WARRINGTON winning the league for the first time in 71 years may sound unlikely enough – but compared to the “mad s***” George Williams went through, it seems relatively sane.
When you and six team-mates, plus coaching staff and board members, are almost passing out while half naked in a sweat lodge, winning at seems routine.
The captain can make the fairytale farewell by guiding the Wolves to their first title since 1955 in his last game before returning to the .
That would make everything he has been through over the last five years worth it – even getting up close and personal with his pals and bosses in a self-constructed structure in the middle of Wales.
“We did this mad camp,” Williams recalled. “Seven leaders went away with the board, some of the staff, we did some mad s***.
“We went on a retreat for four days, giving the owners our phones. So they were off in the middle of Wales, in the middle of nowhere, near some place I couldn’t pronounce.
“There were seven players – me, Ben Currie, Luke Yates, Danny Walker, James Harrsion, Sam Powell and Josh Thewlis.
“And we had to build the sweat lodge – wooden frame, roof and walls, rocks to support them, fire, the lot.
“it’s basically like a sauna for two hours, body on body. There was some mad stuff going on.
“But we did loads of working on ourselves. What drives us, what upsets each other in life. It was deep, there some grown men were crying.
“But before you know it, the relationships and connections you had with one another are through the roof.
“We did all this mad s*** and got deep, by the end of it we were close enough to be able to say some home truths on what we needed as players, what the board needed from us. Before you know it, after four days we’re all best mates.
“We found out about the person, so then when we spoke to each other honestly, we knew it was coming from a good place. It wasn’t through disrespect, because we’d built a bridge.
“You might think that’s mad as f***, which I did. I’m not mad into all that stuff, but I bought in and it was beneficial.”
That sweat lodge may sound strange, but it confirmed one thing – Warrington’s attitude had changed under coach Sam Burgess, who is back in a Grand Final after defying medicine while playing for South Sydney in 2014’s NRL showpiece.
A fractured cheekbone sustained inside 10 seconds did not stop him inspiring the Rabbitohs to end a 43-year drought – now to scratch a seven-decade itch.
And four words from then team-mate Ben Te’o – “I’m here for you” – resonate as much now as they did 12 years ago.
He said of his own bravery, revealing he has spoken to ‘supercoach’ Wayne Bennett: “It was worth it. That’s still the main thing.
“And the players have been there for each other all year. It epitomises what the year’s been built on, the young lads.
“They got around each other, played hard for each other, competed hard and Saturday’s not different. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
“We’ve matured as a group and as a club. The club have matured with us, which is important.
“Whether it counts for much on Saturday, we’ll see.”
Burgess and Warrington may hve missed out on the play-offs last season, but actions are speaking much llouder than words.
And his skipper, who himself bounced back from a career-threatening neck injury that kept him out for four months, sensed the change almost from day one.
If those he is alongside, both on and off the pitch, were prepared to bare their souls and just about everything else, then they were on the right track.
The 31-year-old added: “A lot of standards were set. No matter what happens, this is how we work, this is how we act. This year we’ve had buy-in from everyone – previously, it’s not been the case.
“And the biggest complement I can give the club is I wish it was on the same path as it was when I signed. It’s a very different club now. That no d***heads policy goes a long way, trust me.
“It’s one I love being at. People use the word culture, but we’ve made a conscious effort to improve things – relationships between the board, the staff and the players.
“In the past, going to work was nowhere near as enjoyable as it is now.”
