Warrington Wolves signing Toafofoa Sipley has spoken on the huge draw of playing under Sam Burgess after arriving from the NRL.
Sipley was confirmed as a Warrington Wolves player back in August with the New Zealand-born prop signing from Manly Sea Eagles and even though he’ll turn 31 in January and is just six years younger than Sam Burgess, learning from the Wire head coach was the big draw to signing with Warrington Wolves.
“To learn under Sammy Burgess was probably the big seller,” Sipley told club media when he explained his biggest motivations behind joining Warrington Wolves.
“He’s achieved so much in his career and to learn from him is the biggest reason why I’ve come over.
“I’m looking forward to learning from Sammy and to see where I can add value to this team. It’s a real young crew so I’m looking forward to the journey ahead.”
Warrington Wolves signing identifies silverware as main goal
Sipley will form a relatively new-look forward pack with Liam Byrne and James Bentley also arriving at Warrington Wolves. The 30-year-old forward spoke briefly on negotiations and what fans can expect him to bring.
He explained: “Him (Burgess) and Gary (Chambers) were pretty good. We had good communication and I guess they earmarked me as someone to come over and add value, and that’s what I want to do.
“I’m keen to experience what Super League is like. It’s kind of suited for the big fellas like me so it’s good to come add value and add my size to the pack.”
In terms of bringing over NRL experience, Sipley was humble and explained: “At this stage it’s about trying to earn the right and find my feet. It’s not that I want to come in and tell people what to do, I want to use the pre-season to build connections and grind out with the boys. If they ever pick my ear then I’ll try help where I can.”
In terms of his 2026 goals, he stated simply “success”, before expanding on what that could mean: “I guess being 30, I want to look back at my career and walk away with something and it’s bold to say a premiership but that’s always the goal, but before that there’s a process which is building connections and making sure we get a good pre-season under our belt.”
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