Cullen keeping Wolves from trapdoor
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Your support makes all the difference.Nobody could accuse Paul Cullen of getting carried away by Warrington's encouraging start to the season. Two wins from their first three games have put them in Super League's top six, but the Wolves' coach has his sights set elsewhere.
"Every game we play is about avoiding relegation," he says. "That won't change until it is mathematically impossibly for us to go down." That might seem like setting the club's aspirations at a rather low level, but, after their last few seasons, steering clear of any relegation drama would be a triumph in itself.
Warrington came into this season still smarting from the struggles of the last campaign and particularly from what Cullen calls "the worst performance in the club's history" – the 50-10 defeat by Wakefield on the final day.
Cullen had Wolves back in training shortly after that and their attitude this season is far removed from that humiliating day. Victories at Huddersfield and London have shown their new-found grit – and today's game against Hull will provide a further yardstick of their improvement.
"It's a massive game for us," says Cullen. "There are two competitions going on here – the big four and the rest. From five to 12, any of us can beat any of the others."
Warrington's enhanced chances in this company are not primarily due to strengthening their squad, although South Sydney's Brent Grose looks a useful addition. The main differences are in attitude and in organisation.
For one thing, Cullen appears to know what his best team is – something that eluded his immediate predecessors. Even when he has had to vary his selection, because of injury or illness, the changes have worked in his favour.
The absence of Lee Penny and Rob Smyth, for instance, has seen Graham Appo switched to full-back with great success and the promotion of young Dean Gaskell to play on the wing. The experienced Smyth is back in the squad to face Hull, but Gaskell's constant involvement and enthusiasm have meant that he has not been badly missed.
Appo showed his all-round value at London last week when, within the space of a couple of minutes, he made a spectacular, try-saving tackle and then ran almost the length of the field for a touchdown.
It was a stamp of quality on a performance that had some pundits describing Warrington as top four candidates. That is getting a little over-enthusiastic, but even the level-headed Cullen would concede that it is better to be talked of in those terms rather than as relegation candidates.
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