 minutes.

On that, Burgess said: “We’re so used to it now that it’s normal practice for us. I just hope he’s okay but it’s not looking great.

“We can’t buy a trick at the moment but the good thing with the players is that they never give in and will never complain about it. We just keep going after the contest and we’ll look forward to a couple of week’s time.”

A CLINICAL performance from Hull KR as they defeat Warrington Wolves 🙌 pic.twitter.com/BIMkowBdwC

— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) May 23, 2025