Sam Burgess reflects on Warrington Wolves’ Grand Final loss as drought continues

Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has expressed pride that his side did not fold in the second half of their Super League Grand Final defeat against Wakefield Trinity.

Wakefield led 19-0 at the half, the second-largest Grand Final lead after 40 minutes in the competition’s history, but Wire would win the second half though they ultimately fell to a 23-10 defeat.

It means their 71-year drought for a league title, which dates all the way back to 1955, continues and it also marks the third final lost in three years of Sam Burgess’ tenure.

“Physically, the first half we lost,” a devastated Burgess admitted when speaking to Sky Sports post-match as he reflected on the game.

“The stats are relatively similar in terms of possession, completion, but just territory-wise they beat us physically. They’ve had a red-hot final series the past eight weeks they have been very good, and they’re going to be very hard to beat today.

“I’m very proud of my group, very proud of them. It could have quite easy ended up messy today but we worked hard in the second half. We didn’t split up, we stuck together, we competed, it just hurts, to be honest.”

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Warrington Wolves boss says ‘no regrets’ despite Grand Final loss

Asked if he had any regrets, Burgess was clear that there were none as he once again underlined his pride at the fact the scoreline did not become as wide as the first half would have suggested.

Burgess said: “I don’t think I’ve got any regrets, I mean, there would have been regrets if it hadn’t been for messy but we showed a lot of spirit in the second half.

“No doubt there are a lot of disappointments because we lost a physical battle early, and I don’t have much regrets, I’m proud of just the way it feels today.”

Looking ahead to year four, for which he is not formally contracted for yet but is widely expected to sign a new deal, Burgess said:”All the challenges are to take that next step. We’re continuously looking to improve, trying to get better and everything like that, but it’ll be a long few weeks away, and we’ll get back to work in a month or so, and yeah, we’ll take the next step.”

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