Super League outfit Warrington Wolves announce dual-registration with Championship club

Warrington Wolves have announced a dual-registration partnership for 2024 with Championship neighbours Widnes Vikings.

The partnership – a common one in rugby league – will see players from both sides able to play for one another, though in the most part will allow Warrington’s fringe players the opportunity to gain first-team experience and play competitive rugby league in the Championship for development purposes.

When a player goes on dual-registration, they will be eligible to play and train with both clubs. The player will be restricted to play in one fixture per scheduled round in any given week and would not be eligible to play twice over the same weekend if, for example, Warrington played on a Friday and Widnes on a Sunday.

The dual-registration rule was introduced in 2013, with the Wire’s previous partners including Widnes themselves back in 2020, though when the COVID-19 Pandemic came and the Championship season was curtailed, that link was cut short.

Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess describes dual-registration with Widnes Vikings as ‘a big plus’

New Wolves head coach spoke Sam Burgess about the importance of the club’s youth system in his first press conference earlier this month, with today’s announcement further evidence of his desire to bring young guns through.

Speaking to their club website in today’s press release, the Great Britain and England legend re-affirmed those beliefs as he added: “This partnership is a big plus for both clubs.

“We are looking forward to working with Allan Coleman and his team. The partnership will provide our players with the opportunity to gain valuable first team experience in a highly competitive league, whilst supporting a great club with a fantastic tradition in the game.”

Coleman too is new to the Vikings hotseat, making the move across the North West in preparation for 2024 from Swinton Lions.

On the new partnership, he said: “I’m really excited with the dual-registration. If you look through their squad they’ve got some quality players and, if they’re fully fit, we’re going to be offered exceptional players.

“The club had spoken to a number of other teams and obviously chose to go with Warrington which is fantastic for us. There are a lot of similar characteristics between the two clubs.

“Both clubs have got new coaches, obviously with Sam’s arrival there and I’m a new arrival at Widnes. We’ve also both brought new players in so I think we mirror each other really well. They’ve also got a lot of young, up-and-coming players which excites me because the younger the better in my eyes.”

READ NEXT: Super League ins and outs – Every confirmed signing and departure