Jon Wilkin says Warrington don’t deserve to finish in the play-offs this season, criticising the Wolves’ mental state after tumbling heavily down the Super League ladder following a successful 2024.

The Wire finished 3rd last year, and were only denied a spot in the Grand Final by a dubious try call in a play-off semi-final away against Hull KR having already been involved in the Challenge Cup final.

This term, they were again involved in the Challenge Cup final, where a last-gasp winner from Tom Davies saw their hearts broken under the Wembley arch as current Super League leaders KR pipped them to the post.

But in Super League, Sam Burgess’ side have been a shell of their former selves, currently sat three competition points outside of the top six following last weekend’s defeat at strugglers Castleford Tigers.

LRL RECOMMENDS: Why there are only three Super League games this week with Round 20 split explained

‘I haven’t seen the resilience or fight from Warrington that we saw from them last year… they’re probably deservedly where they sit’

With Round 20 split in half, the Wolves aren’t in action this weekend and return to the field next Saturday when they make the short trip to third-placed Leigh Leopards.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘The Verdict’ on Wednesday afternoon, pundit Wilkin pulled no punches in his assessment of Warrington, saying: “It’s not going well over there.

“They’ve left it really late, there’s no doubt about that. Mathematically, 30 points historically gets you into the play-offs. If you can get to 30, you (usually) make the top six.

“I think Warrington sit on 18 points, so they’ve got to win six out of their last nine games and they’ve got four or five games that are potentially going to be really tricky.

“The game against Leigh, who are massively in-form, for me is do or die for Warrington’s season. If they don’t beat Leigh, I don’t think they can get it done simply on maths.

“They’ve got too many (top) teams to play, a difficult run-in, and I think they’re going to struggle to get to that 30-point mark.

“It’s sport and anything can happen, but on the balance of everything, they probably don’t deserve to be there.

“I haven’t seen the resilience or fight or competitive spirit from Warrington that we saw from them last year… they’re probably deservedly where they sit.”

LRL EXCLUSIVE: Castleford Tigers’ coaching shortlist revealed as shock names in final five

‘I just think mentally, they’ve disappeared…. their confidence has eviscerated’

Wire ended the 2024 campaign with both the best defensive and attacking records in Super League, conceding fewer points than everyone else across the 27 regular rounds and scoring more, too.

With eight rounds remaining this season, their points difference sits at -71, and Wilkin pinpointed a defensive fragility as one of the key reasons Burgess’ side have struggled this year.

He detailed: “Where have Warrington gone? It’s like any evidence of good that was in 2024 has disappeared. I just think mentally, they’ve disappeared.

“I think Vegas was a problem for them. It was on the biggest stage in front of the NRL and Warrington got dismantled by Wigan, who were white hot. Since then, their confidence has eviscerated, it’s just disappeared.

“When Sam Burgess came in, I felt a number of their players really leaned on Sam for confidence. Maybe two years in, some of that confidence has started to wane again.

“They’ve been unlucky, I think they had a tough start this year, the fixture list wasn’t kind to them. And they’ve been on the wrong end of some weird decisions, I’ll back Sam up on that.

“But there are certain things that I saw in Warrington (last year), a fight, whatever the situation. Their try-line was like a cliff top, if you wanted to push them back over that then you had to do some incredible things.

“Now in 2025, it’s not the case. They’ve been leaking points, they’ve not showed that urgency or the desperation that all of the great teams in our competition do.

“The best teams show a desperation to defend regardless of the consequences, regardless of the time in the game, regardless if you’re sulking, regardless if you’re moving to Australia, regardless if you’re staying in this country, regardless if you’re retiring.

“They turn up every week consistently and do it, and that’s the difference between the top three teams, as I see them – in Wigan, Hull KR and Leigh – and the rest. The other teams have a week off here and there, those three don’t.”

LRL RECOMMENDS: Leigh Leopards star played with horrific injury as emotional update shared