\n After all, the performance of the biggest men on the field will go a long way towards determining whether the new season will be one of success or another of struggle.\n<\/p>\n
\n There are plenty who feel that The Wire again lack size and punch through the middle of the field, with Paul Vaughan\u2019s departure to York Knights increasing concerns.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, the man who joined Vaughan in the starting front row for much of 2025 believes there is plenty to be excited about from those who have come in to help replace him.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been two great signings so far,\u201d Wire\u2019s new number eight Luke Yates told the Warrington Guardian when asked about the impact of new arrivals Liam Byrne and Toafofoa Sipley on the group.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBoth of them are great fellas \u2013 I\u2019d heard a lot about Toff and how much of a legend he is, and he\u2019s been great since he came over in terms of our culture and connection.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cByrney\u2019s come in over the last couple of weeks as he came in late, but he\u2019s been a great addition.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe\u2019s very driven and a no-nonsense sort of lad who\u2019s fitted in really well.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n And then, of course, there are those who remain including James Harrison, who has inherited Vaughan\u2019s number 10 shirt.\n<\/p>\n
\n A prop known to be well-liked by England head coach Shaun Wane, the need for surgeries on niggling injuries has taken away any chance of post-season international representation in recent years, including the recent Ashes series as he went under the knife to correct a shoulder issue that dogged the second half of his season.\n<\/p>\n
\n Now, Yates is hopeful the Yorkshireman has put those problems behind him.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cJimmy played so many games busted last year, but he kept putting his hand up for the team and putting his body on the line,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe\u2019s had a couple of surgeries since and he\u2019s looking great at the minute. He\u2019s healthy and coming in for a big season.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n While Yates, Harrison and the two new arrivals are among the established members of the middle unit, there is plenty of excitement about what one of its youngest operators can add in 2026.\n<\/p>\n
\n Having got his first taste of Super League at the back end of 2025, Tom McKinney is looking to kick on and despite still only being a teenager, he is one of the team\u2019s biggest bodies at 6ft 4ins tall and weighing more than 105kgs.\n<\/p>\n
\n For him, refinement and patience will be key \u2013 and Yates says he has been keen to help with that.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI was doing a little bit of work with him last year \u2013 he came and grabbed me and asked if I could do some work with him on his tackles,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe\u2019s eager to learn and has a load of potential.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe\u2019s a great athlete now is Tommy, but he\u2019ll probably end up putting on another five kilos of muscle.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe\u2019s got a big frame and with the way we\u2019re training at the minute, he\u2019s going to get bigger and bigger and improve physically.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThat\u2019s not to say he\u2019s nowhere near at the minute, but his potential for development is massive.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n As the Australian hinted above, there appears to have been a big shift in the way in which Warrington have attacked their pre-season \u2013 he went on to say he and his teammates have \u201chad the legs run off them\u201d in the weeks leading up to Christmas.\n<\/p>\n
\n But he went on to reveal that the squad have risen to the challenge, and picked out one man in particular who has caught the eye.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised by how fit some of the lads are \u2013 Ben Currie has been unbelievable,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got some fit lads in this group and I think the work we\u2019ve been doing will be perfect for hitting the ground running when the season starts.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really hard but it\u2019s been consistent, and I think that\u2019s the main thing we\u2019ve been missing.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBetween Sam (Burgess) and the staff, with Steve McNamara coming in as well, they\u2019ve really tried to nail that consistent skill as well as running the legs off us as well.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really good \u2013 I\u2019ve been impressed with how everyone\u2019s come back in and the work we\u2019ve put in.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cSteve\u2019s been all about fundamentals and nailing that basic skill.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe\u2019s been a great acquisition for the club \u2013 I think the young lads in particular are getting a lot off the back of his knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After all, the performance of the biggest men on the field will go a long way towards determining…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-340715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}