Warrington Wolves will certainly be without at least one forward for next week’s game against Castleford Tigers, with Sam Burgess offering an injury update after his side’s loss to Leigh Leopards.
The Leopards beat Warrington for the second time in a month and Leigh’s run of form has seen them draw level on points with the Wolves, who do still have a game in hand, albeit against Hull KR.
Sam Burgess spoke to Sky Sports post-match and explained his side had plenty to clean up in their performance but speaking his post-match presser, shared on the club’s YouTube channel, he spoke more on their injury woes.
Kelepi Tanginoa had pulled out in the warm-up meaning that James Bentley shifted from 18th man to the bench but he’d go on to fail a HIA, ruling him out of next week’s clash against Castleford.
Concerns remain over whether Tanginoa will be fit, with Burgess explaining: “He’s had a bit of a grumbly knee for a couple of weeks.
“He’s been there or thereabouts and trained all week, he got through training but it’s something that the medical team will take care of over the next few days.”
Warrington Wolves taking careful approach with injury returns
Bentley moving from 18th man to the bench resulted in Warrington naming full-back Cai Taylor-Wray as their new 18th man, with the speedster yet to play since April.
He has been named to the 21-man squad the last two weeks but ultimately has not played, however, the fact he was fit enough to be named as 18th man, albeit at short notice, is surely a positive sign.
“He did a full weeks training this week so at a push, he could have played,” Burgess admitted.
“I’ve just found that giving some of those (returning) players an extra week off or an extra week of training just gives us a bit more safety.”
On that decision, he added: “It’s just a calmer approach rather than pushing everyone to the start line and getting recurring injuries.
“Hopefully, we’ll build a healthy squad over the next couple of months and that will stand us in good stead.”
Captain George Williams is one of those the club are hopeful will also return in the coming weeks and months, something that would also add to their spine and their play-off chances.
Head Coach, Sam Burgess reflects on yesterday’s loss in Round 20 💬
Full press post-match conference available on YouTube here: https://t.co/2qXUjwqQOM pic.twitter.com/3b5bYMbcOu
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) July 26, 2026
