Sam Burgess has shared his thoughts on the Warrington Wolves’ 2027 half-back room with Marc Sneyd’s future still to be decided following the recently confirmed addition of Brodie Croft.

Leeds Rhinos star Croft will head to the Halliwell Jones Stadium on a three-year deal starting in 2027 meaning that he, Leon Hayes and Ewan Irwin will be the contracted playmakers, whilst Oli Leyland and Marc Sneyd remain without deals.

Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside in his first pre-match presser since Croft’s confirmed deal, Burgess said: “I think it’s a great acquisition for the club, obviously with George moving on, and we’ve got some young lads here as well, so we felt it was important we brought in some experience.

“We’ve had a plan and a process in place for a long time, we’ve had possible targets, and Brodie’s always been in that. We just made the decision, I would say, in the last month or so to accelerate that.”

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Warrington Wolves undecided on Marc Sneyd future as Burgess stresses importance of youth

With Croft now tied down, it means Wire certainly have one of their two starting halves for next year locked in but contracted players Leon Hayes and Ewan Irwin both lack experience, with the latter still only 18.

Asked how he felt about his group for next year, Burgess said: “For now, on contract is obviously Brodie, Leon and Ewan. I think between the three of those guys for now that are on contract, they’re more than capable to get a job done.

“With Marc, it’s whether we decide we want the experience around as well. It’s not something that we’re making a decision on now, but as the year unfolds, it might be something we look to do.”

As for the prospects of Irwin being the starter, Burgess declared the teen ‘capable’ and pointed to the promotion of Cai Taylor-Wray as the club’s starting full-back as a precedent they’re happy to utilise youth.

“It’s the same as what we did with Cai this year. It’s the model that we’re using here, so rather than going to market all the time, if we feel like we have good enough players within our system that are ready, then we’ll put the young lads in.

“I’ve enjoyed doing it. I love seen the young players come through, and when they’re ready, they’ve got to be ready but Ewan’s only going to grow as this year goes on.

“We’re seeing little bits of him, little bits of his game that are improving, but I think the way he’s approaching things he’s going to improve and we’ll get another pre-season so no doubt, I think he’ll be ready.”

Another name in the half-back group that fans have seen snippets of so far but could see more of in years to come is Tommy Rhodes, with Burgess insisting: “We’re probably not seeing the best of him just yet.

“He played a couple of trial games, scored a try in the Challenge Cup game so he’s more than capable. He’ll be playing in the academy for the next month or so to give him some game time and manage the team by himself.”