Friday 11 March 2016 16:04, UK
Every year is apparently the year of the Wolf. Ever since Simon Moran bought the club and bankrolled their rise up the Super League table, Warrington are always heavily tipped for honours at the start of a season.
Challenge Cups aren't a problem, they've won three of those. And they landed a League Leaders' Shield, back in 2011. But the Super League crown continues to elude them, having lost back-to-back finals in 2012 and 2013.
So will anything change in 2016? We're only four games into the new season but the Wolves have a 100 per cent record so far. And there's one man in particular that's dazzled during their early form - Chris Sandow.
His winning drop goal against Salford highlighted everything a half-back needs. Awareness to get in position to slot it over in the first place, composure to dance around the onrushing defender when the gap narrowed, and then quality and nerves of steel to fire a one-pointer over from long range.
That was the latest in a series of maverick plays from the scrum-half. Take his try against Wakefield where he ran at the line before chipping over to collect and then outpacing the cover defence to cross the whitewash.
What about his match-winning play at Headingley? Spotting the defence out of place before kicking wide with tackles spare for Kevin Penny to collect and score. It's the type of vision and daring Warrington have missed since Lee Briers' retirement.
Sandow is joint-second on Warrington's try list with three, joint-top of the assist list with four, second on the clean breaks list with four, and he's put in fifteen attacking kicks. They are all statistics that point to a level of control that Warrington so badly needed at half-back this season.
It's not escaped his coach's attention either; indeed Tony Smith was gushing with praise after the win over Salford, reserving special plaudits for his kicking game around the field.
It has not all been easy going for Sandow in Super League. He made a forgettable start to life in the primrose and blue. Parachuted in from Parramatta for Warrington's Super 8s campaign, he made a nightmare debut at Headingley as the Wolves were thumped 49-10 by Leeds.
Sandow showed little improvement for the rest of the season, not scoring any tries and providing just one assist as the Wolves' campaign limped to a sorry end.
Sandow talked about the scrutiny of the NRL playing a big part in his decision to move to England and his form in 2015 can't have been helped by his fallout with Eels coach Brad Arthur before the switch.
So it's not surprising, with a full pre-season under his belt and that extra time last summer to settle with his teammates and surroundings, that Warrington fans are seeing a new, improved version of Chris Sandow.
Sandow's improvement can also be attributed to another factor - the arrival of Kurt Gidley. A stellar name in the NRL, the 33-year-old has seen it all as an Australian international and State of Origin veteran.
Anyone under the impression Gidley has come to England for a late career payday is mistaken so far. His figures rank alongside Sandow, four assists and 15 attacking kicks, especially impressive considering he missed the game against Salford.
Some of the pressure is off Sandow with such an experienced head alongside him in Gidley, but what chance of the pair leading the Wolves back to Old Trafford?
Warrington struggled badly in the half-back positions last season. In 2015, along with Sandow, Warrington used Richie Myler, Gary Wheeler, Stefan Ratchford, Chris Bridge, Declan Patton and Gareth O'Brien in the halves. Out of those options, only Ratchford provided over 10 assists and he featured mainly from full-back. Warrington finished sixth.
It is early days but it appears Warrington may have found the solution to their half-back problems. With a strong pack inside them, and added strike power outside in new signing Tom Lineham, early evidence suggests a Wolves side, guided by Gidley and inspired by Sandow, could be a good early bet for Old Trafford.
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