Warrington Wolves 2024 season review
Overview
After a disappointing 2023 by their standards, and with a rookie coach coming in, Warrington were something of an unknown quantity coming into 2024.
However, they dismissed any doubters in some style as they challenged strongly on all three fronts. In Super League, they finished just four points behind league leaders Wigan and narrowly missed out on second spot to Hull KR.
The latter then defeated them by just two points in the play-off semi-final, while Wigan were their nemesis in the Challenge Cup, beating the Wire 18-8 in the final at Wembley.
Warrington got off to a losing start in Super League, going down 16-10 to the Dragons in Perpignan in round one, before a four-game winning streak was ended by the same opponents at home.
The rest of the year they were remarkably consistent, and they only suffered back-to-back defeats once, in rounds 13 and 14, and the first of those losses was by a single point to Wigan whilst playing with a weakened lineup ahead of the cup final.
As for the play-offs, they rode their luck in the elimination final, as they edged past St Helens 23-22 in Golden Point, but they had no luck the following week against Hull KR. Joe Burgess’ controversial try and Josh Thewlis’ two missed conversions ultimately proved the difference, but to reach a Challenge Cup Final and finish within a whisker of Old Trafford will give the Wire fans plenty of optimism for next season.
Highs
A cup final, a Man of Steel nominee, three players in the Dream Team and a host of breakout youngsters are just for starters.
Matt Dufty was the Man of Steel candidate for his outstanding consistency at full-back, while hooker Danny Walker and Matty Ashton joined him in the Dream Team.
As for the youngsters, Arron Lindop, Cai Taylor-Wray and Max Wood all made huge strides in 2024, while Leon Hayes was looking the part, too, before injury ended his season prematurely.
Warrington were the standout team at both ends of the field, too, finishing top of the charts for points scored and least points conceded,while on the results front, their 4-40 mauling of Wigan on their own patch was a huge statement win.
And a special mention must go to them for their final three rounds of the regular season, as they conceded just two points and racked up 136 in the process.
Lows
The obvious place to start is the semi-final defeat at Hull KR. That agonising two-point loss is one that’ll haunt them over the off-season, given the controversial nature of the Robins’ second try and Josh Thewlis’ two missed conversions.
There was the cup final loss as well of course, but that one may be easier to stomach as Wigan were definitely deserving winners on the day.
Player-wise, Leon Hayes’ season-ending injury was a blow, while Matty Nicholson’s imminent move to the NRL is another disappointment, despite being widely expected.
Overall though, there are very few lows to take from Warrington’s campaign, as they made huge progress in Sam Burgess’ first year as a head coach.
Reasons to be positive in 2025
The Wire bounced back in style in 2024, and there’s no reason to think they can’t be up there again next season.
The young players that came through this campaign will all be better for having a year’s experience under their belts, and the same can be said for coach Sam Burgess in his second season at the helm.
Opponents-wise, they beat everyone in Super League at least once in 2024 – with the surprising exception of Salford – and they posted some big scores.
Two new players have been confirmed for next year as well – Dan Russell and Oli Leyland. And while neither are huge headline-grabbers, if the 2024 recruitment is anything to go by, the Wire have got themselves another couple of gems for next year.
My 2024 prediction – 5th
Final 2024 position – 3rd (+2)
I was only two places out, but I’ll admit I was pretty wrong about Warrington this year. I expected them to scrape into the top six, but they led the table at times during the campaign and there was never any danger of them missing out on the play-offs. An outstanding campaign from the Wire, and they’re a shoo-in for the top six again next year.
