Karl Fitzpatrick admits life is much calmer after Warrington’s ‘hostile’ 2022
KARL Fitzpatrick is loving life without the ‘hostility’ of being blamed for Warrington’s shocking season.
But the future of boss Daryl Powell was never debated and languishing at the wrong end did not distract potential signings.
The Wolves won their opening eight matches of the season and the coach was greeted at local pubs like a hero.
Successive defeats to Wigan and St Helens saw them knocked off the top by the Warriors.
However, the lessons learned from when they were 11th in the league are as applicable now as they were then, even if the mood is a little lighter.
Fitzpatrick said: “Life is very different. It was pretty hostile at times but I understood it. In a perverse way, that was a good thing as it showed people cared.
“I was pinpointed as having to go last year, as was Daryl, but we were confident that if we could get through in decent shape, the squad we were assembling could do something.
“We’re in a decent position but we’re not going to heap pressure on to the team in terms of, ‘We want to achieve this, we want to do that.’”
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The results of Warrington’s start are there for all to see – a record Halliwell Jones Stadium crowd watched the 13-6 loss to Wigan that ended their perfect run.
Even the 28-6 beating by four-times defending champions St Helens could be a good thing as Powell admitted it showed they are not good enough yet.
However, all is not lost. Ending a 68-year wait for a title is still in their sights, thanks to some canny recruitment made during a lean season.
And Fitzpatrick, whose side faces winless Wakefield tonight, revealed talent was not everything and troubles were the making of new England skipper George Williams.
He insisted: “The big things we looked at this year are character and leadership qualities.
“Were the new players aligned with the culture we want to create? The first thing was, ‘What’s their character like?’ We’re seeing that.
“We had 50 per cent turnover in our playing squad, now we’ve great balance – a big pack, pace out wide and probably the best half back combination has been George Williams and Josh Drinkwater.
“Bringing Josh in has allowed George to play his own game. He was good last year and was great for England at the World Cup. He’s continued that again this year and has been, in my opinion, the best player in Super League.
“And him going through that adversity has created a lot of growth in his game in terms of his leadership ability. His voice has grown in the group.”
“Daryl and I communicated with the board in terms of, ‘This is our plan, this is what we want to get to.’ When we interviewed Daryl, he said, ‘Look, this is a rebuild.’
“We knew last year would be transitional, but it probably turned out being a little more hostile and difficult than we anticipated.”