June 2003
28th June.WARRINGTON 32-28 HUDDERSFIELD Two tries in the last nine minutes gave The Wire a hard-earned victory over a Huddersfield . A see-saw first half saw Darren Fleary give the Giants an early lead before Graham Appo, Lee Briers and Rob Smyth put Wire well in command. The Giants edged back in front through Stanley Gene and Paul March but Ian Sibbit levelled matters at 20-20. Two penalties went to the Giants before Wolves' late spree won them the match. Warrington. Tries: Appo Briers Smyth (2) Sibbit Hilton. Goals, Briers (4) .Huddersfield .Tries Fleary Gene March Costin .Goals, Costin (2) McNamara (4) . H/T: 14-14 Att: 5,639.
Paul Cullen paid tribute to Mark Hilton after the hard-working prop scored a key try as Wire came from 24-20 down in the last 10 minutes.Cullen said: "Mark was the best player on the field by a mile. "He worked exceptionally hard and he's done a little bit of work for one or two of his team-mates. "He thoroughly deserved his try and he thoroughly deserved his call-up for the Origin match on pure merit."
27th June.Team News - Round 16 Paul Cullen has named a squad of 19 for the Round 16 clash with the Giants this Saturday. 5. Graham Appo 2.Rob Smyth 3. Brent Grose 12. Ian Sibbit 18. Paul Noone 20. Dean Gaskill 6. Lee Briers 7.Nat Wood 8.Nick Fozzard 9. Jon Clarke 10. Mark Hilton 15. Jerome Guisset 17. Warren Stevens 11. Darren Burns 19. Gary Hulse 14. Mark Gleeson 21. Matt Sturm 1.
Lee Penny returns after an ankle injury Rnd 12 v St Helens (01/06/03) 13. Sid Domic returns after an ankle injury Rnd 13 v Wakefield (08/06/03) 4. Ben Westwood returns to contention after breaking his leg in Rnd 5 Bradford Bulls (06/04/03) INJURIES 16. PAUL WOOD shoulder injury sustained in Rnd 15 v Widnes Vikings (22/06/03) 23. MIKE WAINWRIGHT ankle sustained in Rnd 14 v Bradford Bulls (15/06/03)
MILESTONES 1. LEE PENNY needs one more try for a club career century of touchdowns. 6. LEE BRIERS made his 175 (163 + 12) appearance for the Wolves against Widnes last week 15. JEROME GUISSET has made 98 (55+44) appearances for the Wolves. Courtesy Wolfmail.
26th June.Paul Cullen had a hard decision to make in his decision to leave Lee Briers out of the Lancashire origin squad,although Lee'shamstring problems played a big part in his decision, Briers has been struggling for a number of weeks now and was heavily strapped for the game against Widnes.
24th June.Mark Hilton, 27 has been selected in the Lancashire side for this year's 2003 Origin fixture on Tuesday 2nd July 2003, kick-off 7.45pm at Odsal Stadium, Bradford. Mark is currently in his testimonial season with the club and has made 16 appearances so far this season scoring 1 try. Mark commented on his selection, "This is a fantastic honour for me to be selected for Lancashire during my testimonial year at Warrington. It gives me another shirt to auction off at one of my dinners!! "To be chosen for my second year in a row will give me the Opportunity to build on my substitute appearances last year. It is always good to play alongside the top players from other clubs, it is an opportunity to gauge my ability and I am looking forward to working under Paul Cullen at this level." Warrington Wolves and Lancashire Origin Coach believes that Mark has worked hard to gain his place, "Mark backs up last year's selection and performance and his inclusion this year is a result of his consistency and progression. He offers the steel that we need to out muscle the Yorkshire pack."
Get a "SIX PACK" in Today and watch the final 6 games at Wilderspool Warrington Wolves are pleased to announce the launch of our Super League Six Pack ticket, guaranteeing entranced to the last 6 games to be played at the home of Warrington Wolves, Wilderspool. For just £87 in the Brian Bevan Stand and £62 standing you can make sure you don't get locked out when it comes to the final 6 Super League matches and of course the last ever game to be played in over 105 years at Wilderspool against Wakefield on Sunday 21st September. Witness the final chapter of the Wilderspool story and take with you the memories of a glorious Rugby League era. Book your tickets online or call Wolfware on 01925 235005 for more information. Fixture Reminder Warrington Wolves V Huddersfield Giants Saturday 28th June Kick-off 3pm The Round 16 fixture has been moved from Sunday 29th to Saturday 28th in preparation for the Origin game on Wednesday 2nd July @ Odsal Stadium, Bradford.
23rd June.A tremendous game at Widnes with the Wire opening up a 16 nil lead in minutes ,only to see Widnes pull back to 16-14 and take the lead Wire regained the lead which went either way for the second half, only for Graham Appo to intercept 30 metres from his own line in the second to last minute.Widnes 28Warrington.32 WidnesTries: Millard Cantillon Bird Lawford Goals: O'Neill 6. Warrington Tries: Smyth Grose Appo 2 Wood Hulse : Goals: Briers 4 Ht 14-16 Crowd 8,400 approx
20th June.Paul Cullen has named his squad for the Round 15 clash with local rivals Widnes Vikings this Sunday at the Halton Stadium. 5. Graham Appo 2.Rob Smyth 3. Brent Grose 18. Paul Noone 20. Dean Gaskill 9. Jon Clarke 7.Nat Wood 8.Nick Fozzard 14. Mark Gleeson 10. Mark Hilton 15. Jerome Guisset 17. Warren Stevens 11. Darren Burns 19. Gary Hulse 16.Paul Wood 21. Matt Sturm 26. Jamie Durbin 26. Jamie Durbin, 18 scrum half, has played for England School Boys R.U, signed from Halton Hornets ARLFC, Widnes at the age of 12. Has featured in the Senior Academy this season making 11 appearances and scoring 2 tries. Jamie made his debut for the first team against his home town team Widnes in the WIRE FM Boxing Day Challenge (26/12/03), where he scored a try. INJURIES -------- *1. LEE PENNY ankle v Rnd 12 v St. Helens (01/06/03) 4. BEN WESTWOOD broken leg v Rnd 5 Bradford Bulls (06/04/03) *6. LEE BRIERS back/hamstring sidelined 30minutes before Rnd 14 v Bradford Bulls (15/06/03) *12. IAN SIBBIT ankle last played Rnd 13 v Wakefield (08/06/03) *13. SID DOMIC ankle last played Rnd13 v Wakefield (08/06/03) *23. MIKE WAINWRIGHT ankle sustained in Rnd 14 v Bradford Bulls (15/06/03) *Face late fitness tests ahead of the game.
16th June.Ben Westwood has resumed full training after suffering a broken leg against Bradford in April . Paul Cullen refuses to blame Dean Gaskell for his late error which handed Bradford a 20-24 victory. Gaskell tapped Paul Deacon's attempted 40-20 back into play in the in goal area and Scott Naylor pounced to grab a late try. Cullen said: "We put the ball on the floor 10 times and Dean Gaskell was no more responsible for this result than anyone else who made a mistake.Cullen added "We proved that we can compete with the top sides,"
15th June. WARRINGTON 20-24 BRADFORD .Warrington Tries: Smyth Appo Grose Goals: Appo (4) .Bradford Tries Gartner Paul Forshaw Naylor .Goals Deacon (4) . H/T: 14-6 Att: 7,507
14th June. Warrington coach Paul Cullen has urged The Wolves to bounce back at home to the Bulls following last week's defeat at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. Warrington recall 99-try full-back Lee Penny at Wilderspool and Cullen said: "The Bradford fixture is exactly the one we need after the poor performance against Wakefield. "We are taking on arguably the most powerful team in world rugby league."
A visit to the site of the new stadium on Saturday 14th June showed how much progress has been made in only a fortnight the West Stand which did not exist two weeks ago is well on it's way as the Stadium Pictures show and the cladding is well under way on the North and South stands.A surprise was the pitch area which is covered in top soil and is awaiting the turf. The gantry's for the floodlighting is in place on the top of the North and West stands,and things seem on course for an October finish.
12th June. Paul Cullen took the blame for the poor showing last week firmly on the chin, he admits it was an error fielding so many players who were unfit to play due to injuries. Cullen said more fringe players will be brought in to cover for injuries. Cullen was none to pleased with the effort from some of his team,however Appo and Briers escaped criticism, players sat back and expected others to win the game, Cullen said "We were out thought, out fought and out played, Wakefield were very aggressive in both attack and defence and we found out just how tough Super league is.
Paul Cullen has named a 19-man squad for the Round 14 match against the Bradford Bulls this Sunday. 1.Lee Penny 2.Rob Smyth 3. Brent Grose 12. Ian Sibbit 5. Graham Appo 6. Lee Briers (C) 7.Nat Wood 8.Nick Fozzard 9.Jon Clarke 10. Mark Hilton 15. Jerome Guisset 23.Mike Wainwright 13.Sid Domic 14. Mark Gleeson 16.Paul Wood 11. Darren Burns 17. Warren Stevens 18.Paul Noone 22. Dean Gaskill
Mark Hilton has been granted a testimonial by the club,his benefit term will start with a dinner on the 9th July, he is hoping to set up 4 or 5 quality events a year and he hopes supporters will support him and join in to make the year enjoyable.
8th June. Well what a difference a week makes, from a heroic performance against St Helens last Sunday it was back to mediocrity this week beaten 32-12 made a team that were made to look third class by Widnes recently. It seems Wire are incapable of any consistence and today's performance against Wakefield puts the team back where they were a month ago when they were wupped 56-6 by Saints. Paul Cullen has bought a breath of fresh air into the town as regards the rugby team but it seems a few of the players are still not using the mouth wash regularly. The Wire went 10 nil down today before recovering to go 10-12 ahead but after that it was all downhill. Wakefield: Tries: March Vowles Halpenny Jeffries Davis (2) . Goals: Davis (4) Warrington:Tries Smyth Grose :Goals: Briers (2) . H/T: 10-12 .
6th June. Paul Cullen has named an 18-man squad for Round 13. 1.Lee Penny 2.Rob Smyth 3. Brent Grose 12. Ian Sibbit 5. Graham Appo 6. Lee Briers (C) 7.Nat Wood 8.Nick Fozzard 9.Jon Clarke 10. Mark Hilton 15. Jerome Guisset 23.Mike Wainwright 13.Sid Domic 14. Mark Gleeson 16.Paul Wood 11. Darren Burns 17. Warren Stevens 18.Paul Noone MILESTONES 1. LEE PENNY needs one more try for a club career century of touchdowns. National League Three - Warrington Woolston Rovers Warrington Woolston Rovers v Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks Saturday 7th June 2003 Kick Off 2.30pm, Wilderspool Stadium Admission is £2 for Adults and £1 for Concessions
5th June. Paul Cullen revealed a well kept secret after the draw with Saints,it was that several players who made the team should never had played due to injuries that they were carrying.He said " This season we have not made much of a fuss,and never will about our injury situation, but we pushed a number of bodies on the fiels against Saints,some guys possibly should not have been on the field but they aimed up because of the opposition and there were some exceptional efforts." "It shows the determination that we are not going to be humiliated again by St Helens as was the case earlier this year at Knowsley Rd."
Warrington visit their Groundus Horribilus on Sunday, who would like to forget the final day of last season when The Wire were thrashed 50-10 by a side that missed relegation by the skin of their teeth, the same complacency that saw the team lose to Castleford after a good performance against Wigan must not be allowed to happen again against Wakefield, it is clear that Wakefield would have thought that playing Wire is two points in the bag but after recent performances they may wish to reconsider. Wire defeated Wakefield 35-20 at Wilderspool on Good Friday and the 20 points that Wire allowed Wakefield to score should act against any thoughts of complacency.
A Super league club has enquired about purchasing the Brian Bevan stand at the soon to be demolished Wilderspool stadium, the dismantling and transport of the stand is being actively looked into.The Wire have made inquiries about purchasing the electronic scoreboard at Maine road Manchester, prices quoted to Warrington for a new one range from £1/2 mill to £ 3/4 mill. Any Clubs who would like parts of Wilderspool are being asked to contact Warrington A.S.A.P.
2nd June.Paul Cullen was full of praise for the efforts of his team. He said: "It is very encouraging to play so well against a side who were world champions not so long ago. "We set out our stall not to be done by 60 points after being embarrassed at Knowsley Road on Easter Monday. "Some of our guys should not have been on the field through injury and there were some exceptional efforts," the Wolves boss added. It was suggested on the radio that Nick Fozzard was guilty of a high tackle that put St helens Stankovich out of the game,however the player suffered a broken leg in what according to Ian Millward was a fair tackle.
Ist June.WARRINGTON 30-30 ST HELENS Lee Penny's late converted try was enough to deny St Helens victory and earn The Wire a share of the points. The home side deserved a share of the honours having gone ahead after three minutes two tries from Brent Grose and one from Jon Clarke put Wire ahead and they were leading 24-10 just after half time only to be pegged back in the second half by a Saints revival which left Wire trailing 24-30. Four Saints tries in 17 second half minutes looked to be enough before Lee Briers' conversion levelled matters. Warrington Tries: Grose (2) Clarke Guisset Penny Goals: Briers (5) ,St Helens Tries :Bennett Sculthorpe (2) Gardner Long Newlove Goals Sculthorpe (3) .H/T: 18-10 ATT: 8,590 .
TEAM NEWS Coach Paul Cullen has named a 18-man squad for the Round 12 fixture against local rivals St Helens. 1.Lee Penny 2.Rob Smyth 3. Brent Grose 12. Ian Sibbit 5. Graham Appo 6. Lee Briers (C) 7.Nat Wood 8.Nick Fozzard 9.Jon Clarke 10. Mark Hilton 15. Jerome Guisset 23.Mike Wainwright 13.Sid Domic 14. Mark Gleeson 16.Paul Wood 11. Darren Burns 17. Warren Stevens 18.Paul Noone U21s Brown Out for rest of season Wolves U21's player Gareth Brown, 21 has been ruled out of the rest of the U21s season after suffering from a dislocated knee on Wednesday night against Hull K.R, in which the Wolves won 48-18. Brown joined the newly set up U21's side this season from Bold Miners ARLFC, St Helens. Gareth has suffered a dislocated knee in a tackle, which has ruptured all his ligaments in his knee. U21's Coach Graham Scott commented, "Gareth has commanded a regular starting place since joining the squad this season and his two great tries last week at Castleford won us the game. He is a hard running player with a great consistency and work rate." Head Coach Paul Cullen stated, "Gareth is very talented and ambitious young player that was given the opportunity which he seized with both hands. We are all absolutely sickened by the injury that he received while playing in our under 21's. It is testimony to the man's character that while he was being stretchered off the field with a broken leg, a complete dislocation of the knee and rupture of all knee ligaments, he was actually shouting encouragement to his fellow team mates. We will ensure that he receives the best medical care to enable him to make a full recovery."
