PLAYER of the year and England tourist Ben Westwood looks set to pull on a Warrington Wolves shirt for the rest of his career.
The back rower, and fellow international pack star Ben Harrison, signed two-year contract extensions before heading to New Zealand at the end of last week for the start of the Gillette Four Nations campaign.
Former Wakefield centre Westwood is now on the books until the end of 2013, which will be his Testimonial year marking 10 years of service to the club.
Harrison’s signature is another massive boost for the club, with one of the country’s brightest young talents now on board until the end of 2014.
Twenty nine-year-old Westwood, speaking from his hotel in Auckland ahead of Saturday’s England friendly with New Zealand Maoris, said: “I was always going to stay at Warrington.
“I set a goal at the start of the year to play well and hopefully earn another contract. The club seemed happy with how I have played and when they approached me to extend terms I was happy to do so.
“It gets me into my Testimonial year and I’m really glad to be staying because the club is going in the right direction with the two trophies we’ve won in the past two seasons.
“There’s going to be a lot of things happening at Warrington in the near future and I’m glad that I’m going to be a part of it.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time with the club and a few years ago I decided to move over here and now this is my new home.
“This contract extension means a great deal to me and it will mean a lot to me to stay at one club for so long.”
Cumbrian Harrison, although still only 22, is currently on his second tour Down Under having represented Ireland in the World Cup in 2008.
And he is the only Wolves player to have appeared in every round of the Challenge Cup during the last two triumphant years. That alone highlights his importance in the Wolves set-up for now and the future.
“I’m delighted to have secured my future at the club and want to be part of the successful future that the club’s going to have,” he said.
“It’s the only club I’ve been at and I don’t want to be anywhere else. We have a great set of fans, players and staff so I didn’t hesitate when I got the opportunity to extend my time with the club.”
Harrison, Westwood and Wolves teammates Adrian Morley and Ryan Atkins are hoping to be involved in England’s warm-up clash against the Maoris on Saturday (kick off 6am British time, live on Sky), although the team had not been confirmed at the time of going to press.
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