Opinion: Daryl Powell to replace Steve Price from 2022

It's official! Warrington tonight confirmed that Castleford Tigers coach Daryl Powell will become the new Wire coach for the 2022 season, signing a three-year deal.

This is news that has sparked mixed responses, but it is news that I am happy with. I am a big fan of Powell and I think he is the right appointment for Wire. After nine years at Castleford, he is going to move onto a club with far greater resources and financial might and can hopefully bring plenty of success to the Halliwell Jones.

First of all, it's good that the appointment has been announced now, with the best part of a year to go, meaning that Powell can have a good think about potential signings he might want to make, and can also have a say in the multitude of off-contract players at the club, that include Blake Austin, Jason Clark, Greg Inglis, Toby King, Tom Lineham and Matty Ashton. 

At the end of 2019 and then again at the end of 2020, when Price's future at Warrington seemed uncertain, many Wire fans wanted Salford's Ian Watson, who ended up moving to Huddersfield. The clamour for Watson centred around him overachieving at Salford and taking them to the brink of silverware, while playing attractive rugby on a shoestring budget. I would argue that Powell has done pretty much the same.

The Castleford side that finished top of Super League and won the League Leaders Shield in 2017 played some of the most scintillating rugby league of recent years, with the pivots of Zak Hardaker at full-back and Luke Gale in the halves ripping teams to bits on a weekly basis. Yes, they choked at Old Trafford in the final but the style that Powell played that year is how he's always had his teams playing.

One of the main issues of the Steve Price reign has been the lack of attacking structure and the negative style of football that has been deployed, particularly in the last two years. That certainly won't be the case under Powell. He has consistently had Castleford playing attractive stuff and has always looked to create an exciting attacking structure where the pivot players can thrive. 

It should also be noted how well Powell develops young players. Jake Trueman is the most recent case in point, but Wire's own Daryl Clark is an example. Look how much these two pivot players, as well as many others, have developed under Powell.

The Yorkshireman has a good record in the recruitment market and rarely makes a poor signing. Most recently, Niall Evalds looks to be a brilliant capture from Salford, while if we go further back, the likes of Luke Gale, Liam Watts and Paul McShane have enjoyed the best parts of their careers under Powell. That's why his Castleford teams have stayed competitive most years - 2020 being the first year since 2013 that the Tigers finished outside of the top five. 

There is a lot of discussion about the culture, mentality and attitude at Warrington. If there are issues in those departments, Powell could be the man to sort it out. He strikes as someone who wouldn't accept sub-par performances, someone who would be demanding of his players. I know there was the Hardaker incident in 2017 but you'd like to think something like that was a one-off.

Powell is a coach who consistently gets everything out of his players. He ekes every last little bit of performance from them. And remember, three men have won the Man of Steel under Powell - Luke Gale in 2017, Paul McShane last year and of course, Daryl Clark in 2014. No-one will be happier with this appointment than Wire's number nine and this should help cool down the Gold Coast links for a while.

I think this is a very good appointment. Wire will play free-flowing, attacking rugby and Powell will finally get his chance to show what he can do with a superior budget to what he's had at Castleford for the best part of a decade. Now, if only we could get Jake Trueman or Liam Watts to follow him...

@ALooseWire