Warrington Wolves v Leeds Rhinos: Wire coach Steve Price right to chase silverware

In round one of Betfred Super League 2018 Rhinos were the champions and Warrington were rebuilding under a new coach after having survived a battle against relegation.

Now Warrington are coming off the back of appearances in both major finals while Leeds are the team looking to get back to the top.

“It was a difficult season for them last year, but each year it can change dramatically,” Wolves boss Steve Price said of Rhinos. “They’ve got a fantastic new coach in Dave Furner and they’ve made some wonderful signings. Kallum Watkins is back from a serious acl [anterior cruciate ligament] injury so they are going to be desperate to kick off their season on a positive note. However, we will be doing the same.”

Warrington are joint-favourites – with St Helens – to win the Grand Final in eight months’ time, but Price insisted he is not interested in what the bookies think. He said: “It’s about what we can control. For us, it is about keeping growing as the weeks go by and being a consistent football team and not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”

Tonight is Warrington’s first chance to put last October’s Grand Final defeat behind them. Their coach admitted it “certainly hurts” and stressed they have a “burning desire” to put that right this time.

“The ultimate goal is to lift silverware,” he added. “We will be doing our best. I am very pleased with the new signings we’ve brought in and the relationships they are building and the more games we play the better I’d like to think we are going to get.

“If you haven’t got your ticket [for tonight] make sure you get there because, hopefully, both teams can put on a great spectacle of rugby.”