Opposition Report - Warrington Wolves

The Betfred Super League 2023 season kicks off on Thursday night as Leeds Rhinos travel to the Halliwell Jones to take on Warrington Wolves in front of the Sky Sports cameras, kick off 8pm.

Tickets and travel for the game are available for all fans to buy now at tickets.therhinos.co.uk, over the phone on 0371 423 1315 and from the Leeds Rhinos Club Shop (Opening Hours). 

Preview our opponents Warrington below:

Pre-season recap

After a tough first season at the helm of the Wolves, Daryl Powell has made big changes to his squad for the 2023 season, focusing mainly on the forward pack.

Towards the end of last year, Warrington tried to stabilise their drop down the league rankings by adding Wigan's Matty Nicholson and NRL duo Thomas Mikaele and Matt Dufty to the team. Dufty made his presence known in the six of the Wire's final games last year, but a highlight was his four tries in a 38-36 defeat to Huddersfield. Nicholson is also a highly-rated youngster in the game and both players will be ones to watch this season.

Other off-season additions include four forwards from the NRL and Catalans Dragons. Sam Kasiano and Gil Dudson both left the south of France to join Powell's regime, while both State of Origin sides are represented in Josh McGuire and Paul Vaughan. The duo are also both Australia internationals.

Sam Kasiano

Paul Vaughan

Josh McGuire

Gil Dudson

Josh Drinkwater

Matty Russell

Coming off the back of the World Cup, Powell took his squad for warm-weather training in Portugal as part of their Super League preparations. Back on home soil, earlier this month they met with Leigh Leopards for Ben Currie's Testimonial match and the back-rower was one of four try scorers for the Wolves in the 22-10 win.

The young Wolves players also got a run out last Friday and faught for a 20-all draw with League One side Crusaders, thanks to all four tries being scored by brothers Josh and Jake Thewlis.

Tale of the tape 2022

Individual stats

Tries

Matty Ashton (13 tries)

Goals

Stefan Ratchford (64 goals)

Tackles

Daryl Clark (831 tackles)

Carries

George Williams (419 carries)

Penalties

Joe Bullock (17 penalties)

Team stats

• 98 tries (6th in SL in 2022)
• 8950 tackles (Most in SL in 2022)
• 293 offloads (2nd in SL in 2022)
• 316 dummy half runs (2nd in SL in 2022)
• 118 linebreaks (6th in SL in 2022)

*All stats supplied by OPTA

Previous matches

Thursday night's game will be the 65th meeting in Super League between Leeds and Warrington. Both clubs were part of the first Super League season in 1996 and have both been involved in every season since.

Based on form, the game is evenly matched as Leeds has 38 league wins, compared to the Wolves' 25 wins in all Super League meetings. Specifically looking at the Rhinos' away trips to Wilderspool and the Halliwell Jones, the visitors have taken the league points away from the Wire 14 times, including a five-game winning streak between 2002 and 2005.

The classic

Chev Walker produced a two-try display of great authority underlining the huge potential of the young Leeds centre as Daryl Powell’s side won on Leeds' final visit to Wilderspool at the start of the 2003 Super League season.

The nailbiter

Thursday's game will be the seventh time in Super League that Leeds have faced Warrington in the opening fixture, and 2018 was one for both fans to remember.

A tight arm-wrestle saw the Rhinos eventually come out as winners, thanks in large to Ryan Hall's brace.

The last meeting

Leeds hit top gear in 2022 as Rohan Smith’s side produced a resounding 40-4 win over Warrington at the Halliwell Jones.

Wingers Ash Handley and David Fusitu'a grabbed two tries each to put the visitors into a healthy lead, while Kruise Leeming, Bodene Thompson, Zak Hardaker and James Donaldson added to the points haul.

2023 Squad Numbers

1. Matt Dufty
2. Josh Thewlis
3. Pete Mata’utia
4. Stefan Ratchford
5. Matty Ashton
6. George Williams
7. Josh Drinkwater
8. James Harrison
9. Daryl Clark
10. Paul Vaughan
11. Ben Currie
12. Matty Nicholson
13. Josh McGuire
14. Sam Kasiano
15. Joe Philbin
16. Danny Walker
17. Gil Dudson

18. Tom Mikaele
19. Joe Bullock
20. Connor Wrench
21. Greg Minikin
22. Riley Dean (Loaned to Featherstone)
23. Tom Whitehead
24. Luke Thomas
25. Leon Hayes
26. Adam Holroyd
27. Aiden Doolan
28. Jack Darbyshire
29. Josh Lynch
30. Jake Thewlis 
31. Jamie Reddecliff
32. Bobby Shingler
33. Ellis Longstaff (Loaned to Salford)
34. Matty Russell

Connections

During the Super League era, there are plenty of players and coaches that have been part of both Leeds and Warrington teams down the years. Here are just a few that you might remember...

• Iestyn Harris - Signed for Leeds from Warrington in 1997 and went on to lift the Challenge Cup in 1999.
• Blake Austin - Man of Steel nominee in his first season with the Wolves, now in his second season with the Rhinos.
• Daryl Powell - Challenge Cup winner with Harris and coached at Headingley for three years. Moved to the Halliwell Jones from Castleford in 2022.
• Garreth Carvell - Picked up by Leeds from Stanningley and played four games from 1997-2000. Won two Challenge Cups with Warrington in 2009, 2010, 2012.
• Nick Fozzard - Local Leeds product signed in 1993 that eventually represented Great Britain. Also played 55 games for Warrington in the early 2000s.
• Rhys Evans - Product of the Warrington academy that played eight years for the Wolves. Joined Leeds on loan from Bradford for the 2020 season.
• Dom Crosby - Multiple Grand Final and Challenge Cup winner with Wigan that joined Warrington for two years. Signed for Leeds midway through 2018 and made seven appearances.
• Martin Masella - Prop ended a five year NRL career to sign for Leeds, where he was part of the club's first Super League Grand Final side. Also played one season at Warrington in 2001.
• Richie Myler - Three-time Grand Finalist with the Wolves that joined Leeds in 2018. Was awarded the Lance Todd trophy in the 2020 Challenge Cup.

https://youtu.be/u0POZgMmc7Q

How to follow the game

Tickets still on sale

Tickets and travel for the Rhinos' opening round clash with Warrington are available now to purchase online at tickets.therhinos.co.uk, over the phone on 0371 423 1315 and from Leeds Rhinos Club Shop (Opening Hours). 

Adult prices start from £24 while junior tickets are just £5 for members. Fans can add coach travel too for £18 per person. For more information, click here.

TV/Radio Coverage