Nocturnal 
Sam Burgess has confirmed he will stay on as Warrington Wolves head coach despite the club suffering a fifth Grand Final defeat on Saturday, a 23-10 loss to Wakefield Trinity at Old Trafford.
The 37-year-old hasn’t yet put pen to paper on a new deal for 2027, but says he’s given owner Simon Moran something stronger than a contract: his word.
“I’ve not signed a contract yet but I’ve given my word to Simon Moran and that’s probably better than any contract,” Burgess said. “I truly believe in where we’re going as a club and the identity we’ve created.”
It’s the latest heartbreak for Warrington, who have now lost five Grand Finals and were also beaten in the Challenge Cup final in both 2024 and 2025. Saturday’s defeat came in their first trip back to Old Trafford for the big one since 2018.
Burgess pointed to the club’s academy as a source of hope rather than despair. Warrington had 15 players injured in the middle of the season, he said, and it was that academy system that “held us together”. Scrum-half Ewan Irwin, just 18, and 20-year-old centre Arron Lindop between them scored all of Warrington’s points on the day, with Lindop grabbing both tries and Irwin the conversion.
“This is more of a beginning,” said Burgess, who won the NRL Premiership with South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2014. “We’ve understood what it takes to get here now… the squad we are building now is getting more towards ‘my’ squad.”
Why it matters
Wakefield’s win wasn’t just a shock on the day, it capped one of the most remarkable turnarounds in English rugby league. As reported by The Guardian, Trinity were relegated from Super League in 2023 and Belle Vue was, in the paper’s words, a “shambles” of a ground before boyhood fan Matt Ellis completed a takeover in late 2023 and ploughed in around £10m.
From a Challenge Cup tie in front of a few hundred fans at Siddal in February 2024, Wakefield won promotion straight back to Super League, reached the play-offs last year and have now claimed their first major trophy in 58 years. Average crowds have risen from under 5,000 three years ago to more than 9,000 this season, with around 20,000 Trinity fans making the trip to Old Trafford.
The result also marks a genuine changing of the guard in Super League. As Sky Sports noted, this was the first Grand Final in the competition’s 29-year history not to feature St Helens, Leeds Rhinos or Wigan Warriors, a trio who between them have won the title 24 times. Wakefield become only the second club after last year’s winners Hull KR to break that stranglehold in recent seasons.
What happens next
For Wakefield, the focus turns to whether Belle Vue can cope with their newfound popularity, with Ellis reportedly already considering further redevelopment of the ground for 2027. For Warrington, Burgess’s pledge to stay means the Wolves will go again under the same coaching regime, leaning on young players like Irwin and Lindop as they try to finally turn near misses into silverware.
Formal contract talks between Burgess and Moran are expected in the coming months, though no timeline has been given.
