2 weeks Ago
And although he was happy enough with what he saw the Easter loss at Leigh Leopards on Saturday to give those that played another chance against St Helens tomorrow night, he has called upon his players to show more of a ruthless streak. The ‘trilogy’ of three matches against their neighbours in the space of 34 days concludes at The Halliwell Jones Stadium with The Wire looking to close out a ‘clean sweep’ of victories and extend their winning record over Saints to seven matches. The last of those wins came just 17 days ago in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, but defeats to Leigh and Hull FC since then plus the loss of talisman George Williams to injury has brought about concern aplenty.
With a Magic Weekend date with Wigan Warriors and a reunion with the Leopards in the Challenge Cup semi-finals on the horizon, things are not about to get any easier but Burgess is adamant that, with a few small tweaks, his side will soon be back on the right track. Wire and Saints met just over a fortnight ago in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, with Sam Burgess' side coming out on top (Image: Richard Walker) “It was our first week without George, so those combinations will get better and stronger,” he said. “When we’re creating opportunities, we’ve got to be more ruthless at taking them.
“We’ve not really had a blow-out score this year whereas we’d had a number of them last year. “You can put it down to a few things – our half-back situation with different combinations that have taken a bit of time – but believe it or not, we’re happy with where we’re at. “We’re grinding away and when things start running a bit smoother for us and we can get a bit more consistency, we’ll be a better side for this.
“It’s certainly been a different start but we’re actually enjoying the challenge. “We’ve got a big test with Saints tomorrow, Magic next and then the semi-final – it’s a great little period for us so let’s see how we go.” The one change Burgess is considering making to his side is whether or not to bring James Harrison back into the fold, with the prop having recovered quicker than expected from a shoulder injury.
His return in place of half-back Oli Leyland is the only change to this week’s 21-man squad and Burgess says the England international is desperate to be involved. “He’s in contention – he’s recovered a bit better than expected,” he said. “He’s a tough bloke and he wants to play.
“He’s been knocking my door down wanting to play, so he’ll be there or thereabouts.” James Harrison is in contention to return from a shoulder injury (Image: Richard Walker) With Leyland out of contention, Danny Walker will get another chance to partner Marc Sneyd in the halves against Paul Wellens’ side after Burgess made the surprising decision to move him out of his natural hooking position at Leigh Sports Village despite the presence of Leyland, Stefan Ratchford, Sam Powell and youngster Ewan Irwin in the squad. Irwin will be closer to making his Super League debut this week and if he is needed, the Wire boss is confident the 17-year-old academy product will be able to handle the occasion.
“I’ll run him as 18th man this week to give him some experience of being close to the team,” Burgess said. “Ewan is a talented player. He’s been very consistent for our academy and reserves.
“He’s a bit of a project for us so we’re trying to expose him to a bit of the occasion and the crowd. “It will be good for his development to see what goes on on a game day and if I need to throw him in, he’s seen it all before. “He’ll naturally find his way into the team at some point but I won’t put him under too much pressure or stressed.
“He’s a good bloke and he’s very composed, so he’ll handle whatever comes his way.” Young half-back Ewan Irwin during this morning's captain's run (Image: Joe Richardson) On Walker, Burgess remained non-committal about whether or not he is being seen as the solution at stand-off for the entirety of Williams’ absence but believes his time spent in the halves will make him a better hooker moving forward. And based on the tongue-in-cheek nickname Burgess says he has given himself, the Warringtonian is clearly enjoying the challenge.
“He’s really enjoying his time – he’s calling himself the new Benji Marshall at training! I played with Benji in his prime in 2010, and there’s a bit of a difference,” he said. “Danny’s a very intelligent player and when he gets back to playing nine, I think this will make his nine play a little better. “He’ll understand the halves role a bit deeper so it will be good for his development over time.
“He’s a great defender, very agile and he understands and reads the game very well. “We saw bits of it last week, when I thought he had some really good touches on the ball. He’s only going to get better.
“Whether we run with him there for the full period that George is out, I don’t know yet but he’ll be better than he was last week.” Having turned out in the halves during the defeat at Leigh Leopards on Saturday, Danny Walker will reprise the role against St Helens (Image: Richard Walker) The decision to play Walker ahead of more established half-back options certainly caused plenty of debate among supporters, with many feeling Leyland could consider himself hard done by. The former London Broncos man has not featured for the first team since the Las Vegas defeat to Wigan Warriors and has instead turned out for the club’s reserves and on dual-registration with Widnes Vikings.
He played at full-back for Allan Coleman’s side in their 10-10 Championship draw with Oldham on Good Friday, and Burgess outlined what he wants to see from the 23-year-old before he considers bringing him back into the fold. “Oli’s very talented but we just want him to continue working on his defence. We’ve challenged him to do that,” he said.
“He played full-back last week at Widnes so we didn’t see much of it but in the reserves the other week against Hull, we wanted to see his defence improve. “He brings a lot and he’ll probably be feeling a bit unfortunate at not getting a game at the minute, but that’s the way it is. “I want to see more from him on the defensive side of things – we’ve spoken about that and have been pretty honest with him about it.
“He’s on board and is working on it.” Oli Leyland has not featured for the first team since the defeat in Las Vegas (Image: SWPix.com) Burgess said he had issued a similar challenge to Leyland’s fellow new arrival for 2025 Dan Russell, who came back into the side on Saturday for his first Super League appearance since the Round Four loss to Wakefield Trinity.
And as well as a reward for the progress he felt he’d seen from the Papua New Guinea international, it was felt incumbent second-rower Adam Holroyd was in need of a rest. “Similar to Oli, we challenged Dan about some of his defensive stuff and improving in some small areas,” Burgess said. “He’s gone away and worked hard at that and we’ve seen some improvement.
“Adam Holroyd has been doing great for us, but his body is getting a little bit beaten-up. “He plays at 100 miles an hour every week without a sense of preservation for his body, so it’s been good to give him a bit of time and also get Dan some time on the field.”.
