Warrington Wolves team news before Catalans Dragons clash

Head coach Sam Burgess will have second rowers Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Ben Currie available to him again for the game at The Halliwell Jones Stadium – and there could be more good news on the horizon.

The Wire boss confirmed half-backs George Williams and Josh Drinkwater were both “very close to full fitness” after ankle and thigh injuries respectively, with the former said to be in with a chance of returning to face Les Dracs.

Williams' issue has limited him to just two appearances this year, while Drinkwater has missed the past three matches.

However, Burgess insists no player will be risked unnecessarily, with Stefan Ratchford and Leon Hayes primed to continue in the halves should Williams lose his battle for fitness.

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Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Ben Currie will both return to the Wire team to face Catalans. Both have missed the past two matches for differing personal reasons (Image: SWPix.com)

“We’ve got a few days until the game so we’re just going to wait and see how George goes,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“Lachlan and Ben are both back – that’s still the case.

“The predicament we’re in is that we’ve got George and Drinky both very close to full fitness.

“I won’t risk anyone – it’s so early in the season that I don’t need to put anybody out there who’s at risk.

“We won’t take any unnecessary chances at the moment – Leon is managing things really well and Stef has done a great job since he’s come in.

“We’ll see a bit more how we’re shaping up in the next couple of days.

“There’s competition for spots, which is really healthy.

“Everyone who has come in has proven they can handle the position, which is great for the squad moving forward.

“It’s a long year so we’ll need to use everyone again at some point but it’s a good position we’re in.

“It’s very fluid, though – you’ll get a couple in and then have a couple out so I’m learning to be pretty balanced about it.”

Another of the dilemmas Burgess faces is whether to stick or twist in the centres, with Rodrick Tai having stated his case upon his return to fitness.

The Papua New Guinea international made a try-scoring Wire debut in the 42-0 Challenge Cup victory over London Broncos on Saturday having recovered from a knee injury sustained during pre-season.

Whether or not Tai keeps his spot to make his Super League bow or makes way for Connor Wrench’s return is now a decision Burgess admits he is thinking very seriously about.

Rodrick Tai could make his Super League debut on Saturday having scored on his full Wire bow against London Broncos in the Challenge Cup on Saturday (Image: Mike Boden)

“I’ve got a bit of a selection headache in that right centre spot,” he said.

“If Rod plays again this week, he’s just got to build on what he started with last week, but it’s a great position to be in as a coach.

“We’ve got a couple of good strike centres we can pick and we can shuffle them around if need be when there’s injuries.

“We’ve got depth in that position which was a bit of an issue last year, so we’re healthy there.

“For Rod, he’s got to keep learning our systems and structures.

“He’s moved into a completely different environment as well and is acclimatising to all that. He’s settling in really nicely so the longer he’s there, the more comfortable he’ll become.”

The displays of Wrench, Hayes and their fellow academy graduate Adam Holroyd have been a highlight of the campaign thus far, with the latter two having started the past five matches in a row, all five of which have resulted in victories.

Max Wood, Arron Lindop and Tom Whitehead are among the other youngsters to have been given first-team chances by Burgess this year and he says their performances have removed any sort of risk attached with them being called upon in future.

“It’s a part I’m really pleased with,” he said.

“They showed great potential through pre-season, but you never really know until they play a couple of games.

“They’ve done themselves proud and haven’t let the team down, so there’s no risk now in giving them a game.

“We know they can hold their own, so it’s a good place to be.”

Leon Hayes has started the past five games in the halves (Image: Mike Boden)

Wood will have to wait at least a couple of weeks for more game time in a Wire shirt after it was confirmed on Tuesday that he had joined Bradford Bulls on a short-term loan deal.

Burgess praised the 19-year-old forward for being honest about his desire to keep playing in order to build on the three first-team games he has played so far in 2024.

As such, he felt it only fair to facilitate him getting that elsewhere with senior options currently plentiful in his position.

“He came to me and said he wanted to go and get some game time,” Burgess said of Wood.

“We’ve got a few numbers back at the moment so he probably just misses out for the next couple of weeks, and he wants to play.

“For Max, he needs to keep playing to keep improving so I granted him that request.

“It was great ownership from him to come and ask to keep playing, so we’ve got to do that for him. It will be great for him in the long run.”

Max Wood will spend the next fortnight on loan at Championship side Bradford Bulls (Image: Mike Boden)