George Williams: Warrington Wolves star and England captain grateful for freedom to dictate game | Rugby League News

George Williams raves about the way manager Sam Burgess has given him and team-mate Matt Dufty the freedom to dictate play at Warrington Wolves.

Warrington, third in the table, two points behind Wigan Warriors and leaders Hull KR, are still firmly in contention to finish top of the table and win the League Leaders’ Shield, which would guarantee them a home play-off semi-final.

Since Warrington were beaten 18-8 by Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup final in June, they have won six of their eight Super League games and Williams is pleased with the form of his team and himself.

“I hope I’m at my best, but I think it’s probably the team I like to play on, I think everyone is playing their role,” Williams said. Vscek The Bench Podcast.

“So me and Dufty, we want to try to create things that make us look good. I think the mids are playing the platform and we’re in good positions on the court, so it’s a nice team to play at the moment.

“Before, I was probably stuck on the left side and there was no space to defend on the right. I actually prefer to have the ball on the left, but now I play on both sides.

“As long as we win, we know the team is playing well and we hope it continues like this.”

Warrington have made great improvements from last year, when they just qualified for the play-offs but lost in the knockout round, and Williams has learned a lot from the 2023 season.

“Looking back it was horrible, but now I feel like I learned a lot from that experience,” she added.

“At one point we lost eight or nine games in a row, which I had never lost, so during that time I learned to maintain the standards: to continue to do the right thing, to try to lead when you don’t feel good.

“For me it was positive and, looking back, a lot of it depends on the environment we live in.”

Coach Burgess ‘gets it all’

Last year, Sam Burgess was appointed as the new head coach of Warrington Wolves on a two-year contract, following the departure of Daryl Powell.

Burgess won numerous international honours for England in both rugby league and union and became an NRL champion with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Prior to joining Warrington, Burgess had been head coach of just one team, the Orara Valley Axemen, and was best known for his role as assistant coach at the South Sydney Rabbitohs after retiring from playing in 2019.

Williams attributes Warrington’s success this season to the appointment of Burgess and revealed the pair have a close relationship.

“Burgess has been great. It helps that he’s only been out of the game four years, but he’s such a good leader that when he says something people follow him,” Williams said.

“The pre-match chats are good, the meetings are good too. He gives us a review and then a motivational speech and we’re all ready to train. It’s nice and the boys are on our side.

“I think he understands the players. He knows that certain people need certain things.

“Dufty needs to pump up his tires and I’ll say it openly: he and Daryl Powell probably didn’t get along, he was hard on him when he did something wrong.

“Sam put his arm around him and, as you’ve seen this season, it works.

“We have conversations that aren’t about rugby. I’ve known him for quite a few years, but we talk about other things.

“I lost my grandfather last year and I was able to talk to him about it. There is a cure and it wasn’t just about saying things, he got into it.

“We talked about it for half an hour and then I went home feeling good because I had let off some steam and he understood.”

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