Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has reflected on the public backing of his chairman following another Super League defeat with Leigh Leopards beating Wire 34-12.
That was a scoreline that Burgess claimed didn’t necessarily reflect the game when he spoke with Sky Sports, however, all 12 of Warrington’s points came with ten minutes to go when trailing 28-0.
Leigh’s late lapse didn’t last long though as Keanan Brand completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute with the Leopards surging into the play-offs in form, whilst Wire’s play-off hopes were officially ended with defeat.
Boos rang out at both half-time and full time, perhaps as a result of an accumulation of results with the recent losses to Huddersfield and Salford particularly devastating.
Speaking post-match to Sky Sports, Sam Burgess fielded questions on where his side go from here, what it meant to have the public backing of the chairman, and a host of other topics.
What Sam Burgess said after Warrington Wolves’ loss to Leigh Leopards
Leon Hayes made just his second appearance since April 2024 but the playmaker left the field inside ten minutes and Burgess was initially asked what the injury outlook was for the 21-year-old.
The Warrington Wolves coach said: “It looks like he’s fractured his arm or there’s a definite break in his arm so he left in an ambulance at half-time.
“It’s part of it, unfortunately. It’s a physical game and it’s just one of those injuries you can’t really control.”
Q: What did you make of the performance?
A: “We’ve certainly had a bit more effort about us. I mean, the scoreline, I’m not sure it reflects the effort, but we’re down on troops and lost Leon early so I’m proud of the spirit.
“We played a bit more today, as silly as it sounds on the scoreline and we just missed a bit of quality. No doubt about that.”
Q: You got the support of the chairman, how reassuring was that or did you feel you had that (support) anyway?
A: “No, I knew I had that anyway. We’ve had a challenging year in many ways but we’ve got to really reflect on my influence of that.
“I’ve always had a great unit in between myself, the board, the chairman, and Simon(Moran) , the owner. We’ve got a very open relationship. I think it was just a strong position for us to take, considering the performances over the last couple of weeks, which have just not been good enough.
“Today, there was a bit more effort on the side although the scoreline is not great.”
Q: What needs to improve for 2026?
A: “Well, we don’t have enough time to talk about that. We’ll get to work. We’re already working on some things and we’ve got a couple of young guys that are getting some good time with the team.
“Let’s just talk about tonight, we had nine errors in the first half, or eight errors in the first half. Losing a half-back and we kicked him out of the ball to start the game. We’ve just really hurt ourselves with lots of silly things but sometimes it’s just like that.
“We’ve just got to keep working hard and we’ll play our way out of this, no doubt about that.”
Q: On George Williams, are Warrington and England fans concerned for his wellbeing?
A: “There’s no concern, it’s one of those things. He never leaves anything on the field, George, so it’s probably more of a safety for him.
“He’s got a bit of a shoulder issue. He should be ready to go, I’d imagine.”
Q: A word of Stefan Ratchford (who was playing his final home game as a Warrington Wolves player before retirement).
A: “He’s such a great bloke. An extremely competitive guy. He’s just a great, humble bloke around the group. It’s no wonder he’s had a long, sustained career.
“He’s a great professional. He’s a great family man. He’s got three beautiful daughters and his wife, Kirsten.
“It’s funny, he’s older than me as well. So it’s funny touching a bloke who’s a little bit older than you but it’s been in a great relationship.
“It’s unfortunate that the season’s not ended the way we’d like but like always, he’s attacked it with a lot of energy and a great spirit.”
FT with @ResultingIT pic.twitter.com/2WqF9Th5Rr
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) September 6, 2025
