Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess, after a huge 66-0 victory over Huddersfield Giants, has revealed both injury boosts and concerns.
A fantastic 12-try display ensured the Wolves can still finish the season in second-place, staying just two points behind Hull KR.
A Matty Ashton hat-trick, as well as doubles for Cai Taylor-Wray and Matty Nicholson, helped Wire on their way against a weak Huddersfield side.
Following the game, Burgess told Sky Sports: “We wanted to put our best foot forward in every aspect of the game, regardless of how the game turned out. So, yeah, I thought this was the plan and it was a disciplined performance, yeah.”
Asked whether his team competed hard during the course of the match, he added: “Well, that’s their job. That’s their job to do that. I wanted them to stay on task for the whole game rather than.
“There was probably a period in the second half where we got a bit scrappy but they got back on task which was a good thing.”
Sam Burgess reveals Dufty timeframe and season-ending injury concern for Warrington Wolves
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With Matt Dufty out, Cai Taylor-Wray has had an opportunity at full-back for Warrington Wolves, and Burgess praised him, saying: “I spent a bit of time with him in pre-season and obviously he’s been okay.
“He’s actually only been with us since the middle of this year so yeah he’s a great little player, he’s a respectful young man and we enjoy having him in the team.
“It’s looking like we’ll get Dufty back next week so he’s done a great job for us and I’ve no problems in using him down the track. But he’s exciting, Arron Lindop is another and there are some other great players coming underneath.
“We’ve worked hard to get into finals contention. We’d have liked to be in that top two, it’s probably out of our reach at the moment, or it’s out of our hands, but we thought it’d be really hard to be in the position we are, so it’s exciting, it’s happened to me for us, so we’re going to enjoy it.”
Getting Matt Dufty back would, of course, be a hugely welcome boost for the side, who will be hoping for Grand Final glory next month.
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However, it’s not all good news on the injury front.
Lachlan Fitzgibbon has a shoulder injury, and Burgess revealed in the post-match press conference, via Total RL: “It’s not looking too positive.
“We don’t know the full extent of it yet but he had a consultation today.
“We’ll probably know a bit more in the next week or so, but it’s likely he won’t play again this year.”
