Super League: What went wrong for Warrington Wolves in 2022? , rugby league news

Moving on to Thursday’s Betfred Super League game at the home of the Toulouse Olympics, live on Sky Sports, the Warrington Wolves are 10th on the table.

They are currently four points above the relegation spot occupied by their Round 23 opponents and a 32-6 loss to Wigan Warriors last week means they have now won only two of their last 12 matches.

That was not how 2022 was supposed to be for Wolves. The star-studded team was expected to challenge for a long-awaited Super League Grand Final victory, led by Daryl Powell, a man regarded as one of the best coaches in the competition.

Instead, Warrington find themselves six points away from the play-off places and are in danger of engaging in a battle for relegation with four games from the regular season. The question is, what went wrong for the club this year?

Brown: They’re Mentally Broken

One of the most damaging statistics for Warrington this year has been that he has not conceded more than 30 points in a game during 2021, yet has done so 10 times this year and has lost all of those matches in the process .

They have also tended to accept tries, especially in the final quarter of matches, and sees former Wolves half-back Kevin Brown as a sign that the team is feeling the burden of hope that has been placed on them this year. Has been.

Brown, who spent three seasons at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, believes problems finding the right combination in the half and England international George Williams not playing at his instinctive best are also behind his woes.

“At first, I think they are mentally broken,” said Brown. sky game As guest pundit during the defeat from Vigan. “Expectation has been a burden all year.

“They’re looking for a magic formula. They haven’t found it in parts; they’ve got Stephen Ratchford there, Peter Matt’utia has played there. George Williams, for me he plays on instinct.

“I remember [former Huddersfield Giants head coach] Nathan Brown told me, it doesn’t affect the team when you make a bad pass or a bad pass, when you’re out of the game, and I think he’s not playing his instincts.

“He’s been thinking about it too much, he’s taking too long, and I’ve thought about it all year round this Warrington side – I don’t think he has the firepower to go after people. The pack is big enough and strong enough to get battered in the middle.”

JJB: There are many reasons for this

Wolves have not been helped by injuries, particularly one that saw full-back or half-back Gareth Widop be expected to be out for the remainder of the campaign, trying to score in a Magic Weekend win over Catalan Dragons. Due to a shoulder injury during ,

Prolific effort Josh Charnley and England international prop Mike Cooper haven’t helped Wigan’s mid-season either, having replaced off-season signer Billy Magoulias, who returned to Australia for compassionate reasons in June.

Former Leeds Rhinos player and now assistant coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan, whose team beat Warrington 40-4 at Halliwell Jones Stadium in early June, believes it’s hard to pinpoint a single reason for his troubles.

“We’ve seen that squad [at the start of the season] And that said ‘see all the stars there’s on offer’ and a great coach in Daryl Powell who has won Coach of the Year multiple times, he will pull it all together and create a hybrid of his success [at Castleford Tigers],” said Jones-Buchanan sky game During the loss to Wigan.

“It hasn’t appeared, it hasn’t come together and it is there for many reasons. It can be technical, tactical, spiritual, environmental. There are too many questions to be asked.”

Jones-Buchanan also suggested that the Wolves have been just plain unlucky at times when it comes to making the most of the few opportunities created with the game still in balance.

“I don’t believe in luck,” said Jones-Buchanan. “You make your own luck and converting chances into points is really important for any team to perform well.”

Powell: Some Unreasonable Criticism

For his part, head coach Powell has repeatedly defended his squad and could not be happier with the work-rate his side showed in the Derby defeat to Wigan.

It was also another tough night for traveling Wolves fans, though Warrington boss was full of praise for the way the team stuck behind.

His focus is now on making sure he gets back on track for the first time since beating fellow French club Catalan Toulouse 36-10 at Newcastle last month and what he felt was some unfair criticism of his side .

“There’s a lot of bullshit going on at the moment, I thought the boys worked really hard [against Wigan] and struggled with everything,” said Powell sky game,

“I was really happy with the effort and commitment; I thought the fans were really behind the boys out there and they needed to keep doing that because you can see they are working really hard.

“We just need to win the game [against Toulouse], I think there is some unwarranted criticism; We are in a difficult position, there is some criticism that is fair, but we are looking to the future and creating something special.”

designated squad

Warrington Wolves: Kyle Amor, Matty Ashton, Joe Bullock, Daryl Clarke, Jason Clarke, Ben Curry, Matt Davis, Matt Duty, James Harrison, Oliver Holmes, Peter Matt’utia, Tom Mikel, Greg Minikin, Robbie Mulrone, Matty Nicholson, Stephen Ratchford, Josh Thewlis, Danny Walker, Jake Wardle, George Williams, Connor Wrench.

Toulouse Olympics: Latrelle Schumkel, Matthew Jussoum, Paul Marcone, Corey Norman, Lucas Albert, Romain Navarrett, Harrison Hansen, Dominic Pierroux, Anthony Marion, Eloi Pélissier, Maxim Puch, Joe Bretherton, Chris Hankinson, Justin Sangare, Matty Russell, Ollie Ashl-Bott, Nathan Peets, Lambert Belmas, Maxim Stefani, Tony Gigot, Daniel Alvaro.

Watch Warrington Wolves watch the Toulouse Olympics in an important Betfred Super League showdown live on the Sky Sports Arena on Thursday at 7.30pm (starting at 8pm).