WARRINGTON Wolves have confirmed their starting side for Toby King’s Testimonial match – with some notable absentees.

As expected, head coach Sam Burgess has named his strongest available side for the clash with Leigh Leopards, with frontline first-team players expected to play at least the first half of the game at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

One man who is not in the side, however, is scrum-half Leon Hayes.

The homegrown half-back, who was handed the number seven jersey for 2025, is understood to have suffered a hamstring injury during pre-season training but it is not yet clear how serious the issue is.

Hayes’ absence means Oli Leyland – signed from London Broncos during the off-season – will start alongside George Williams in the halves having impressed during the friendly loss to Widnes Vikings a fortnight ago.

Burgess had confirmed last week that four other players would not feature due to injury – winger Josh Thewlis, hooker Sam Powell and second-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon are all completing their recoveries from shoulder surgery while prop James Harrison has a back issue.

All four are expected to be in contention for when the competitive action starts, with The Wire travelling to League One side Whitehaven in the Challenge Cup third round on Saturday, February 8.

The make-up of the bench has not yet been confirmed but is likely to include the likes of Zane Musgrove, Stefan Ratchford and Arron Lindop among others, all of whom featured against Widnes on January 17.

Thewlis and Fitzgibbon’s absences mean Leyland’s fellow new signings Dan Russell and Alfie Johnson will start the game – Papua New Guinea international Russell will line up alongside Adam Holroyd in the second row while rugby union convert Johnson will start on the wing.

Testimonial man King starts alongside Rodrick Tai in the centres, with Paul Vaughan and Luke Yates the starting front-rowers.

Warrington Wolves starting 13 for Toby King Testimonial

Matt Dufty; Alfie Johnson, Rodrick Tai, Toby King, Matty Ashton; George Williams, Oli Leyland; Paul Vaughan, Danny Walker, Luke Yates, Adam Holroyd, Dan Russell, Ben Currie