This is a piece that I have been working on for months and have given what has felt like endless consideration to. I've picked a starting 13 and a coach for my team, based on their performances solely at Warrington during this decade only. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this, it brought back some great memories of the heroes in primrose and blue in the last ten years. Here we go then...
Full Back - 1 BRETT HODGSON
Brett Hodgson arrived at the Wire from Huddersfield in 2011 as a player of great prestige - he won the Man of Steel at the Giants in 2009. The Australian's debut year in the primrose and blue was majestic - he scored 18 tries in 26 appearances, including one in a 47-0 demolition of his former team Huddersfield in the playoffs. He also established himself as one of the greatest goalkickers in Wire's history, barely missing a kick and nailing 120 goals in 2011, meaning he amassed 312 points for his debut season. Hodgson's 18 scores helped Wire to finish top of the league and earn the club their first ever league leaders' shield. There was a far bigger prize in store for Hodgson and Wire in 2012 though, as the full back put in a tremendous performance at Wembley to help win a third Challenge Cup in four years - Hodgson scoring the last try, kicking five goals and winning the Lance Todd Trophy. The Challenge Cup was his tournament in 2012 - he scored a try in every single round. A further eight tries in Super League for Hodgson meant that he was now up to 30 for Wire and had been part of teams that finished 1st and 2nd. Nine scores in 2013 helped Tony Smith's team finish 2nd once again and despite not being quite at the astronomical heights of his 2011 and 2012 standards, it was a sad day when he departed after three wonderful years which yielded 39 tries and 315 goals in 75 appearances. Hodgson at his best was a complete full back - brilliantly dynamic, dangerous and skilful in attack while being reliable and assured in defence. Stefan Ratchford has been superb for Warrington since joining in 2012, but niggling doubts over whether full back is his best position, as well as the sheer class of Hodgson, means that the Australian gets my vote here.
Winger - 2 KEVIN PENNY
Okay, so this might be a controversial one. Penny ended his first spell at the Halliwell Jones in 2010, before rejoining the club from Swinton in 2014. It was an injury-hit time between then and 2017 but when he was fit, there was no more dangerous winger in the competition - his work on the left edge with the likes of Ryan Atkins and Ben Currie in the early part of 2016 was frightening as he raced to 11 tries in 16 matches. An acrobatic finisher whose pace and agility was at times unstoppable, Penny scored one of the great Wire tries of recent times in the 2015 Challenge Cup Quarter Final against Leigh, pulling off an absolutely spectacular finish, somehow defying gravity to get the ball down when completely airborne in the corner in a 34-24 win. 2015 was also the year that Penny looked to have secured Wire a rare win over St Helens at home after picking the Saints' pocket and celebrating with his trademark move. He left in 2017 with 63 tries in 92 matches to his name in a Wolves shirt. Penny became a cult hero among Wire fans and there was always the feeling of what could've been with him, if his injuries hadn't meant he was so in-and-out of the team, he could've been a truly special player. What a shame that he had to retire so early. Despite the admiration I have for the longevity and big-game performances of Tom Lineham and the heroic status of Chris Riley, I couldn't help but let my sentimental side get the better of me here. Kevin Penny is my choice.
Centre - 3 RYAN ATKINS
With Atkins, it is important to remember how good he was in the first part of this decade, and not let the difficult final few years of his tenure overshadow the good times. From the moment he joined from Wakefield in 2010, the left-centre spot became Atkins' home - and the Yorkshireman was untouchable there. 15 tries in 34 appearances - including two tries in the Challenge Cup Final - in his first season was a good return, but it was pretty modest for what was in store in the coming years. 26 in 28 followed in 2011 as he helped Wire to their first league leaders' shield with a try in the must-win final game at Hull, before an even better 2012 which saw 27 tries in 32, including scores in both the Challenge Cup Final success and the Grand Final defeat. This superb year established Atkins as one of the most dependable and free-scoring centres in the league, and he was named in the Super League Dream Team for the first time. The former Wakefield centre made his second Dream Team appearance in 2016 after a quieter few years, and looking back, this was probably the start of the downturn in Atkins' time at Wire. 2017 and 2018 were tough seasons, with new coach Steve Price leaving him out of the squad for the 2018 Grand Final against Wigan, ending a campaign that had started horribly for him with the infamous dive for the corner against Leeds on opening night. He found himself in and out of the team in 2019 and eventually left in August, in what was a very low-key exit for someone who had achieved so much at Wire and scored so many tries. However poor he had been in his last few seasons, he was still deserving of a far more heartfelt departure as he rejoined Wakefield. In his heyday he was an unstoppable centre who was lethal under the high ball and a tryscoring machine. His size and strength meant that he was built like a second rower, but he will go down as one of Wire's all-time great centres. 168 tries for Warrington, including 93 at the Halliwell Jones - the stadium's top scorer.
Centre - 4 MATT KING
Despite only playing 52 Warrington games in this decade, Matt King is my choice to partner Atkins in the centres. The Australian had made a good start to his career on Cheshire in 2008 and 2009, but it was the turn of the decade that saw his best form in a primrose and blue shirt. King bagged 19 tries in 26 Super League appearances, also crossing in the Challenge Cup semi final win over Catalans. There was no Wembley try for King in 2010, but he picked up his second successive Cup as a Wire, starting in a 25-16 win over Huddersfield. Individual accolades were on the cards too - King was named in Super League's Dream Team for 2010, one of three of Tony Smith's men to make it. The wild-haired back was on fire in 2011, scoring at a rate of more than a try a game, grabbing 22 in 21 appearances, with the sensational scoring form of King, Atkins and Joel Monaghan making the Wire too hot to handle for all that stood in their way as the club achieved its first league leaders' shield. There was to be no Grand Final success as Leeds Rhinos somehow got the better of Wire in the playoff semi-final, but King still managed to score twice during the playoff series. A destructive and quick centre who scored tries for fun, King was a truly brilliant player and left Wire in 2011 to join South Sydney, where he retired in 2013. The clip I have selected exhibits everything that made King such a handful - a strong carry to start the move, before popping up in a world of space to score. His Wire record reads as an impressive 66 tries in 106 appearances for the club, but his numbers for just this decade this decade are truly phenomenal: 44 tries in 52 appearances. What a player.
Winger - 5 JOEL MONAGHAN
And now we come to an absolute tryscoring machine on the wing. Joel was the second of the Monaghan brothers to play for Warrington, joining his elder sibling Michael at Cheshire in 2011 from Canberra Raiders. The flying winger set the scoring charts alight in his first year at the Wire, scoring at an average of greater than a try a game - bagging 26 tries in 24 appearances as he helped Wire to finish top of the league and deservedly got himself a place in that season's dream team. 2012 was a continuation of this scoring brilliance - 29 in 31 as he helped Wire to win the Challenge Cup, scoring the opening try in the final at Wembley. Wire got to the Grand Final too in 2012, Monaghan crossing for a try at Old Trafford as well. The following season saw Wire and Monaghan make it to Old Trafford once again, on the back of a stunning 31 tries in 30 appearances for the year. One of those 31 came in the Grand Final as he got a try for the second year running on the biggest of stages, though the Australian heartbreakingly suffered an injury which forced him off mid-game. If he hadn't picked that up, surely Wire would've been crowned 2013 champions. Staggeringly, the best was yet to come for Monaghan, as he finished 2014 as Super League's top tryscorer for the first time, crossing the whitewash 34 times in the league and getting four in the cup, giving him a total of 38 for the year - a return that has only ever been bettered for Wire by Brian Bevan. 2015 was a quieter year - 11 in 17 - and he departed for Castleford at the end of the year with an impeccable record of 145 tries in 145 games - exactly a try a game. A brilliantly quick and agile player with remarkable finishing prowess, Monaghan is easily the best winger I have seen at Warrington and also one of the best wingers Super League has seen.
Stand-Off - 6 LEE BRIERS
I'm not sure if there is even a choice to be made here. Lee Briers is possibly the best player to ever play for Warrington Wolves, donning the shirt 423 times. 84 of those matches were this side of 2010, and that period yielded two Challenge Cups in 2010 and 2012, and a league leaders' shield in 2011 to boot. The Welshman's performance in the 2010 Challenge Cup Final was absolutely heroic as he controlled the game from the first minute to the last and ensured that Wire retained their crown, earning himself the Lance Todd Trophy that he should've been awarded the previous year. Briers was still at his influential best in the twilight of his career, registering a superb 16 tries in 23 appearances, including a brace against St Helens in Round Three of 2011. It was that year that he became Wire's all-time leading points scorer, a record he continued to extend in 2012 and 2013, eventually retiring with 158 tries and 2568 points. Let's not forget Briers' astonishing mentality and penchant for the big moments - just look at the drop-goal he nails with a minute left against Leeds below - and that was in his final season! Briers' creativity and ability to manage a game was a joy to behold year on year, and with every game that passed he continued to assert his legendary status at the Halliwell Jones. Blake Austin enjoyed a very good debut campaign in 2019, but it was nowhere near enough to unseat Briers from the number six shirt in this team. A travesty that he never got to lift the Super League trophy, because he's one of the best the competition has ever seen.
Scrum Half - 7 CHRIS SANDOW
Prop - 8 ADRIAN MORLEY
Moving onto the front row now, we kick off with one of Warrington's all-time great captains. Morley was signed in 2007 from Sydney Roosters and his signature was a huge statement of intent from the Wolves - probably the only Wire signing that has attracted as much attention since has been Gareth Widdop's - and the prop more than delivered on the pitch. After captaining Warrington to their first Challenge Cup victory for 35 years in 2009, he started this decade in much the same way, leading Wire to back-to-back successes at Wembley, this time over his former side Leeds Rhinos. He was also named in Super League's dream team for the fourth time this year after a fabulously consistent season. The hard-working prop, who was a king at metre-making, was similarly influential in Wire's first ever league leaders' shield in 2011, his third piece of silverware as club captain. 2012 was probably the best year of Morley's time at Wire though, as he lifted the Challenge Cup trophy for a third time, and led the team out for the club's first ever Grand Final the same year. A gutting loss against his ex-employers was a sad way to end the year, but the skipper returned for another shot in 2013. A marvellous season from the prop was key to Wire's success as they booked another trip to Old Trafford, though this time Wigan got the better of Morley's team in what turned out to be his final appearance in primrose and blue before joining Salford. His astonishing work-rate, remarkable physicality, tremendous presence and wonderful leadership were attributes which made him so influential in his time at Warrington. As good as Chris Hill and Mike Cooper are, Warrington have never truly replaced Adrian Morley. A bona fide legend who made 173 appearances for the club.
Hooker - 9 DARYL CLARK
Daryl Clark was signed by Warrington for the 2015 season at just 21 years of age with enormous pressure on him after winning the 2014 Man of Steel award for an unbelievable year at Castleford. In his first season, Clark shared gametime with Micky Higham and struggled to replicate his 2014-level performances. However, 2016 was a different story, becoming a key cog in the machine as Warrington played some of the best rugby in their recent history, Tony Smith's side battering everything that Super League could throw at it. His runs from dummy-half became increasingly dangerous as the year went on, bagging eight tries for the season, including one in the Challenge Cup semi-final. Clark was on the losing side at both Wembley and Old Trafford, but it was a very good year personally for him, and while Wire had a horrific 2017 and finished 9th, the hooker had established himself as the best player at the club, at times being the shining light in a massively struggling team. 2018 was a majestic year for Clark, becoming the focal point of both Wire's attack and defence, and once again playing in both finals - though 2016's bad luck was repeated. It is his most recent season that has impressed most of all, though. Clark was simply unstoppable in 2019 as he dragged an average Warrington side through so many games, with the team not winning a single game without Clark all season. He scored eight tries, including some brilliant breaks from acting half, such as his searing runs to score against Wigan and Catalans. The highlight of his season though was winning the Challenge Cup and being awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for his stunning performance and try at Wembley - only the third hooker in history to win the award. At just 26 years old, the best years are still ahead of him. If he stays, then we could be on the cusp of the Daryl Clark era at Warrington. I also considered Jon Clarke and Michael Monaghan for this spot, but Clarke's best days were pre-this decade and for me, Clark has edged ahead of Monaghan in the last few years.
Prop - 10 CHRIS HILL
Only one man (Ryan Atkins) has made more Warrington appearances this decade than Chris Hill. Signing ahead of the 2012 season from Leigh Centurions, Hill was somewhat of an unknown among Super League fans, but has gone on to establish himself as a mainstay of the Warrington team in his eight seasons at the club, and also as one of the most reliable props in the Super League. Hill's pace and clever manoeuvrability was impressive in his first season at the club, during which he played 33 games, including the Challenge Cup Final and the Grand Final. Success at Wembley was his first trophy with the club and was unlucky not to pick up a second at Old Trafford. His maiden season in primrose and blue also brought about the personal recognition of being named in the Super League Dream Team. Another taste of Old Trafford pain in 2013 for Hill, before a super 2014. He made 33 appearances and scored his first (and so far, only) hat-trick for Wire, in a 72-12 demolition of London, making his second dream team appearance for another excellent year of performances. Hill's leadership and passion came to the fore and he was named vice-captain for 2015, before getting the captaincy in 2016. His first year as skipper was a brilliant one - Wire won the league leaders' shield and Hill's brilliance in the forward pack earned him a third selection in the dream team, though there was anguish for the prop too - he lost both of his first two finals as captain. The former Leigh man missed much of 2017 through injury, and it's probably no coincidence that this was such a tough year for Wire, finishing 9th. Hill lead Wire to both finals in Steve Price's first year at the club. More double heartbreak for the skipper, though in 2019 he finally got his hands on major silverware as captain - the Challenge Cup. While 2019 wasn't a classic year of Hill performances, he was tremendous at Wembley and remains a highly consistent and incredibly hard-working performer, with great passion and drive to make metres and get Wire up the field. Even at 32, he is still a first-choice forward for both Wire and Great Britain, and looks set to begin his ninth year at the club as one of the first names on the teamsheet - where he has always been. 254 games and counting for Hill.
Second Row - 11 BEN CURRIE
A tough choice in the second row as there are five legitimately excellent candidates: current duo Ben Currie and Jack Hughes, along with Ben Westwood, Louis Anderson and Trent Waterhouse. Currie is the best player the Wire academy have produced this decade and he has become a mainstay of the team since making his debut in 2012 as a youngster. Still only 25, Currie scored on his second appearance for the club and never looked back. His promising six games in 2012 were followed up with a storming 2013, scoring eight times, a figure he repeated in 2014. Currie's handling ability and phenomenal pace made him a tough player to stop, and upon turning 21 in 2015, became one of the best second rowers in Super League with an unbelievable season - 20 tries in 30 games made him the club's top scorer that season - not something you often see from a second rower! His 2016 was genuinely world-class: Currie crossed for 21 tries that campaign and made his first appearance in Super League's Dream Team. He was a key reason why Wire were so wonderful that season - his electric pace and remarkable finishing ability made him a lethal weapon on the edges as he constantly sought to find gaps in opposition defences. Currie was also a scorer in the 2016 Challenge Cup Final, and thought he'd won the cup for Wire in the dying moments of the game, but was heartbreakingly denied by Danny Houghton. There was more agony to come for Currie in the last part of his breathtaking 2016. As he scored against Wigan - his 21st of the season - he injured his knee and missed the rest of the year, including the Grand Final, and did not return until late 2017. Devastatingly, Currie injured the same knee in early 2018, before returning for good in March of this year. He remained free of injury for all of 2019 and while he has clearly lost some of the pace that made him so good, his defensive contributions were excellent and he remained one of the statistically best tacklers in the team. He also produced some big moments, including a try in the Challenge Cup semi, as well as a monster try-saving tackle in the quarters. With a full pre-season behind him, we all now hope to see the Ben Currie of 2013-16 next season. At his best, Currie was being courted by many NRL clubs who recognised him as someone headed for stardom on the domestic and international stage and someone who was all-but-certain to be the best second rower on the planet. 70 tries in 161 games for Wire - don't give up on this man yet.
Second Row - 12 TRENT WATERHOUSE
The departure of Louis Anderson was a hard one to take, but Warrington replaced him well with the acquisition of Trent Waterhouse. 'House' was only at the Halliwell Jones for three seasons, though made an enormous impact on the team in that period of time, and it is for this reason that he beats Jack Hughes and Anderson to a place in my team. By signing Waterhouse, Warrington were getting a player of major prestige who had represented New South Wales and Australia on the international stage. His size and physical presence made him a major threat to all opposition defences, while his own defensive work was always very good and went under the radar. In his first year at Wire, he scored some huge tries, including one at Wembley in the Challenge Cup win over Leeds. This was his first and only piece of silverware collected in his time at the club, though he tried everything possible to get the club a maiden Grand Final win. The second rower produced possibly the best individual performance of the decade in the playoff semi-final against St Helens; scoring two tries, the second of which came after stunningly escaping from the attentions of three Saints men before crossing and sending the away end into absolute raptures. Somehow Waterhouse did not receive the man of the match award that night, one of the great social injustices of recent times. His 2012 ended with nine tries, a number that he repeated in 2013. His second year in Cheshire saw him continue his habit of scoring in the big games - he got one in the unsuccessful Challenge Cup semi, as well as three against Saints over the course of the year. He missed out on that year's Grand Final, an absence that some believe went a long way to explaining Wire's defeat to Wigan that night. He departed Wire at the end of 2014 to return to Australia, though did not play professionally again. His record in a Warrington shirt stands at 19 tries in 82 games - and so many of those 19 came at critical times.
Loose Forward - 13 BEN WESTWOOD
The final player in my team of the decade is the greatest legend of them all: Super Bennie Westwood. The recently-retired hero joined Warrington in 2002, though his incredible longevity meant that he played in every year of this decade too and remained a hugely influential figure. In 2010 he played 30 times and scored six tries, then forming part of an exciting right edge in the second row. This was the year that he got his hands on a second Challenge Cup trophy too, while a second career appearance in the Super League Dream Team was well deserved. He scored nine tries in 2011 as Wire finished top of the league for the first time, making another dream team appearance. Westwood was in inspired form in 2012, scoring ten tries and helping his team win the Challenge Cup once more with a brilliant display in the final. This was the year he made his first appearance at Old Trafford too, though didn't come away with a winners' medal. He did everything he could to correct that the following year, scoring 12 tries, his highest since 2005. Four of those tries came in a win over Leeds in the playoffs - Westwood's greatest ever Warrington performance, while he also crossed for a try in the Grand Final against Wigan, though once again he found himself undeservingly on the losing side. After appearing in the dream team for a fourth time, the next few years were quieter for the club and Westwood's role started to change from a second rower to a loose forward or an interchange prop - from a flying edge player to an unstoppable battering ram. This preserved his career and extended his playing days beyond the norm - Westwood retired in 2019 having won the league leaders' shield once again in 2016 and the Challenge Cup in his final year - also being a runner-up at Old Trafford in 2016 and 2018 and Wembley in the same years. He called it a day after 446 appearances in the primrose and blue. The Warrington legend. A note on his position in this team: even though his best years were spent in the second row, I opted to use him at 13 because there were some other second rowers I wanted to include, and so in order to make what I consider to be the strongest team possible, this was the place for Super Bennie.
Coach - TONY SMITH
Tony Smith was in charge from 2009 until 2017, while Steve Price has been at the helm for the final two years of the decade. Despite Price's highly impressive record of getting to three of the four finals available to him in his short tenure, there was no way I couldn't pick Tony Smith. In nine seasons at the club, the Australian turned Warrington from being mid-table fodder into perennial title challengers, and was the man who oversaw the most successful period in the club's history. He entered the decade having just delivered the Challenge Cup in 2009, Wire winning the trophy for the first time in 35 years. The opening year of this decade saw Smith retain the crown, beating his former side Leeds at Wembley, a day that marked the start of a wonderful era for Warrington. His third season on Cheshire was a history-making one: Wire won the league leaders' shield for the first time ever, though missed out on the Grand Final. For some, 2012 was his most memorable season, as the club made their maiden appearance at Old Trafford after the famous win at St Helens in the playoffs, and were unlucky not to come away from Manchester with the trophy. Smith's team also lifted a third Challenge Cup trophy under the Australian, his fourth piece of silverware at the club. Wire finished 2nd in 2013, a fourth consecutive top 3 finish, having previously never finished in the top 3 in Super League history - Smith really had turned Warrington into being regular contenders, having been an also-ran for the entirety of Super League before he joined. He led the team to another Old Trafford appearance, which somehow ended in another defeat. 2014 and 2015 were tougher years, finishing 5th and 6th, and serious questions were starting to be asked of Smith for the first time. Smith was desperate to make up for the two lean years in 2014 and 2015, and he answered them, proving he was still the man for Warrington. He recruited brilliantly ahead of 2016 and led the club to the best season of his tenure. Wire finished top of the league playing gorgeous rugby, dominating the league and brushing aside all competition. Injuries to key players Chris Sandow and Ben Currie hurt Smith's side, and they heartbreakingly fell short in both the Grand Final and at Wembley, though all Wire fans will remember just how good that side was. In reality, Smith probably should've left at the end of that season, as his final season in 2017 was an unmitigated disaster, finishing 9th and making no inroads in the Challenge Cup. His final game was a win over his current side Hull KR - you can see his speech from after the game below. 2017 shouldn't take away from Smith's achievements at the club though: two league leaders' shields, a hat-trick of cups, three Grand Final appearances and five finishes in the top three - something Price is yet to do. It was Smith who made Warrington a competitive force with his attacking, exciting rugby which got big results. Smith was a master recruiter too, and indeed it was he who signed 11 of the 13 players featuring in this team of the decade. When I think of Smith's Wire teams, I think of style, substance and success. 200 wins in 301 games as coach. No question about this one.
And so there we are. That's it. My Warrington team of the decade is complete.
FB - Brett Hodgson
W - Kevin Penny
C - Ryan Atkins
C - Matt King
W - Joel Monaghan
SO - Lee Briers
SH - Chris Sandow
P - Adrian Morley
H - Daryl Clark
P - Chris Hill
SR - Ben Currie
SR - Trent Waterhouse
LF - Ben Westwood
Coach - Tony Smith
Thank you for reading this piece, I hope you enjoyed it. I look forward to hearing what everyone else's selections would be, please do leave your thoughts in the comments section or get involved in the debate on Twitter. Look out for plenty of season preview content coming up on the blog in the new year.
Daniel (@ALooseWire)
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