FIVE of Wolves’ out-of-contract players will be staying at the club for next season.

Benjamin Jullien, George and Toby King, Harvey Livett and Jack Johnson had reached the end of deals with The Wire but have had options to extend their stays activated.

And with the £175,000 signing of Ben Murdoch-Masila this week, it takes the number of players contracted to Warrington for 2018 to 25.

Chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick said Wolves are “still active” in the recruitment market, with a player capable of operating at hooker and loose forward a key priority.

Veteran centre Ben Pomeroy’s future is uncertain, though, as his short-term deal has expired.

“Harvey Livett, the Kings, Benjamin Jullien and Jack Johnson are all under contract for next season,” he said.

“They all had options to extend written within their deals and we have taken them up.

“Ben Pomeroy is out of contract but no decision has been made on him yet. We’re still weighing up our options.

“With the salary cap space we have, we need to be smart about who we bring in.

“We’re still active in the market and we’re looking at a few players. A couple more players would give us a squad of about 28, which we’re looking to have.”

Murdoch-Masila’s arrival from Salford Red Devils takes The Wire’s close-season signing tally to four following the previous captures of Sitaleki Akauola, Bryson Goodwin and Tyrone Roberts.

Eleven players left the club following the end of the 2017 campaign, but Fitzpatrick says things are not as unbalanced as they seem.

“When you look at the players who have left, a number were fringe players who may not have got a lot of game time,” he said.

“There’s only around five core players, who would have been in the matchday 17 week in week out, who are being replaced.

“There’s been a number of young players who have stepped up, such as Harvey Livett, Morgan Smith, Benjamin Jullien and Joe Philbin.

“Due to the game time they’ve had over the past 12 months, they’ve matured and we’re looking for them to step up again.”

New Wolves head coach Steve Price will arrive in the UK tomorrow, Friday, with pre-season training due to begin on November 6.

Fitzpatrick confirmed Wolves were keen to continue running a reserve-grade team in 2018 but explained a potential roadblock.

“We’ve not confirmed on the reserves at the moment, we’re waiting on the RFL,” he said.

“We’re looking for a number of clubs to make a commitment to running a reserve side as it really wasn’t great this year.

“We only ended up playing three or four games, we need more regular matches.

“Until we’ve got a commitment from the RFL and other clubs that they are willing to participate, we can’t commit either way.

“We’d like to, we’re keen to, but if we’re going to do it, it is important the reserves get some solid game time.”

Wolves contracted players for 2018: Stefan Ratchford, Tom Lineham, Ryan Atkins, Matty Russell, Kevin Brown, Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Ben Currie, Jack Hughes, Mike Cooper, George King, Dom Crosby, Toby King, Declan Patton, Joe Philbin, Benjamin Jullien, Ben Westwood, Jack Johnson, Morgan Smith, Harvey Livett, Pat Moran, Sitaleki Akauola, Bryson Goodwin, Tyrone Roberts, Ben Murdoch-Masila.