Warrington Wolves boss Sam Burgess is paying no attention to the table despite Wire going top of Super League after their dominant win over Leigh Leopards.
Wire won 42-6 in blustery conditions at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and the Wolves’ ability to adapt to those conditions, having struggled in similar circumstances last week at Headingley, pleased the Warrington boss.
Speaking post-match on Sky Sports, he said: “The conditions might not come across on TV, but it’s fairly windy down here so, I’m happy that we managed that better this week because last week, we struggled in the wind, especially in the second half.
“I thought it was a good performance all around. We were professional. We’re aware that they’re undermanned and they’ve got a lot of players injured at the moment but we still had to be physical and get our job done, so I’m happy with that.”
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Marc Sneyd’s selection explained
Perhaps one reason why Wire were able to adapt to those conditions was the fact that Marc Sneyd partnered George Williams in the halves with young talent Ewan Irwin left out because of a ‘bump’.
On Sneyd’s Man of the Match performance and his selection, Burgess said: “He’s a very experienced player. We’re grateful to have him. Ewan Irwin didn’t play tonight. He picked up a bit of a bump last week but we’ve got the luxury of Mark.
“I can rest Ewan if I need to, but he’s a wonderful guy to have around. He’s attitude is first class, and he’s a very, very talented player.”
Irwin is one of several young prospects at the club and Burgess pointed to the vast number of players who are currently coming through or have done in recent years, such as starting prop Luke Thomas, when talking about the positive feeling at the club.
“We’re really happy with our youth development system here, and Gary Chambers, obviously, is very passionate about that.
“I’ve shown that I’ll play the boys when they’re ready to go. We had a few on display tonight, but it’s been a story since they arrived. It’s been wonderful. I think it’s set up now for a lot more younger players to come through, and we can see that there’s great opportunity here.”
Warrington Wolves boss dismisses table-topping talk
The win means that Warrington Wolves go top of Super League despite playing a game less than most of their competitors, however, Burgess was keen not to get carried away and keep the focus internal.
“It’s very early in the year,” he said, adding: “We’ve worked hard on trying to close the gap on who we are as a team and other groups and we’ve just continued to get better.
“We’re aware it’s a very long year, and we’re just happy to keep picking wins up at the moment and improving as a group.”
He also shut down any talk of Warrington being top right now after it was pointed out to him that Wire led Super League after round 11 in 2024 and after round two in 2025.
“It shows you that it means absolutely nothing,” he responded.
“History will tell you that. I’m not too worried about the league table. I’m just worried about improving, worried about our group, making sure the players are challenging themselves. I’m looking forward to getting better every day.”
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— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) April 4, 2026
