THE early part of his week was riddled with drama, but Sam Burgess is looking forward to enjoying what remains of it following his belated arrival in Las Vegas.
The Warrington Wolves head coach’s participation in the historic Allegiant Stadium clash with Wigan Warriors was shrouded in uncertainty after it emerged his visa application to enter the United States was under review.
That meant he could not join the rest of Warrington’s travelling party in flying to Vegas on Sunday and he missed the team’s first field training session of the week as he remained in England.
Having finally received clearance to travel yesterday, however, Burgess arrived last night and in his first interview with the English press since touching down, he says he is ready to put it all behind him.
He also praised the job done by assistant coaches Martin Gleeson and Richard Marshall in taking over in his absence.
“It was pretty close for a day or two but I’m here now,” he said.
“Now I’m here, I’ve kind of forgotten what happened earlier in the week. There’s a great energy around the place so we’re looking forward to a good week.
“It wasn’t ideal but I’m here now, and it’s about getting everybody ready for the game on Saturday while enjoying the whole week.
“My two assistants are great – they’ve done it before when I had to shoot back to Australia last year.
“They did a good job then and I’m fortunate to have those two by my side.
“The players are all connected and know what they need to do, so no complaints from me.”
Assistant coaches Martin Gleeson (pictured) and Richard Marshall have led preparations in Burgess' absence (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
Warrington Wolves set for unchanged team in Las Vegas
The Wire have brought 21 players with them to Vegas for the week – the same 21 that was selected for Friday’s Round Two victory over Catalans Dragons.
And with no fresh injury concerns in camp, Burgess says the 17 he narrows it down to for Saturday’s meeting with the defending Super League champions is set to be unchanged as well.
That would give new signing Oli Leyland another chance to feature alongside skipper George Williams in the halves having replaced veteran Stefan Ratchford on Saturday.
“We’ll be looking to go that way,” Burgess said when asked whether he would name an unchanged team.
“We were a bit better last week so now we’re looking to build on that and try and grow our combinations.
“We wanted to see if we could get a different approach with our attack.
“George and Oli had been good in the pre-season and Oli was very close in Round One, but I’ve got a lot of admiration for Stef and what he’s done for the club so I thought I’d give him a shot in the jersey first up.
“I’m not saying it didn’t work out or do a good job, but I felt Oli could use the experience in the group to fill that spot before Leon (Hayes) gets back.”
Oli Leyland is set to keep his spot in the halves alongside George Williams (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com) This week is also Burgess first time back in an NRL environment since returning to England at the end of 2023 to take over at Warrington and given his profile Down Under, he will remain one of the main attractions media-wise.
The increased level of attention and hype also goes for the players and while wanting them to soak everything up and enjoy it, Burgess also wants them to remember why they are there.
Sam Burgess is interviewed by Australia's Fox Sports (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com) “It’s been good seeing a few old faces and a lot of people I’ve worked with,” he said.
“It’s almost been like a Magic week in Vegas, so I’m looking forward to the rest of it now.
“The week has thrown a bit more at us than it usually does, but it’s about enjoying it.
“A lot of them won’t experience anything like this again, so it’s important we soak it all up while appreciating the main thing is two points on Saturday.”
