Comment on James Harrison's new Warrington Wolves contract

Based on the evidence we all saw at the back end of last season, it is not difficult to see why.

Amid a collective struggle, one of the brightest individual stars was a prop forward with limited Super League experience who was just returning from a serious knee injury.

His efficiency both on and off the ball meant he quickly established himself as a key part of the side.

Defensively in particular, he stood out – he averaged more than 30 tackles per game and finished the year with a tackle completion rate of just over 95 per cent.

Harrison tackles Castleford's Greg Eden (Image: SWPix.com)

Perhaps the most striking thing about him, though, was the durability he showed – he regularly churned out lengthy but impactful stints both from the start and off the bench.

His nine-month spell on the shelf made the kind of engine he showed all the more impressive and it certainly whets the appetite to see what he can do with a full pre-season under his belt and with the number eight shirt on his back.

That in itself is another show of faith in the man Daryl Powell talked up so much both before and after games – despite Joe Philbin being in possession and the likes of Gil Dudson and Sam Kasiano arriving, the prized number has gone to Harrison.

Of course, squad numbers do not mean as much now as they used to but if they can be used as an indicator of a head coach’s thinking, we can expect to see plenty of the Yorkshiremen from the off in 2023.

Harrison in pre-season training (Image: Warrington Wolves)

The hope of everyone at the club is that over at least the next three seasons, Harrison establishes himself as the latest big find from the second tier – the last shining example of that would be Chris Hill although Matty Ashton is well on the way.

Labelling him as “the next Chris Hill” would be akin to putting him under too much pressure but if he can have even half the impact on this club that Hill did, he could walk away happy.

Could he emerge as the same kind of solid, impactful starter that would become the cornerstone of the Warrington pack? We will find out soon enough.