Warrington Wolves head coach's 'to-do list' for 2023

2023 is a big year for Warrington Wolves and Daryl Powell. His first year in charge at The Halliwell Jones Stadium saw them finish 11th. The squad has been overhauled and hopes are high within the club that 2023 will at the very least be a improvement.

Warrington Wolves' defence was one of their worst last year. They conceded 24 points per game on average in 2022. Richard Marshall has been promoted to the first-team coaching staff with a specific brief of galvanising his side off the ball.

George Williams was often frustrated during the Rugby League World Cup. Josh Drinkwater will play alongside him at Warrington Wolves in 2023.  Josh Drink water and George Williams will have a bigger pack to play behind. Warringtons head coach wants to find ways of freeing up George William.

Joe Philbin will return from injury and there will be nine players with senior appearances under their belt to play in the three starting middle unit positions. Josh McGuire is a shoo-in for the loose forward role, James Harrison and Paul Vaughan look favourites to start in front row, Sam Kasiano and Tom Mikaele would fill the bench spots. Phil bin, Gil Dudson, Joe Bullock and youngster Luke Thomas could find their route into the 17 blocked. Jamie Reddecliff and Bobby Shingler will want to break in when they can.

Last year, half of Warrington Wolves first-team squad were in the final year of their deals. Stefan Ratchford, Riley Dean and Robbie Mulhern were not offered new deals and it was a major factor in their decline. This year's situation is less drastic but Powell will be wary about letting things drag on for too long. Daryl Clark, Ben Currie and Peter Mata’utia are the only players who are in that position. Greg Minikin and Matty Russell will want to secure their futures. Ellis Longstaff is on loan at Salford.

Powell gave young players an opportunity in the first team last season. Josh Thewlis, Connor Wrench, Leon Hayes, Luke Thomas, Adam Holroyd and the like established themselves as key members of the side. Five youth products got their senior debuts in 2022 and eight of them got full-time deals.