Warrington Wolves star “emotional” after Challenge Cup win as he makes retirement admission 

One Warrington Wolves standout labelled their Challenge Cup semi-final win over Leigh Leopards as “emotional” as he conceded that he isn’t sure how long he has left in the sport.

Warrington overcame Leigh on a scorching day in St Helens as they won 21-14 thanks to tries from Rodrick Tai, Paul Vaughan and Toby King, as well as nine points from Marc Sneyd’s boot.

Sneyd had been recalled for the game, overcoming his fractured eye socket in quick time to play in the contest but his clearing kick on the first set got charged down by Edwin Ipape who scooped up the ball and went on to score.

It was a disaster start for the Wolves who trailed 4-0 after just 59 seconds but they responded well and were much the better side for the majority of the game.

One of their standouts was try-scorer Paul Vaughan with club captain George Williams, doing punditry for the BBC, describing it as the Australian’s best game in a Warrington shirt.

Speaking post-match, the off-contract Aussie spoke emotionally on the team’s effort, his own future and how the “window is now” for Warrington Wolves to win silverware.

“Window is now” claims Warrington Wolves man

In the immediate seconds after the 21-14 win, Robbie Hunter-Paul spoke with Vaughan who took a moment to compose himself and confirmed:  “It’s just emotional.”

He’d add: “Seeing all the boys put in so much effort in. It’s a great effort from the boys who have been working so hard.

“We’ve been under pressure with some injuries the last couple of weeks but the boys have grown a strong bond and we’re ready to get our season rolling now.”

Vaughan’s performance was one to behold, particularly in the heat with the middles doing plenty of the hard yards and when asked where the fire came from to spur that on, Vaughan paid credit to Sam Burgess in comments that could be interpreted as either a retirement or exit admission.

The 34-year-old said: “Sam said something to me that resonated before the game. We were playing for such a big prize at the end of today and I don’t know how much time I got left.  I just don’t want to let these opportunities go to waste.”

Vaughan is without a deal beyond the current season and at 34 has over 200 NRL and over 60 Warrington games under his belt. How many more opportunities he gets to make major finals is yet to be seen.

He ended his interview with a rallying cry to his teammates, announcing that their “window is now”, stating: “We’ve got such a great bond here with the boys. We can build something really special and the window is now for us. We had a great year last year but the window’s now.

“We really just want to put a couple of good performances in and get a roll on.”

🐺 @WarringtonRLFC secure that last place in the @Betfred #ChallengeCup Final!#ChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/oc3vxEIYGd

— Betfred Challenge Cup (@TheChallengeCup) May 11, 2025