Sam Powell: New Warrington Wolves signing leaves behind home comforts at Wigan Warriors for next chapter

It had almost got to a point where it was difficult to imagine Sam Powell wearing anything other than a Wigan Warriors shirt in the Betfred Super League, let alone pulling on the colours of one of their most bitter rivals.

Yet that will be the case from next season after the hooker agreed the short move down the M6 to Warrington Wolves, bringing to a close 15 years at his hometown club which began with him joining Wigan’s academy as a 16-year-old and ended with October’s Grand Final triumph.

Loan spells with South Wales Scorpions and Workington Town in the early days of his professional career aside, Powell has known little else but the Warriors during a career which has seen him rack up 273 appearances in all competition for the club, plus be part of two Grand Final wins.

Yet the desire to move on after an at-times challenging 2023 campaign which included being sidelined for eight weeks with a shoulder injury and the opportunity to work under rugby league icon Sam Burgess as Powell considers his career beyond playing saw him decide to swap the cherry and white for the primrose and blue.

“I’ve never been closed-minded to think I was going to spend my whole career at Wigan,” Powell said. “The way it was going, it probably looked like that, but it’s professional sport at the end of the day and it comes down to a matter of things.

“I look back at my Wigan career now with my wife and my kids, and I’ve got nothing but great memories. They were good times, but I haven’t got long left in the game so I just want to enjoy myself here and give my input where I can.

“I look at it as a massive positive because I want to coach after I finish playing. I’ve got a chance to work under Sam and see how he does things, and I’ve been under four quality coaches, so the more the merrier.”

Powell already has some coaching experience under his belt after spending time working with Wigan’s youngsters over the past two seasons, and he intends to speak to Warrington director of rugby Gary Chambers to pursue the same opportunity with his new club.

The lessons from his former Warriors bosses Michael Maguire, Shaun Wane, Adrian Lam and Matt Peet have stood the 31-year-old in good stead and Powell is eager to keep gathering as much practical knowledge as possible for when the time eventually comes to hang up his boots.

“First of all, it’s what I see myself doing after the game, so I don’t see the point in waiting until after I’ve finished playing to gain that experience,” Powell, who has found his coaching work so far to be rewarding as well, said.

“Just looking at lads when they came in from signing as scholarship players, they make such a change in two years, and you can have a big influence on people in whether they want to choose rugby league or it’s not for them.

“I just enjoy seeing them come in as boys and leaving as young men into the first team and giving them certain aspects, not even in rugby league but lessons in life they can take forward whatever they choose.”

The emergence of Brad O’Neill as Wigan’s starting hooker during Powell’s injury-enforced absence and the signing of ex-Leeds Rhinos No 9 Kruise Leeming for the new season meant the former England Knights international would have likely faced stiff competition for playing time in 2024.

However, he finds himself in a similar position at Warrington because, even with Daryl Clark moving to St Helens, the Wolves have England international Danny Walker and Brad Dwyer, back at the Halliwell Jones Stadium after spells with Leeds and Hull FC, in their ranks too.

Powell accepts he may have to be deployed in the halves as he was at times during his Wigan career to get more minutes with the Wolves, but although he would rather play in his normal position, he is happy to take on another position if needed.

“I don’t mind,” Powell said. “My preference would be hooker, but I just want to be on the field playing.

“Danny and Brad are quality players, probably a little bit different to me and how I play my game. All three of us will be striving to get game time and that’s one of my goals.

“It’s a quality squad here with really good players, and I just wanted to be around it.”

Powell has had to hit the ground running with the Wolves, having only linked up with his new team-mates earlier this week with pre-season training already in full swing.

His first competitive outing at the Halliwell Jones Stadium is likely to come in Round 2 of the 2024 Super League season when Warrington host Hull FC in their first home game of the campaign on Friday, February 23.

It is a venue he knows all about from his Wigan days, although this time Powell is looking forward to having the home fans behind him rather than against him.

“I’ve come very open-minded,” Powell said. “Although I know people who play for the club at Warrington, I don’t know too much about it.

“I started a few days ago and that’s something I’m going to have to learn very quickly. I’ve been through the history of the club and trying to get a sense of what it means to the fans, because they’re so passionate.

“I love playing here on Friday nights and it’s something I want to be a part of.”

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