Ready to rumble (From This Is Cheshire)

Tony Smith thinks Warrington Wolves are stronger than ever before

12:30pm Thursday 2nd February 2012 in Sport By Mike Parsons

TONY Smith describes his 2012 Wolves squad as ‘much stronger’ than the one which finished top of the table last year.

And on the eve of Super League XVII, he declares his men ready to rip into action after leaving no stone unturned in the bid to improve on last season’s successes.

Although internationally-experienced Matt King, Louis Anderson and Jon Clarke have gone, with Lee Mitchell also sent out on loan to Castleford Tigers for 12 months, newcomers Trent Waterhouse, Stefan Ratchford and Chris Hill have been joined by a fresh stock of young talent promoted from within.

If the squad of 36 full-time players is hit by injuries or form loss, Wolves are well prepared to cope.

“We’re much stronger and have much more depth within our squad,” said Smith, who is starting his fourth season at the helm and brought his front-line 25-man squad back from a three-week training camp in Australia at the weekend (coverage on pages 4, 5, 42, 43).

“Some of that is down to the younger players that we’re producing and bringing through the club and I’m feeling really good about the depth and quality we have.”

The 17 men who get the nod to start the campaign at Hull on Sunday will be fuelled by the ground-breaking trip Down Under, which not only applied finishing touches to the preparations but also laid foundations for years to come.

“They’re in good shape and they appreciate what the club’s done for them by sending them out to Australia,” said Smith, who applauded his players’ attitude and behaviour towards their work and down time while away.

“The players and coaches are going to do their best all season to make sure that this sort of event happens again. That’s a fair incentive.

“But the trip wasn’t just about setting up this season. It was about educating our young people to be better players and better people for the future.

“It was about building the club to have the right culture and we’ve been outstanding across the board.”