WARRINGTON Wolves opening Super League games do not come any bigger.

That is the verdict of chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick.

While the assignments at Wigan on Thursday, and at home to St Helens the week after are daunting on the pitch – off it, they promise enormous excitement for fans.

Fitzpatrick said: “We are hoping to get a massive following in that away end for the first game at the DW and we want a sell out against Saints.

“It does not get any bigger than those first two games. Everyone is itching for some rugby league again.”

Warrington Guardian:

While 2019 included the enormous high with a Challenge Cup success, it ended in limp fashion with the play-off loss to Castleford.

But Fitzpatrick says aspirations are high heading into 2020.

“We expect to be challenging every year, we expect to be up there,” he said.

“We are aiming to win it (Super League). We expect an improvement on last year’s league performance. We want to retain the Challenge Cup as well.

“We need to be more creative in our attack.

“The coach is on the same page as me and is working on that. And we have the playing personnel to do that.

“Steve has done a great job since he arrived and there has been a marked improvement in defence.

“Now we can address the attack. In Blake Austin and Gareth Widdop we have potentially the greatest half back pairing in Super League ever.”

And he says it promises to be an exciting time at a crucial period for Super League as new broadcasting deals are discussed later this year.

He added: "It is a really exciting time for Super League as we enter the period for new broadcasting deals.

"The players coming from the NRL has been the best for a number of years.

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"Sezer at Huddersfield, Maloney at Catalans, Sonny Bill Williams at Toronto, George Burgess at Wigan, Widdop here and Hull have recruited strongly.

"Actually, there is a bit of pressure on Saints this year.

"They were the benchmark last year and had a fantastic squad.

"But it is interesting that they have not recruited anyone. We had that one season and sometimes you do need new faces just to freshen things up."