You can tell the new Super League season isn't too far off now, with Warrington confirming both their first match (Castleford 'away' at Headingley) of the 25-match season and their squad numbers for the following campaign.
For anyone who didn't see them, here they are:
1 - Stefan Ratchford
2 - Tom Lineham
3 - Greg Inglis
4 - Toby King
5 - Josh Charnley
6 - Blake Austin
7 - Gareth Widdop
8 - Chris Hill
9 - Daryl Clark
10 - Mike Cooper
11 - Ben Currie
12 - Jack Hughes
13 - Joe Philbin
14 - Jason Clark
15 - Matt Davis
16 - Danny Walker
17 - Matty Ashton
18 - Jake Mamo
19 - Robbie Mulhern
20 - Sitaleki Akauola
21 - Rob Butler
22 - Ellis Robson
23 - Josh Thewlis
24 - Riley Dean
25 - Eribe Doro
26 - Ellis Longstaff
27 - Connor Wrench
28 - Nathan Roebuck
29 - Ryan Gannon
The first thing to note is that there isn't much immediately noticeable change from last year's numbers, and despite having two overseas quota spots free, numbers 1-29 being filled suggests that there are no imminent incomings. However, there are some interesting points to make about the selections.
Stefan Ratchford, as widely expected, keeps the number one jersey, which indicates that he will continue in the full-back role. I did wonder whether Matty Ashton might have been given this shirt, given how impressive he was there last season, but I can understand the reluctance to move Ratchford. Still, the squad numbers aren't a hard guarantee of players being locked into a position for a year, with injuries, rotation and form issues all creating possibilities.
Speaking of Ashton, while I would like to see him at full-back, I did expect him to get the number two shirt, after how much he appeared there in the back end of 2020, but it's Tom Lineham who retains the number two jersey. Lineham hasn't played for the club since September after his season was cut short due to suspension, which had made some think he may not be first-choice on the right-wing this season, but it looks like he will be.
Star signing Greg Inglis has been given the number three shirt, as expected, with Toby King, arguably Warrington's player of 2020, sticking with number four. This suggests Inglis will line up as right centre, alongside Tom Lineham, though King did play on that side last season despite possessing the number four - usually reserved for left centre. It will be interesting to see if King does end up on the left side after such an impressive 2020 on the right side. Josh Charnley keeps number five, of course. King's offloads and superb passing game should give more service to Charnley, although I did think Inglis' pace and power would've done that too, and I'm not sure how I feel about breaking up the Lineham/King duo that was so successful in the first part of 2020.
With marquee half-backs Blake Austin and Gareth Widdop entering their third and second seasons in Cheshire respectively, it was a given that they would keep the six and seven shirts.
Moving on to the pack, it's an unchanged front line with Chris Hill at eight, Daryl Clark at nine and Mike Cooper at ten. Clark and Cooper were undisputed starters so their numbers don't surprise me, but given Hill's age and the signing of two new props in Robbie Mulhern and Rob Butler, I had wondered whether he would move to the interchange bench this year, although his retaining of number eight suggests that he'll once again be a starter in his testimonial year.
Into the second row, Ben Currie and Jack Hughes carry on with eleven and twelve. I felt a change was possible with Hughes given a tough end to last year, maybe he could've moved to thirteen and play loose forward but it looks like Steve Price is sticking with what he knows in that back row. Thirteen was the number I was most interested in seeing - with Ben Murdoch-Masila's departure, the number became available and is surely an indicator of who will play at loose forward - Wire's problem position under Price - this season. It has been given to Joe Philbin. If the numbers are to match the positions, then it looks like Philbin will be making the step up from the interchange bench to a starting role, although at loose forward rather than prop. Philbin did play there twice in 2019, at Wakefield and Hull away, though is limited in his experience in the role. He has the size and strength to play at thirteen but I'm not sure about his ball-handling skills.
Last year's loose forward was predominantly Jason Clark, who, rather than being promoted to thirteen, sticks with the fourteen shirt. Again, if the numbers are to match the positions, this suggests that the Australian will be on the interchange bench more often than not. However, it is well-known that Price is a huge fan of Clark, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of the numbers that doesn't tell us much about his thinking - I could certainly see Clark starting at loose forward and Philbin being on the bench like last year.
Rounding off the interchange bench numbers, Matt Davis takes fifteen, Danny Walker sixteen and Matty Ashton seventeen. Davis was a reliable option from the bench last year, so that one makes sense, and I'm hoping Walker makes a step up in performance level to be a solid replacement for Daryl Clark in the latter stages of matches. Seventeen goes to Ashton, so it looks like he will be primarily used as an interchange this season. A brilliant player, so I'd have liked to have seen him in the starting lineup, but his searing pace and positional flexibility could cause tired teams a lot of problems in the final stages of the games.
Jake Mamo is given the first number outside of the starting seventeen, so it looks like there won't be a place for him in the team if everyone is fit. However, the good news for him is that it's rare that the whole squad is fit and available, and he can play at full-back, wing or centre, so he's bound to get chances. New signing Robbie Mulhern, brought in from Hull KR, is handed the nineteen shirt, which maybe suggests he's not quite ready for first-team action just yet. Fellow forward Sitaleki Akauola doesn't look like he's a choice for the matchday seventeen either, as he has been given the number twenty shirt.
New signing Rob Butler, from London Broncos, takes the twenty-one shirt. As a youngster, it is no surprise that he isn't seen as in the starting seventeen just yet. Warrington moved heaven and earth to make sure Ellis Robson did not leave the club after a number of impressive performances in the team last year, so it is perhaps surprising that he has been given the twenty-two shirt. Youngsters Josh Thewlis and Riley Dean take twenty-three and twenty-four, both taking steps up in shirt number from last year - I look forward to seeing the strides both make this year, hopefully with some chances in the first team.
Many at Wire have been waxing lyrical recently about Eribe Doro, a young forward who appeared in a few games last year, and he takes twenty-five. Fellow youngsters Ellis Longstaff, Connor Wrench, Nathan Roebuck and Jacob Gannon - who has not appeared for the club yet - round off the squad numbers.
So, is there any more to come? There are still two overseas quota spots available following the departures of Anthony Gelling, Ben Murdoch-Masila and Leilani Latu, with Inglis the only one of Wire's three new signings to be from outside of England. I would love to see a quality second rower and/or loose forward brought in, as I think they are problem areas for Wire at the minute, but Steve Price has recently said that he doesn't expect any additions before the season starts - though that doesn't rule out any mid-season signings.
@ALooseWire
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