Warrington Wolves boss fires back at Joe Philbin criticism as injury confirmed

Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has responded to questions over fan criticism of prop forward Joe Philbin, defending his player staunchly.

Philbin, 31, has played his full career at Warrington with the Ireland international recently going past 250 appearances for the Wolves.

During his presser, which has been shared by BBC Radio Merseyside, before Saturday’s game against Toulouse, Sam Burgess was asked about fan criticism of Philbin but flipped the question on its head and asked the interviewer how they felt Philbin had fared, the response being: “I think he’s done alright personally.”

Burgess agreed as he went on to defend Philbin, stating: “Criticism, we’re not really aware of it, or I’m not, until it gets brought to my attention.

“That’s why I think it’s important to ask what everyone else brings.”

A follow-up question about Philbin did offer a different view as it was suggested that despite intending to make a big impact upon being substituted on, the prop got nervous and made mistakes against Hull KR in the Challenge Cup semi-final.

“I think you’re being harsh,” Burgess responded before explaining that Philbin will miss out this week but not as a result of performances.

“I don’t know why we’re talking so much about Joe Philbin. My point is that the more we talk about it, the more (of) an issue it becomes.

“Joe’s actually not playing this week so I hope no one thinks that’s a performance thing. He’s actually picked up a bit of a bump on his knee so everyone needs to be clear about that.”

Warrington Wolves contract renewals not considered yet

Burgess also was keen to make another thing clear and that was how important Philbin is for Warrington Wolves with the head coach declaring: “We love Joe, we love what he brings.

“There are parts of his game that have really improved and there are parts that he wants to keep working on.

“He’s a big part of our group and he’s been here a long time now as well. It’s a pivotal year for him so he’s working real hard off the field on a lot of things.”

The 2026 season is so pivotal for Philbin because he is one of several players off-contract and when asked if the prop was someone that he’d like to keep around, Burgess explained that such decisions will be made in time.

“We’re not really making those decisions just yet. We’ve got a couple of things that we’ve got to weigh up so as it stands, we’re not making any decision at the moment. We’re just sitting tight.”

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