Split family loyalty for Wiganer at the heart of Wire’s bid at Wembley

Whatever happens at Wembley, there will be mixed feelings for the family of one of Warrington Wolves’ key players.

Hooker Sam Powell has been a big part of Sam Burgess’s squad since his off-season arrival from Wigan Warriors – his hometown club with whom he spent his entire professional career before then.

A lad from Wigan, surrounded by Warriors fans and still living in the city, to walk out at Wembley against them will surely be surreal for the 31-year-old, but he already has the most important to him.

“It was a bit,” he said when asked if there had been an increase in pre-Wembley teasing from his nearest and dearest.

“Part of the family will be disappointed, but it’s all good.

“It was very surreal when I came here, but as soon as I saw my little girls running around in Warrington kits, it was down to business. They are young enough to adapt to a different team fairly quickly.

“I know they’ll at least shout for me and my wife and my parents.”

Powell scores in semi-final win over Huddersfield Giants (Image: SWPix.com)

It’s not just the family element for Powell, either – Saturday will see him fighting people he still counts among his closest friends.

He can count the vast majority of the current Wigan pack as former team-mates who helped them win the Super League Grand Final last year and the Challenge Cup in 2022, despite missing the final through suspension.

However, it is nothing new for the man who made his 300th professional appearance in the Super League clash between the pair last week.

“I’ve been playing against friends for years,” he said.

“The people I met at Wigan have gone on to other teams so it’s something I’m used to having spent a lot of time at a club.

“When the game starts, everything is business as usual and I will be focused on getting my game right and doing my job for the team.

“I meet for a coffee with a few of the Wigan lads every few weeks. It’s not just me – our families are close too.

“Good to see them traveling well.”

Powell was part of Wigan’s 2022 Challenge Cup winning side but missed the final at Tottenham due to suspension (Image: SWPix.com)

Having won four Super League titles, two Challenge Cups and a World Club Challenge win, Powell certainly knows a thing or two about what it takes to win trophies.

The experience and leadership he brings were among the key reasons Burgess wanted to bring the England Knights international to the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

So far, it looks like a masterstroke – Powell’s guidance on the pitch is clearly visible during games and he remains Warrington’s only ever-present player this season.

So does he think the raw materials are there for Wire to taste the sustained success he helped bring to their neighbors?

“If anyone knew the ingredients for success, they’d be a millionaire,” he said.

“What I see is people coming in every day wanting to get better. That’s how teams become winners.

“We have a great coaching staff, good leadership and people who are hungry not just to win on the weekend, but to come in on Monday or Tuesday and develop.”

Although it’s early days, the start of Burgess’s head coaching career has an “everything he touches turns to gold” feel like when opposite number Matt Peet took over at A49.

In just over two years on the job, Peet has won every trophy available, and while he expected Burgess’s kind of unprecedented success to be unfair, Powell says parallels can be drawn.

“I see similarities in that they’re both winners,” he said.

“That’s why I signed here – as soon as I spoke to Sam for the first time, my wife said she could tell how excited I was to come to Warrington.

“It was a new start for the club and for me so I wasn’t sure what to expect but you can see the boys are really playing for it.

“Sam has come to change things and I’m fine with that – I want to play as well as I can for him.”

Powell and Sam Burgess after the recent win at Catalans Dragons (Image: Joe Richardson)