After what has been a long-running saga, Warrington Wolves finally confirmed Matt Dufty’s departure on Wednesday night.
Dufty was released by mutual consent and rather than sticking around in England, the full-back is set to return home to Australia, bringing an end to his three-and-a-half year stint in Super League. The 29-year-old had an up and down time at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, it’s fair to say.
He impressed through 2023 and 2024 with his form in the latter season earning him a place on the shortlist for the Man of Steel award. Last year was tougher for the former St George Illawarra Dragons man, though, who struggled for form before being dropped by Sam Burgess for disciplinary reasons after missing a recovery session.
There has been plenty of rumours about his next step in the game, with Widnes Vikings one of the clubs being linked with a move for the full-back, who was stripped of the number one shirt in pre-season and replaced by Cai Taylor-Wray.
But, we now know he will be heading back down under, with his next step beyond that still to be confirmed.
What next for Warrington, though? Well, with Dufty leaving what is no doubt a sizeable hole on the salary cap, his exit gives the Wolves options as they ready themselves for a big year under Burgess.
In giving Taylor-Wray the number one shirt, the club have demonstrated that they believe he could be ready to make the jump to become a first-team regular. However, the wriggle room they now have could lead to them to bringing in a more experienced option should they deem it necessary.
Alternatively, they could look to strengthen elsewhere in the side. Here’s a look at how they could look to replace Dufty.
An experienced full-back
As mentioned above, Taylor-Wray is the man who has been handed the number one shirt and Warrington think very highly of the young talent. The 19-year-old has been in and around the first-team picture for a couple of years now, having made his debut for the club in 2024 and he made five appearances under Burgess last season, too.
He’ll feel as though he is ready and the Wolves clearly trust him enough to give him the number one shirt, but if the club feel as though they could do with someone a little more experienced in the role, who can act as a mentor for Taylor-Wray, they have that option.
It should also be said that with Dufty leaving, there is a notable lack of depth in the number one spot in Cheshire, with wingers Josh Thewlis and Matty Ashton the next best options.
A prop
Warrington have brought in two props over the off-season with Toafofoa Sipley and Liam Byrne landing at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. But, they were due to bring in a third with Tevita Pangai Jr signing for the club before pulling out of the switch.
The cap space means they can now go out and find an alternative to the former Catalans Dragons man, who is now trying to make his way in rugby union. Warrington were short of size and power last season through the middle and while Sipley and Byrne go some way towards improving that, they are still lacking the explosive presence that Pangai Jr would have brought.
The Wire have brought in James Bentley, Sam Stone and Kelepi Tanginoa to improve their back-row and Ben Currie and Luke Yates present loose-forward options. Another prop might just make sense then.
Go big on 2027
There’s always the chance that Warrington Wolves could keep their powder dry for now and look to use the cap space to their advantage for 2027. We already know that George Williams is leaving to return to the NRL at the end of the season, so would it make sense to leave as much space as possible for a brand new high profile stand-off? That’s an option, of course.
It should also be noted that at this point in time, Currie, James Harrison, Joe Philbin, Yates, Marc Sneyd, Sam Powell and Toby King are all off contract. Decisions will be made in the coming months there, but a major rebuild could well be on the cards.
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