Warrington Wolves might not have played for the past fortnight, but their appointment of Sam Burgess as head coach for 2024 has been the buzz of the Betfred Super League.
Caretaker boss Gary Chambers will look to harness the new feel-good factor as the Wire head to Leeds Rhinos on Sunday looking to buck a seven-game losing streak. Here's everything you need to know about Sunday's action.
Leeds Rhinos v Warrington Wolves
Where: Headingley Stadium, Leeds.
When: 3pm (BST)
TV: No UK screening
Leeds' last five: Lost 6-13 v Leigh (Rd 21), Lost 18-22 @ St Helens (Rd 20), Lost 18-19 v Hull KR (Rd 19), Won 16-14 @ Salford (Rd 18), Won 22-6 @ Warrington (Rd 17)
Warrington's last five: Lost 10-30 v Catalans (Rd 21), Lost 6-42 @ Wakefield (Rd 20), Lost 12-26 @ Wigan (Rd 19), Lost 20-24 v St Helens (Rd 18), Lost 6-22 v Leeds (Rd 17)
Betfred match winner odds (80 minutes): Leeds 4/6, Warrington 13/10, draw 18/1
First try scorer odds: Ash Handley (Leeds) 6/1, Matty Ashton (Warrington) 8/1, Matt Dufty (Warrington) 8/1, David Fusitu'a (Leeds) 8/1, Derrell Olpherts (Leeds) 9/1
Milestones:
With 18 more points, Stefan Ratchford will reach 1,500 in the colours of Warrington Wolves. He so far has 87 tries, 566 goals and two drop-goals to his credit. Team-mate Ben Currie is on 99 career tries going into Sunday's game, 92 of them coming for the Wolves.
Previous meetings:
Round 17, 2023: Warrington Wolves 6, Leeds Rhinos 22
Round 1, 2023: Warrington Wolves 42, Leeds Rhinos 10
Round 24, 2022: Leeds Rhinos 24, Warrington Wolves 18
Round 14, 2022: Warrington Wolves 4, Leeds Rhinos 40
Round 1, 2022: Leeds Rhinos 20, Warrington Wolves 22
Total Super League meetings: 66 (Leeds 39, Warrington 26, one draw)
Leeds are in need of a turnaround having appeared set for another late-season burst for the play-offs just three rounds ago. Losses to Hull Kingston Rovers, St Helens and Leigh Leopards have left Rohan Smith's side four points off the top six with Wigan Warriors and Catalans Dragons still to play in their final six fixtures. They will be hoping to get winger Ash Handley into more scoring positions than they have of late, with the number five currently on 10 tries in 18 games this season, level with Rhyse Martin in Leeds' try-scorers' list.
Gary Chambers has six games left to leave a lasting impression before Sam Burgess takes up his first coaching role, and if the Warrington interim coach can get them into the play-offs it has to be considered a success given their remarkable recent slide. Having been top of the table for much of the early running, their seven-game skid has helped to see the back of Daryl Powell and now puts their top six ambitions in jeopardy. This is crunch-time for the Wolves with Hull FC, Castleford Tigers, Salford Red Devils, St Helens and Huddersfield Giants still to play.
Sportsman stat: Leeds have won four of their five Super League games against Warrington when Ben Thaler has been refereeing, but the Wolves' one win came in the last such encounter, a 33-22 win in 2018.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
