September 2002

30th September.Warrington's dismal season has resulted in a mini clear at Wilderspool Tom O'Reilly who made only 15 appearances for the Wire mainly due to injury is one of the out of contract players to be released along with ,Jon Hill ,Leon Felton, David Alstead, Steve Maden and Craig Johnson.

26th September.Loose forward Mike Wainwright has left relegated Salford to join Warrington. The 27-year-old has signed a 12-month contract with the Wolves for whom he made 112 appearances from 1994-99.

Training injuries to top players affected the build up to Wires last game of the season at Wakefield,Captain Lee Briers and Jon Clarke both picked up injuries in training so did not figure in the line up at Trinity however the performance on the day was so bad the players that were absent would not have made much difference ,Paul Cullen on the game said" "They were forced chenges but that doesn't equate to the crashdown like we saw at Wakefield,it was not about who didn't play it was about who did,we are in for a long winter.

Warrington will start Super League V111 with many of the players that were in attendance at the 50-10 thrashing at Wakefield,players on Super League contracts are Lee Penny one year left,Rob Smythe one year,Lee Briers three years,Mark Hilton two years,Jon Clarke two years,Dale Laughton two years,Darren Burns one year,Dean Busby one year,Paul noone one year option,Jerome Guisset two years ,Matt Sturm two years ,Nick Fozzard one year ,Kevin Crouthers one year ,Leeroy Rivett,one year ,Ben Westwood two years,Nathan Wood one year, Warren Stevens one year.Dean Gaskell will have his contract reviewed as he recovers from an injury he sustained against St Helens in August.Two players coming out of contract are to be offered new deals whilst Paul Marquet is to retire and go back into carpentry.Australian winger Graham Appo who joines Wire halfway through last season will be offered terms to stay at Warrington as will Wigan target Paul Wood.

Sid Domic has been voted 2002 player of the year,Darren Burns got the Clubman and unsung hero award ,Lee Briers received two awards top try scorer and away player of the year ,Gary Hulse got the under 19 academy award and Steve Pickersgill the under17's.

Paul Cullen will be speaking to all of the clubs players individually over the next week ,he has not yet decided who will stay or who will go but has already told supporters not to expect major changes.There are seven players out of contract some will be offered new deals others could very well move on as well as Appo and Wood they are Steve Madon,Leon Felton,Tom O'Reilly,John Hill and David Alstead.Cullen is looking at new players but stated that people are not falling over themselves to come to the club because of what been going on over the past 12 months,3 coches have been sacked plus a number of players have been shown the door.Players will be off during October then preseason training and conditioning will start the first week of November.

Bank Quay Bulls Amateur Rugby League Football Club have arranged a fund raising sports forum and dinner for the 24th October at Bank Quay Social Club 7.30pm.Guests include Wire coach Paul Cullen player Sid Domic from St Helens will be Ian Millward,Paul Sculthorpe,Keiron Cunningham plus from Oldham Andy Coley former Castleford player Mick Morgan will be compere.Contact is Andy on 07909693130 tickets are priced at £15 and include a three course meal.

Nathan Wood flew home to Australia on Tuesday and will be training with South Sydney during the close season,he will be getting Married while he is in Austalia before jetting back to Warrington for Super League V111,he has not seen his familty for 3 months as they were only allowed a six month visa because they were not married ,being apart has affected my game and next year they will not have to go home early.

22nd September.Warrington ended a dismal season with a dismal couldn't care less defeat at Wakefield,any hopes Paul Cullen had of ending the season with a win were over as Wakefield went 18-0 up inside 20 minutes,the game went fron bad to worse for a Warrington side who seemed intent on doing nothing to stop the onslaught from a team that has fought off relegation 2 years running.Final Score Warrington 10, Tries; Burns Hulse Goal ;Smyth Wakefield Trinity 50, TriesVowles (2) Field Davis (3) Frew Holland Tassell Feather Goals ;Knott (4) Vowles . H/T: 24-4 ,ATT: 3,920

19th September..Warrington will offer rising star Paul Wood a new contract at the end of the season,their is a rumour a foot that Paul's home town team Wigan Warriors are interested in signing the player but the Wire are reluctant to let him go.Wood has been selected to go on ehe England A tour to the Pacific Rim Countries in November,he is out of contract at the end of the year but due to him being under 24 years old the club will recieve a transfer fee from any club that signs him.The Leeds player Richie Mathers will not be coming to Warrington after the 18yearold decided to stay at Leeds,Wire say that the player has signed a one year extension to his contract at Leeds .The Wire had a verbal agreement for a transfer fee to be paid for the player but Leeds have changed their mind after the player made a good impression at Warrington.

Warrington have been talking to a number of players for next season both at home and abroad but Cullen is not naming names at this time .He said " We've made inquiries to a number of players at a number of clubs in this country and abroad .Nothing has been nailed or finalised.

The performance against Salford came as a slap in the face to Paul Cullen ,but few changes are expected in the team or the game at Wakefield on Sunday ko 3.30 pm.The coach said "We never stepped back as a club in the preparation for the game against Salford ,our performance came as a shock to me,I hadn't studied much of how Warrington had performed prior to my arrival,but I can understand the frustration of all concerned after seeing it." If there is any credit to come out of the game I thought the front three ,as in Mark Hilton,Nick Fozzard and Warren Stevens made a general effort and contribution.Speaking of the game at Wakefield Cullen stated that any repeat of the performance against Salford will not be tolerated,he found the performance embarrassing after telling the media that the Wire would be going into the game full on,he said the players must do a lot of soul searching ,we are in danger of embarrassing ourselves again.Sid Domic will have a fitness test before the Wakefield game.

If all goes well and to plan with the new stadium next season could well be the last time the Wire turn out at Wilderspool.The fans however will end up paying more for the privilage as turnstyle prices are set to rise,prices at the turnstile will rise as follows ;Standing on the terraces will rise £1 to £12 for an adult and £17 for a seat in the Brian Bevan stand,concesions are £6 and £8 respectively ,however buying a season ticket means you will only pay for 10 games out of an expected 14 game home match season,Early bird stand prices are £170 for adults ,£80 for concessions and only £45 for Wolf Pack members,Ground season tickets are £120 for adults ,£60 for concessions and £25 for Wolf Pack members.Adults buying a full price early bird tickets will also receive a£10 voucher towards a replica shirt.Early Bird prices held up until 2 Nov 02

13th September.WARRINGTON 2-22 SALFORD Paul Cullen was furious after his Wolves side were outplayed by bottom-of the-table Salford at Wilderspool. "It was an awful night, we didn't play and got what we deserved. It was as bad as it gets," the Wolves coach said. "It was a shocking effort. If you don't put your body on the line then you won't win ` it as simple as that. It wasn't good enough. "It's very disappointing. That was an apology for a performance." The Salford scored two tries in each half, with Alan Hunte scoring twice against his old club. Jason Nicol and Greg Ebrill also touched down. Warrington's only score came from a Lee Briers goal but Nathan Wood had a try disallowed in what was a tense match. Warrington Goals: Briers 1,Salford Tries Hunte (2) Nicol Ebrill Goals Blakeley (3) H/T: 2-12 Att: 5,864 .

12th September.Warrington are expecting a hard game against Salford on Friday evening "live Sky Sports 8.00pm",it is a game Salford must win if they are to have any hope of avoiding relegation.Wakefield will also be hoping to get the better of Warrington the following week,Paul Cullen however has other ideas he is already on record as saying that the days of Warrington being the whipping boys of Super league are coming to an end.Cullen said "We are looking to sending out signals,primarily to ourselves but also to our opposition of next year that we are a good side that will keep on getting better." with both teams fighting for their lives,they should be tough games.Nevertheless we are looking for progressive performances."So I will field the strongest team our medics allow ,I will not be resting star players".He also remarked that contracts were up for grabs and players will have the opportunity to perform to impress on me that they deserve to be part of the setup next year.

Lee Penny and Sid Domic are both expected to play some part in the game against Salford,Dean Busby however is likely to be out after ankle ligament damage was confirmed by an xray,Paul Marquet is expected to fill his place, Warren Stevens impressed against Castleford so could also be in the running.Cullen is impressed with the team spirit at the club since his appointment He Said" The guys get paid to play Rugby League and give it their best and I believe in the past four weeks they have done that"As a result things have gone more or less as I had hoped." But we have still not reached a 50% completion rate when we do people will see the full potential of this Warrington side."We have only been on half throttle so far."Whloesale squad changes are not expected as Cullen thinks there is enough talent at the club to form the basis to take the club forward.

Paul Cullen salutes the crowd after the win that keeps The Wire in Super League.

8th September.Warrington secured their place in Super League with an excellent victory over top 6 chasing Castleford. Wire were 12-0 ahead after seven minutes following Darren Burns' try and Graham Appo's 70-metre touch down. The Tigers responded with a tries from Waine Pryce and Michael Eager as they reduced the half-time deficit to 14-8. Warrington moved clear when Tigers' Ryan Hudson was sin-binned, Appo and Jon Clarke scoring tries.Cullen was asked after the game if this meant the pressure was lifted he replied,"mathematically yes we are safe from going down but we still have two games left, Salford at Home and Wakefield away it is up to us now to send out the message that Warrington are no longer willing to be the wipping boys of the league and that full committment against Salford and Wakefield.WARRINGTON 29 Tries: Appo (2) Clarke Burns ,Goals: Briers (6) ,Castleford Tries: Eager (2) Pryce Goals:Bartrim ,H/T: 14-8 ATT: 6,103 .

9 Halifax 26 7 0 19 508 784 14
10 Warr'ton 26 7 0 19 471 806 14
11 Wakefield 26 4 2 20 496 861 10
12 Salford 26 4 1 21 458 634 9

7th September.It is hoped Lee Penny will be fit to face Castleford his injury is not as bad as first feared and he is responding to treatment,if he doesn't make it coach Paul Cullen has a dilemma Alstead could replace Penny but he played well in the centres and Cullen would like to keep him there if possible,Graham Appo could fill the spot as he deputised in that position before.A win could possibly secure a Super League place for Wire as it would move them 3 points above Salford who were very unlicky to lose at Widnes last week by a single point.

5th September.Paul Cullen commented that the fans at Halifax were like having an extra man. Cullen said "The fans brought us home,the support was fantastic" " In the space of eight days we can put the season away if we beat Castleford at Wilderspool a full house would help us on Sunday.Injuries to key players will dictate the team formation for the weekends game with Castleford,it is possible Paul Cullen could dip into the transfer before Fridays deadline although any targets are being kept close to Cullens chest.The players with injuries Penny (groin strain) Domic ( knee ligaments) Paul Wood (knee strain) and Dale Laugton (recurring back strain).However Briers ,Wood, O'Reilly,and Dean Busby all have problems but should be fit.

Possible team,O'Reilly,Appo,Westwood,Alstead,Smyth,Briers,Nathan Wood,Hilton,Clarke,Fozzard,Guisset,Busby and Burns.

Paul Cullen. Paul has been chosen to join the England A coaching setup for the game against New Zealand at Brentford on the 30th October and for the Three week tour of Australia , Fiji and Tonga in November.All at the club wish him well.

Bolton Wanderers will be sharing the New Wire stadium to be built on Winwick rd ,Bolton's reserve team will be playing all home games in the season starting 2004/5,such reserve teams as ManUtd,Man City ,Liverpool and Everton will be playing at the ground, the initial verbal agreement is for one season at first.Bolton will pay Warrington rent for the privilage.It is envisaged other sports could come on board to rent usage at the stadium giving Warrington much needed extra finance.

Latchford Under 9's Rugby League team wiped the floor with the opposition last Saturday 31st August at Halifax,taking on teams from all over Yorkshire they won all five games and only conceded 2 tries,the attacking rugby from Latchford was superb and allied to great defensive work never let the opposition get a look in.The team was Louis James,Dominic Ball,Matt Reid,Jamie Thompson, Tom Green, Tom Hardman ,Lewis Houghton, Becky Cooper and Scott Whiteley.Latchford Albion Unicorns,have started training for the new season and would welcome any youngsters who are interested in playing Rugby League,Training takes place at Victoria Park Latchford Under 14's 6.30-8pm Thursdays,Under 8' and u10's Tuesdays 6.30- 7.30. and on the same night u11's and u13's train 6.30- 8pm.

3rd September.Paul Cullen has gone back to Whitehaven to get two players they are Warren Stevens Stevens who made 33 appearances for the Wolves in his first stint with the club, making his debut in 1996 against Bradford Bulls as a 17-year-old has signed a one year deal and is on the bench against Cas, and Matt Sturm who is recalled from a loan spell at Whitehaven,reports BBC Cumbria.

2nd September. Warrington have been fined £1000 ,£500of it suspended for a year after being found guilty of making an illegal approach for Batley's Dean Lawford. The Wolves were not found guilty by the RFL of making an illegal approach for another scrum-half Nathan Wood, who joined them from Wakefield. The Wire's penultimate game of the season with Salford has been moved to Friday September 13.

10 Warrington 25 6 0 19 442 792 12
11 Wakefield 25 4 2 19 476 825 10
12 Salford 25 4 1 20 432 800 9

Ist September.Warrington 19 Tries: Briers, Burns Goals Briers (5)Drop Goal :Briers Halifax 16. Tries: Pryce (4) Lennon, Orr, Wells, Fritz. Goals: Bartrim (6) : H/T: 10-2 ATT: 7,134 .,

Lee Briers inspired The Wire to a vital victory over relegation rivals Halifax at The Shay The Welsh international stand-off scored 15 of Warrington's 19 points as Tony Anderson's first game in charge of Halifax ended in disappointment. Briers nipped over in the 17th minute to give Warrington the lead and he later added five goals and one drop. Paul Davidson gave Halifax some late hope but Warrington held on.