Warrington Wolves’ all-star pack options analysed after John Bateman deal

England international John Bateman is on his way back to Super League after agreeing a short-term loan move with Warrington Wolves.

It is the second significant piece of business the Wire have done in a matter of days, following the early arrival of Luke Yates from Huddersfield Giants. Yates was scheduled to join the Wolves at the start of next season but that deal has been brought forward to hand Sam Burgess another major boost.

But news of Bateman’s arrival is arguably even more seismic. He will provide huge depth to a pack that is now bursting at the seams with options. Some very, very good players are going to miss out: do Warrington now have the best forward unit in Super League? We’d argue it must be close.

Props/13

The Wolves now have TWELVE contracted first-team players who are capable of playing in either the front row or at loose-forward.

Granted, some of those are youngsters like Max Wood, Luke Thomas and Lucas Green. The Wolves signed Dan Okoro mid-season too, but he’s gone back to Bradford Bulls on a short-term loan. He’ll likely spend the rest of the season there now with Warrington well-stocked on middle units.

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But everyone else is senior and what you would consider frontline. Regular starters James Harrison and Paul Vaughan head up that group, along with Yates, who has arrived to give the club a mid-season lift. Ben Currie, though traditionally a back-rower, has excelled at 13 this season for Warrington.

Senior players like Joe Bullock and Zane Musgrove also go into this bracket. Jordy Crowther, Joe Philbin and overseas import Zane Musgrove are also squad options for Burgess.

Technically, Gil Dudson is still a Warrington player too: but he’s out on loan at Salford for the rest of this season.

Hookers

One area that is unchanged despite the recent transfer business is at hooker for Warrington.

Starter Danny Walker and deputy Sam Powell will likely continue in their roles for the rest of this season – though there are players like Crowther who are capable of jumping in at nine if required.

Back row

The remarkable and quite frankly ludicrous strength in depth continues on the edges for the Wolves. There are seven players who can play here, headlined by Bateman’s imminent arrival.

He will provide cover in the short-term for injured overseas star Lachlan Fitzgibbon, who has gone well throughout 2024. Currie is another who can cover in his more traditional role of back row if needed.

Matty Nicholson is the other senior choice at back row, with youngsters Adam Holroyd, Tom Whitehead and Nolan Tupaea also in the ranks if Burgess needs more options.

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