If winning isn't important then why do we keep score?

This page features information on Warrington Wolves rugby league club.
It is not a complete history of the club by any means, nor is it intended to be.
For more visit the Warrington Wolves Foundation official heritage website wire2wolves.com.
See also www.warringtonwolves.org. mywarrington is not responsible for any content on either of the club websites.

Note: some of this material is from Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia. Please see the foot of the Feedback page 
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Mack and Oscar (above), the two best-dressed at the homecoming of Warrington Wolves from their Challenge Cup Final 35-18 win over Leeds Rhinos. Thanks to their owners for dressing them up - I forgot to ask for your email address. Send it and I will send the high-res version of the photo. More pictures of the homecoming will appear shortly... Meanwhile, read my report of the game in Warrington Wolves.

Early years

Warrington Zingari was founded in 1879 by Timothy Grix of Chatburn. The committee of the newly formed club managed to get the use of a field fronting Sankey Street. The headquarters of the club were at the White Hart Hotel in Sankey Street.

The first match was an away game against the Walton side, played at Rice Field in Liverpool on 18 October 1879. Walton won by three goals to nil. The first home game at Sankey Street was against Oughtrington, with Warrington gaining their first victory by three goals to one. In their first season Warrington played 11 games, won 7, lost 2 and drew 2. A year later, The Warrington Guardian newspaper purchased the land in Sankey Street for its new offices, and the club was forced to move to a new pitch at Wilderspool.

Another local club, Padgate Excelsior, amalgamated with Warrington in 1881-1882 to form a representative town side. After one season at Wilderspool, the club obtained another field at Slutchers Lane. A year later, Warrington moved back to Sankey Street to play in a field behind the town's post office. In 1883-1884, they moved for the fourth time, this time back to Wilderspool, the new pitch being just a short distance from the previous ground.

In 1884-1885, Warrington were strengthened again when the Warrington Wanderers club, joined the town side. In 1886, the club won its first silverware, the South West Lancashire and Border Towns Trophy.

Post WW2                                             

The early post-WW2 years saw a boom in rugby league in general, and the glory years of the Warrington club. Brian Bevan, winger,  made his debut for Warrington in 1945. Over the next 16 seasons he scored 740 tries for the club in 620 games. With other stars such as Harry Bath and Gerry Helme, the Wire won all the code's major honours, including the League Championship in 1947/8, 1953/4 and 1954/5. Warrington reached the 1948/49 Lancashire Cup Final but were beaten by Wigan. In the league Warrington lost only five matches all season.

Another good cup run took the Wire to the 1950 Challenge Cup Final. This time they were to play local rivals Widnes, beating them 19-nil.

In 1951/52 Ces Mountford was appointed as coach with a ten-year contract.

In 1954, a record 102,569 paid to see Warrington defeat Halifax 8-4 in the Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal, Bradford, but thousands more got in for free.

The 1955/56 season saw a tournament entitled the ITV Floodlit Competition. Eight clubs participated in a series of games played at football grounds in the London area, with Warrington eventually beating Leigh 43-18 at Loftus Road.

On 19 January 1957, Warrington launched a lottery, which played an important part in the club's finances in future seasons.

In the 1959/60 season, they won the Lancashire Cup for the first time in 22 years, playing all their games away from home. St. Helens were the final hurdle but the Wire managed a 5-4 win at Central Park.

In 1961, Warrington reached the final of the RL Championship held at Odsal, but Leeds had total control over the match and won 25-10. This also turned out to be the last match for long-serving coach Ces Mountford.

Ernest "Ernie" Ashcroft took over as coach for the 1961/62 season. Easter Monday 1962 saw Brian Bevan's last match for Warrington.

During the early part of the 1965/66 season, floodlights were installed and a friendly match against Wigan was arranged. They were officially switched on for the match on Tuesday 28 September, with Wigan winning the match. Warrington's home game against Widnes became the first rugby league match to be broadcast on BBC, albeit only to the south of England. Warrington beat Oldham 21-10 in the Lancashire Cup Semi-final, and went on to beat Rochdale Hornets at Knowsley Road 16-5.

1970s to early 1990s.

After a disastrous start to the 1970/71 season, coach Joe Egan decided to stand down, to be replaced by Peter Harvey. Alex Murphy joined Warrington as player-coach on 20 May, 1971. In January, 1974, the club beat Featherstone Rovers 4-0 at Salford in a new one-off competition, the Captain Morgan Trophy. In that season also, they won The Locker Cup (14-9 victory over Wigan) and the Players No. 6 Trophy (beating Rochdale Hornets 27-16 at Wigan). They were beaten in the first round of the BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy. Later in 1974, Murphy captained them to a 24-9 win in the Challenge Cup Final against Featherstone Rovers before retiring as a player. As coach in 1975, he took Warrington to the Challenge Cup Final again, but were defeated 14-7 by Widnes.

Poor league performance continued in 1977/78, but Warrington again made it to the Regal Trophy Final. Warrington beat Widnes 9-4. In 1978, Warrington appointed Billy Benyon as Alex Murphy's successor. A solid year round performance saw Warrington finish second in the league, losing only 8 matches all year.

The 1980/81 season brought the Lancashire Cup and the John Player Trophy. After consistently good performances in the league they were League Championship runners-up.

In 1990 Warrington made it to the final of the Challenge Cup at Wembley Stadium and faced arch rivals Wigan. Warrington lost 34-16.

Warrington won the Regal Trophy in 1992 beating Bradford Northern 12-2 at Headingley, Leeds. Warrington did make it to the final of the Regal Trophy in 1994, but lost 40-10 to Wigan at McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield.

Super League 1996

With the advent of Super League, several mergers between clubs were proposed. Warrington were scheduled to merge with Widnes to form Cheshire who would compete in Super League. This was, however, resisted. Warrington were awarded a place in the Super League.

21st Century

Plans to move from Wilderspool Stadium were announced, with Burtonwood the likely site. The former Tetley Walker brewery on Winwick Road was chosen to be the new home for the club, and Tesco were to develop on the land with a superstore. A lengthy planning process finally ended with the Secretary of State giving the green light for the 14,206 capacity stadium and supermarket to be built.

Paul Cullen was appointed head coach in 2002, replacing David Plange.

In January 2003, at the Past Players Association Annual Dinner, the Warrington Hall of Fame was launched. The first twelve players inducted were:

Read profiles of the players at the official Warrington Wolves website.

Warrington's first season in the Halliwell Jones Stadium (2004) saw slight underachievement on the pitch, reflected in their finishing position of eighth in Super League, though they did make the semi finals of the Challenge Cup. However, they recorded a significant increase in their average attendances and midway through the season the club was purchased by events promoter Simon Moran. Moran immediately released fresh investment into the club, enabling coach Paul Cullen to sign Great Britain centre Martin Gleeson for a club record fee for a reported £200,000. The club also purchased New Zealand internationals, Henry Fa'afili and Logan Swann.

2005 saw the Wolves finish in 4th place, their best so far in Super League, to earn a home tie in the playoffs. They are one of only a handful of clubs never to have been relegated from the top flight of rugby league throughout their long history.

Australian half-back Andrew 'Joey' Johns played 3 games for the club in 2005 when his Australian club Newcastle concluded their season. He wore the number 31 (the club was refused permission for Johns to wear 77) and is rumoured to have been paid around £40,000 per match for the Wolves. The signing caused controversy for a couple of reasons. If the Wolves had made the Super League Grand Final, it would have clashed with the Kangaroos Tri-Nations test against New Zealand in Sydney.

Also, many people questioned why the Wolves were allowed to bring in a player in time for the Super League play-offs after he had finished playing a full season in Australia. The signing and subsequent confusion over the rules led other Super League clubs to follow the example set by the Wolves by signed their own Antipodean players on short-term contracts.

On 22 September 2006, the Wolves beat Leeds 18-17 at Headingley to progress to the second round of the play-offs, but failed to get any further. Warrington Wolves finished in 6th place in 2006. They were named as Club of the Year at a ceremony held in Manchester.

Adrian Morley joined the club in 2007 and the Wolves finished the season in 7th place. For 2008, the club signed Chris Hicks and Matt King. On 27 May 2008, coach Paul Cullen left the club by mutual consent. The Wolves finished in 6th place in 2008 and were knocked out of the play-offs by Catalans Dragons, having been in 4th spot earlier in the season.

For the 2009 season, new signings included Garreth Carvell from Hull FC and Micky Higham from Wigan Warriors. Martin Gleeson departed the club for Wigan Warriors. As part of that deal, Richie Mathers returned to the Wolves following a short loan deal back in 2002. Stuart Reardon also left the club. On 5 March 2009, following a 3-match series of defeats at the start of Super League XIV, leaving them bottom of the table, Warrington Wolves announced the appointment of Great Britain rugby league coach Tony Smith, as Head of Coaching. He has signed a two-and-a-half year contract heading the Wolves Coaching and Performance team. He will work alongside James Lowes, who takes on the role of First Team Coach. They have worked together in the past on the Great Britain team and it is hoped they can bring the club to future success. Smith will continue in his role as England Head Coach, but has stepped down as the RFL's technical director. Read his profile here.

On 30 May 2009, Warrington reached the Semi Finals of the Challenge Cup,  beating Hull Kingston Rovers 24–25 via a drop goal from Lee Briers in Golden Point Extra time to earn a place in the last four with Wigan and lets be honest it was amazing, St Helens and Huddersfield (who at that point had still yet to play their matches). The semi final draw pitted the Wire against Wigan, and St Helens against Huddersfield.

On 8 August 2009, Warrington beat Wigan to reach Wembley for the first time in 19 years and despite only averaging crowds of 8,000 in recent seasons (2009 average attendance 8,155) they sold just over 34,500 tickets for the Challenge Cup Final.

Challenge Cup Final Winners 2009

Warrington Wolves 25-16 Huddersfield Giants

The first score for the Giants did come from a Shaun Lunt try, after 9 minutes, with a goal from Brett Hodgson taking the score to 6-6. Next to score for Warrington was Michael Monaghan after 12 minutes, with Bridge converting for a 12-6 lead, followed by a try from Chris Hicks on 15 minutes, and Bridge's 3rd successful goal kick to make it 18-6 to Warrington. A try by Matt King was ruled out on 18 minutes after the video referee said it was a ball steal with two players in the tackle, and Huddersfield were also denied a try after 23 minutes, one of two tries disallowed for them. On 37 minutes Brett Hodgson scored a try for Huddersfield (the conversion was missed), making the half-time score 18-10 to the Wolves.

The score did not change again until the 60th minute when Vinnie Anderson scored under the sticks, with Bridge's 4th conversion taking the score to 24-10. Five minutes later Warrington were awarded a penalty within kicking distance of the goal for a high tackle, but Bridge was unable to convert on this occasion. Warrington were defending well, and with a knock-on and an offside by Huddersfield in the 68th and 71st minutes respectively, it looked all over for the Giants. A try from David Hodgson in the 77th minute (converted by Brett Hodgson) closed the gap to 8 points, making the score 24-16 to the Wolves. A familiar drop-goal from Lee Briers in the next minute sealed the victory for Warrington Wolves. The final score was 25-16.

Michael Monaghan became the third Australian to win the Lance Todd Trophy for Man of the Match. It was the first Challenge Cup victory for coach Tony Smith. Wolves captain Adrian Morley said the victory was the highlight of his hugely successful career. The victory ends a 35 year wait for fans and players alike. You have to go back to 1974 for Warrington's last win, when they beat Featherstone Rovers 24-9 under captain Alex Murphy, who was in the crowd at this year's final. In all, 78 coaches and two trains took Warrington fans to Wembley on the day, with many more booking into hotels and guest houses to make a bank holiday weekend of it in the capital city.

Huddersfield Giants had knocked out St Helens in a thrilling match at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on 9 August to gain their place in the final. Huddersfield's last victory in the Challenge Cup was in 1953, when they beat St Helens 15-10. The last time Warrington appeared at Wembley was 1990 when they were beaten by Wigan. Earlier in this year's competition on 30 May, Warington beat Hull 25-24 in their quarter-final match after a thrilling drop-goal Golden Point in extra time by Lee Briers. They were drawn against Wigan Warriors in the semi-final at Widnes on 8 August, beating them 39 points to 26, leading 28-8 at half-time.

Warrington finished outside the Top Eight in Super League 2009, missing out on the play-offs. Warrington finished the 2009 season in lowly 10th place missing out on the play-offs yet again. After the final game of the season Chairman Lord Doug Hoyle announced that he will be stepping down from the post and leaving the Wolves.

2010                                                               

Signings made for the 2010 season were Richard Myler, Ryan Atkins and David Solomona. England Internationals Myler, from Salford city Reds, and Atkins from Wakefield Trinity Wildcats both agreed 4-year contracts keeping them at the club until 2013. These two players have signed for combined fees totalling in excess of £300,000. Kiwi and Samoan International Solomona agreed a 1-year contract. The departing players for Warrington are Paul Rauhihi (retired), Steve Pickersgill (Widnes) and Paul Johnson (Wakefield).

For the start of pre-season training for the 2010 season Warrington will have a centralised training facility based at the University of Chester's Padgate campus. This will give the first team access to a new purpose built state-of-the-art gym, playing facilities, physiotherapy rooms and video analysis suites, providing the Warrington Wolves First Team with a 'Centre of Excellence' for all year round training.

On 8 August 2010, the Wolves emphatically beat Catalans Dragons 54–12 at the Halton Stadium, Widnes to reach the Challenge Cup Final for the second consecutive season. Read my report below.

The 2010 Super League season saw the Wolves finish in 3rd place the club's highest ever finish in the Super League era. Warrington qualified for the end of season play-offs only to lose both fixtures to St Helens and Huddersfield Giants. This meaning the Wolves have only won 1 of the club's 6 playoff fixtures to date.

Challenge Cup Final Winners 2010

Warrington Wolves 30-6 Leeds Rhinos

FIRST HALF

Warrington’s Lee Briers kicks off at 2:37 pm in front of an 85,217 sell-out crowd and Danny Buderus immediately knocked on for Leeds to give Warrington the advantage on the Leeds 10–metre line, but Leeds come back to force Atkins into touch.

After 4 minutes Ryan Bailey of Leeds seemed to touch down over the Warrington goal line for a certain try, but the video referee Ian Smith spotted that Louis Anderson held him up and forced him to lose the ball. No try.

Play continues for the fourth set of six tackles in a row for Leeds, who are held up once more until the ball goes out of play on the opposite side of the pitch. An explosive start from both teams, defence and attack.

A well-timed kick from Lee Briers after 14 minutes puts Ryan Atkins into space for the first try of the match to Warrington as he snatches the ball out of the air for a simple touch down. Ben Westwood missed the conversion and the score is 4-0 to Warrington.

Soon after the restart Briers kicks a brilliant 40/20 for head and feed to the Wolves after the 3^rd tackle. This leads to an 18^th minute try on the line for Hicks as Matt King takes the opposition towards the touchline and provides Hicks with an inside pass to keep the pressure on Leeds. Westwood hit the post in his conversion attempt. Warrington 8-0 Leeds.

From the restart Jamie Jones-Buchanan charges down a kick from Briers on the 4^th tackle but Leeds fail to take advantage when they knock on at their first tackle.

Leeds continue to fight back and at 24 minutes kick through to Warrington’s goal line but Lee Briers takes an easy catch in the in-goal area. He passes the ball to his fellow players in an attempt to make a quick restart on the 20-metre line. However, the referee isn’t in place so halts the game, as per the rules, and makes them play it again.

A penalty is awarded to Leeds on 28 minutes for offside against Warrington in the Leeds half, giving the Yorkshire side the chance to build up a move. On the 5^th tackle they gain another penalty for a ball steal to apply even more pressure on Warrington’s 10-metre line. But the Wolves keep up their defence and force a knock on to give Warrington the scrum on the 2^nd tackle.

A minute later it was Warrington’s turn to knock on, this time on the Leeds 20-metre line. On 30 minutes Jones-Buchanan performed a reverse pass on the halfway line to Ryan Hall, who was bundled into touch on the Warrington 40-metre line. Shortly afterwards, Wolves Matt King tried the same method of passing, but it caught the back of one of the Leeds players.

On 35 minutes a brilliant run by winger Riley puts Ryan Atkins in for his second and Warrington’s third try, and with Westwood converting successfully this time under the sticks the score to the Wolves is 14-0, the half-time score.

SECOND HALF

Leeds kicked off and Warrington keep up the attack in the first minute as Ben Westwood kicks through towards the Leeds goal line, but Matt King’s attempt at a try is stopped by Rob Burrow, one metre short of the line.

On 44 minutes Riley takes a superb catch on the 5^th tackle but Leeds force a knock on at Warrington’s 4^th tackle. It led to a Leeds attack on 46 minutes, but Lee Briers accidentally catches Danny McGuire in the head with his left knee after a tackle by Hicks, who holds his hand up immediately to stop the game. McGuire was patched up and continues the game. There’s no way he was missing out on the rest of the cup final!

After the restart on 47 minutes, Leeds are fired up and pile on the pressure in the Warrington 20-metre zone, but the Wolves save the day once more as Wood tries to run though the middle in the Leeds half. Atkins knocks on soon after.

On 51 minutes Leeds have 60% of the territory and it’s 50-50 on possession, but they still need to score. Leeds keep battling, but are help up on the try line once more. They continue the attack on Warrington and are help up over the line, denying Delaney a try on the 3^rd tackle. Warrington regain the ball on the 5^th tackle after a poor kick from Leeds.

Warington keep the ball moving and attack the Leeds line, but are kept out as Hall saves the day in the dead ball area on 55 minutes. In the 56^th Jamie Jones-Buchanan is taken off with a twisted ankle and played no further part in the game.

After 62 minutes Warrington rub more salt in the Leeds wounds as Briers kicks through to the corner on the 5^th tackle and Hicks runs from behind to snatch the ball from the hands of Hall to score his second try of the match. Westwood converts to make the score 20-0. Leeds are in trouble and need to move fast if they wish to get back into this match.

On 65 minutes Warrington give away a penalty. Leeds move the ball into Warrington’s half, but an injury to Clarkson halts the game after his leg went under him. He was up on his feet soon after to continue the Leeds attack, resulting in their first try of the match from Lee Smith on 67 minutes. Sinfield converted to make the score 20-6 in Warrington's favour.

On 69 minutes Riley took a knock in the ribs but he was soon up on his feet again. A minute later Richie Mathers touches down for Warrington but the try is disallowed by the video referee because of an obstruction on Kirke from Westwood.

In the 72^nd minute Hicks scores his hat trick, only the third person to achieve this at Wembley. Westwood missed the conversion, but it doesn’t matter now as Warrington are heading towards the final whistle. Warrington 24, Leeds 6.

On 74 minutes Lee Briers attempts one of his trademark drop goals, but it is charged down. It is announced over the public address that he has been voted the Lance Todd Trophy winner for man of the match, receiving 34 out of 40 votes from the rugby league press. He is delighted to hear it and pointed to the skies to dedicate the honour to his late brother, who passed away a few years ago.

There is still more to come as Louis Anderson forces his way through the Leeds defence to score Warrington’s 6th try on 76 minutes. Westwood converts to make the score 30-6 to Warrington. But the drama wasn’t over yet as Hicks surged towards the Leeds goal line in the last minute for his 4^th try attempt, but he knocked on.

The final whistle was blown and Warrington Wolves made history for themselves by successfully winning the Challenge Cup for the second time in a row.

FINAL SCORE Warrington Wolves 30 Leeds Rhinos 6.

Attendance: 85,217

Referee: Richard Silverwood

SOUND BITES

It’s good to play for a team like this. (Lee Briers, Warrington)

It’s a special feeling to defend the trophy. (Adrian Morley, Wolves captain)

The longer we could keep them scoreless, the better our chances were going to be. We knew we would have to perform to beat a team like Leeds. They are a champion team and dangerous right to the end. It was special (to win last year) but it is more special to do it twice. (Tony Smith, Warrington coach, as he announces his parent's 57th wedding anniversary was taking place today)

They were a bit more powerful than us. You have just got to acknowledge a great performance by Warrington. (Brian McClennan, Leeds coach)

We're disappointed and embarrassed that we didn't play like we could. I'm gutted. Things just went wrong from minute one. (Kevin Sinfield, Leeds)

[Warrington] were better by a mile (Brian Noble)

TEAMS

WARRINGTON WOLVES

BACKS 5 Hicks (right wing), 1 Mathers (full back), 2 Riley (left wing), 3 King (centre), 23 Atkins (centre), 6 Briers (stand off), 9 Monaghan (scrum half)

FORWARDS 13 Harrison (loose forward), 11 L. Anderson (second row), 12 Westwood (second row), 8 Morley (c) (prop), 15 Clarke (hooker), 10 Carvell (prop)

INTERCHANGES 16 Wood, 26 Solomona, 14 Higham, 27 V. Anderson

COACH Tony Smith

LEEDS RHINOS

BACKS 28 Smith (right wing), 1 Webb (full back), 5 Hall (left wing), 4 Senior (centre), 3 Delaney (centre), 7 Burrows (stand-off), 6 McGuire (scrum half)

FORWARDS 13 Sinfield (c) (loose forward), 27 Clarkson (second row), 11 Jones-Buchanan (second row), 8 Leuluai (prop), 9 Buderus (hooker), 16 Bailey (prop)

INTERCHANGES 14 Diskin, 15 Eastwood, 17 Kirke, 18 Ablett

COACH Brian McLennan

The 2010 season was Warrington's best in Super League to date. They finished 3rd in the table behind St Helens and Wigan, and for a large part of the season were in 2nd place - only points difference put them behind St Helens at the end.

On Friday, 19 November 2010, Warrington Wolves assistant coach James Lowes announced he was leaving the club to pursue other ventures, and joined the coaching staff at Leeds Rhinos on Saturday, 20 November 2010. He played for Leeds Rhinos in two Challenge Cup Finals (1994 and 1995) before moving to Bradford Bulls in 1996 where he remained until 2003. He began his coaching career under Brian Nobel at Odsal in 2004 and moved to Salford in 2005 before moving to Warrington in 2007 as assistant coach to Paul Cullen. He took over when Paul Cullen left in 2008 and reverted to assistant again when Tony Smith arrived in 2009.

Lowes' replacement as assistant to Tony Smith was announced as Willie Poching on Monday, 22 November 2010. Poching, 37, is a former Samoa and New Zealand international who has played for Wakefield and Leeds and has worked with Tony Smith at Leeds. He was forced to retire at Leeds in 2006 due to a serious knee injury. Poching is also coach of the Samoan nation side.

2011                                                               

The 2011 Super League season saw the Wolves recruit Joel Monaghan and Brett Hodgson. The Wolves ended the St. Helens hoodoo with victory in the away fixture which was played at the Halton Stadium, Widnes. The Wolves secured their double over the St. Helens with a 35–28 triumph over the rivals in the reverse fixture later in the season.

The season saw the Wolves register impressive away victories to Leeds Rhinos (6–42), Bradford Bulls (14–58) and Salford City Reds (0–60). They also registered big scores at home to Harlequins RL (84–6), Bradford Bulls (64–6), Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (66–12) and Castleford Tigers (62–0).

On 20 August 2011, the Wolves beat Catalans Dragons 12–25 in Perpignan to register the clubs 8th successive league victory for the first time in the Super League era. 0n 9 September 2011, the Wolves beat Hull to secure the league leaders shield for the first time.

Warrington were beaten in the playoff semi final by Leeds Rhinos who eventually went on to win the Grand Final beating St Helens at Old Trafford on 8 October.

Going into the 2012 Super League season the Warrington club was pleased to announced that they now have over 8,000 season tickets, which is a record for Warrington and a vast improvement on the crowds of just 3-4,000 in the Wilderspool days. The club are working to improve this to match the big Super League clubs such as Wigan, St Helens, Leeds and Hull who have well over 10,000 season ticket holders.

Challenge Cup Final Winners 2012

Warrington Wolves 35-18 Leeds Rhinos

FIRST HALF

Leeds went into the game hoping for their first win in the Challenge Cup since 1999, having been beaten for the previous two years, but Warrington wanted to make it three wins in four years. Game on! Leeds got the game under way but it was Joel Monaghan who score the first try in the seventh minute, with Brett Hodgson converting to make it Warrington Wolves 6 - 0 Leeds Rhinos.

In the 19th minute it was Leeds Rhinos who chalk up some points when Ian Kirke scored a try and Kevin Sinfield kicked the goal to level the scores at 6 - 6.

A heavy downpour at this point didn't affect either team. Rugby players are tough guys so a bit of water wouldn't upset any of them.

In the 24th minute Leeds got a penalty when Paul Wood hit out at a Leeds player and Kevin Sinfield kicked his second goal of the game to make it Warrington Wolves 6 - 8 Leeds Rhinos.

On the half-hour mark Warrington won a penalty for a high tackle and Trent Waterhouse went over the line to give the Wolves their second try. Brett Hodgson converted to make it Warrington Wolves 12 - 8 Leeds Rhinos.

The statistics at this point showed that possession was 59% to Warrington, with territory in the favour of Leeds (57%).

In the final minute before half-time, Kevin Sinfield converted a penalty to close the gap for Leeds.

Half time: Warrington Wolves 12 - 10 Leeds Rhinos.

SECOND HALF

Warrington got the second half under way and after three minutes Brett Hodgson was involved in a long-debated tackle. He was brought down by three Leeds players and the ball came loose. Leeds touched down, but the video referee ruled "No Try". The game restarted and Warrington managed to put Leeds in touch.

On 49 minutes Chris Riley scored his 97th try in 142 games for the Wolves, but on this occasion Brett Hodgson missed the goal so the score was Warrington Wolves 16- 10 Leeds Rhinos.

Six minutes later Ryan Atkins stretched Warrington's lead and after Brett Hodgson's successful conversion the score was Warrington 22 - 10 Leeds after 55 minutes.

At this point Leeds needed to convert two tries just to level the score but Warrington rubbed the salt in the wound by scoring again, this time with a Tyrone McCarthy try on 58 minutes and a Brett Hodgson goal to make the score Warrington 28 - 10 Leeds. Five minutes later there was a bit of magic from "drop-goal Briersy" and Warrington's lead was extended by one point.

Leeds managed to get back into the game a little when Kallum Watkins scored a try on 70 minutes, but Kevin Sinfield missed the conversion. The score was then Warrington 29 - 14 Leeds. Within four minutes Warrington stretched the lead once more when Brett Hodgson converted his own try to make the score Warrington Wolves 35 - 14 Leeds Rhinos.

In the 79th minute Leeds managed to get a consolation try courtesy of Kallum Watkins, but a missed conversion by Kevin Sinfield and a penalty right on 80 minutes sealed the Yorkshire side's fate. The final whistle was blown and Warrington Wolves had beaten Leeds Rhinos again in the Challenge Cup Final.

Even the heavy downpour during that first half didn't affect Warrington's spirits.

Brett Hodgson received the Lance Todd Trophy to become man of the match for his single try and five goals. The trophy was introduced in 1946, in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was killed in a road accident during the Second World War.

FINAL SCORE Warrington Wolves 35 - 18 Leeds Rhinos.

Attendance: 79,180

Referee: Richard Silverwood.

SOUND BITES

I think I took more than my usual dose of hammerings out there today. What a feeling this is. I've been on the wrong side of this and to get it today I am over the moon. (Brett Hodgson, Warrington)

Interviewer: "At six-all that huge storm came. That could have distracted you." Was that Leeds or the rain because they gave us a mightier storm all the way through. Yeah, the rain was belting down but Leeds are a really good wet-weather football team. This win means we're up there now with the great sides. (Lee Briers, Warrington)

I love to see the players get their rewards. The second half was very, very strong and it showed how much the players really wanted it. (Tony Smith, coach, Warrington)

The effort from the boys today was absolutely fantastic. (Adrian Morley, captain, Warrington)

Warrington Wolves (12) 35

Tries: J Monaghan, T Waterhouse, C Riley, R Atkins, T McCarthy, B Hodgson    Goals: Hodgson 5

Leeds Rhinos (10) 18

Tries: I Kirke, K Watkins 2    Goals: K Sinfield 3

Club Records

Record Victory – 112–0 vs Swinton Lions 20 May 2011
Record Defeat – 0–80 vs St Helens 4 January 1996
Record Attendance – 102,569 vs Halifax (Played at Odsal Stadium, Bradford) 5 May 1954

Most Goals in a Game: 16 - Lee Briers vs Swinton Lions 20 May 2011
Most Tries in a Game: 7 - Brian Bevan vs Leigh 29 April 1949 & Brian Bevan vs Bramley 27 April 1953
Most Points in a Game: 44 (16 goals, 3 tries) - Lee Briers vs Swinton Lions 20 May 2011
Most Goals in a Season: 170 (inc 13 drop-goals) - Steve Hesford 1978/79
Most Tries in a Season: 66 - Brian Bevan 1952/53
Most Points in a Season: 363 - Harry Bath 1952/53

Warrington winners: blue text on yellow background. Warrington runners-up: yellow text on blue background.

It was scheduled for demolition when the club moved out in 2003, but the council kept it open, and Warrington Woolston Rovers and Warrington Wizards now play their home games there.

It was also a venue for women's Euro 2005 in football. During the 2007/8 football season it was home to Liverpool FC Reserve game matches, which had previously been played in Wrexham.

The stadium was notable for bucking the common trend of modern stadia by including standing areas rather than being an all-seater stadium. It has pitch dimensions of 120 metres x 74 metres.

After Warrington's success in the 2005 Super League, plans are already under way to extend the new stadium. Details of the plans include new executive seating above the "South Stand" and more seating arrangements. But it's not just about rugby. The stadium has conference rooms and is often booked by the community for meetings. School children have access to the very latest information technology for after school classes and projects. The club also has a successful women's team.

The remaining photos show the building sequence in 2003.

Additional information will be added to some of the player profiles in time. If you wish to submit more about their Warrington careers, please use the Feedback link. For the current squad, and more profiles, link to the Warrington Wolves Foundation official heritage website wire2wolves.com. See also the Wolves merchandising website. 

Tony Smith (born 24 January 1967, in Lismore, New South Wales) is a British-Australian former rugby league player and is now the head coach of the Great Britain national rugby league team. He is the younger brother of fellow rugby league coach, Brian Smith. In 2007, Smith was included in the Southstander.com Hall of Fame.

Paul Cullen (born 4 March 1963 in Warrington) was a former player (from 1980) and coach of Warrington Wolves from 2002 to 2008. Cullen had played 348 times for the Wolves, and after spending time with Whitehaven, took over as coach in August 2002. His 5½ year reign made him the longest-serving coach in Super League at the time. In 2006 he was appointed the Head Coach of England ahead of the Federation Shield tournament in the autumn.

On 27 May 2008, it was announced he had parted company with Warrington Wolves by 'mutual consent' after a humiliating defeat by bottom of the table Castleford Tigers the day before, their first away-win of the season, and Wolves 6th loss in 7 Super League games. Fans staged a sit-in protest after the Castleford game. The club failed to win any silverware during Cullen's reign, even though they had some high-profile signings. His place was taken by Assistant Coach, James Lowes, until a permanent replacement could be found.

On Monday 9 March 2009, Cullen took over as new Head Coach at Widnes Vikings. In November 2010 he moved upstairs at the club to become Director of Rugby while Dennis Betts took over his position as Head Coach. He is also a guest commentator and summariser on Sky's Super League shows.

He made 297 appearances for Warrington, scoring 81 tries and kicking 25 goals for a points total of 293. He played for Lancashire on seven occasions between 1902 and 1920, once for England in 1908 (without scoring) and on three occasions for Great Britain between 1908 and 1909, with 1 try, 2 goals and a points total of seven. Brooks won a cap for England whilst at Warrington in 1908 against Wales, and won caps for Great Britain while at Warrington in 1908-09 against Australia (3 matches).

Ernie Brooks played in three Challenge Cup Finals for Warrington:

Brooks has been inducted into the Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame.

Harold 'Moggy' Palin (born between July and September 1916, died September 1990 in Warrington) was a professional rugby league footballer between 1936 and 1951, playing at representative level for Great Britain and England, and at club level for Warrington (twice, 1936 and 1947-51), and Swinton (1947) as a loose forward during the era of contested scrums.

Harold Palin won caps for England while at Warrington in 1947 against Wales, in 1948 against France, and won caps for Great Britain while at Warrington in 1947 against New Zealand (2 matches). He played in Warrington's 15-5 victory over Bradford Northern in the 1947-48 Rugby Football League Championship Final at Maine Road, Manchester (the former ground of Manchester City Football Club).

Harold Palin has been inducted into the Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame.

John "Jackie" Herbert Fleming (born 9 September 1919 in Warrington, died 2 August 1984) was a professional rugby league footballer who played between 1947 and 1953, playing at representative level for England, and at club level for Warrington (1947-49, 104 appearances, 26 tries, total 78 points), and Widnes (1949-50 & 1952-53, 82 appearances, 12 tries, total 36 points) at stand-off.

Jackie Fleming won caps for England while at Warrington in 1948 against France (2 matches), and Wales, in 1949 against Wales, and France, and while at Widnes 1951 against France. He scored one try in those matches (3 points).

Jackie Fleming played stand-off in Warrington's 15-5 victory over Bradford Northern in the 1947-48 Rugby Football League Championship Final at Maine Road, Manchester.

Jackie Fleming played in Widnes' 0–19 defeat to Warrington in the 1949–50 Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 6 May 1950. 

Oswald "Ossie" Peake (birth registered between April and June 1920 in Warrington) was a professional rugby league footballer between 1939 and 1941, playing at representative level for England, and at club level for Warrington.

While at Warrington, Peake won three caps for England. All three came in matches against Wales played between 1939 and 1941.

Harry Bath (born 1924, died 4 October 2008) was an Australian player. His position of choice was as a second-row forward. He is commonly said to be the best Australian rugby league player never to be picked for Australia.

Gerry Helme (born 1923, died 19 December 1981) played for Warrington and also represented Lancashire and Great Britain. Helme became the first player to win the Lance Todd Trophy twice, his second coming in the famous 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay. He also helped Great Britain to victory by scoring the match-winning try in the first-ever World Cup Final in 1954.

James "Jim" P. Challinor (birth registered between June and August 1934 in Warrington, died December 1976 of cancer) was a professional Rugby League World Cup winning footballer between 1952 and 1967, and as a coach between 1970 and 1974. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Warrington and Barrow, as a wing, or centre. He also coached at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Barrow, and St. Helens.

Making his debut for Warrington in 1952, Challinor initially played on the wing, but later moved into the centre. He was a member of the Warrington side that won the famous Odsal Stadium replay of the 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final against Halifax, scoring the match's first try. He made 282 appearance for Warrington, scoring 135 tries, kicking 2 goals for a total of 409 points.

In 1963 Challinor moved to Barrow, but did not score any points. He led them to the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley in 1967 as player-coach, losing 17-12 to Featherstone Rovers.

Challinor also played in the 1960 World Cup, helping Great Britain to victory. Later he coached Great Britain when they won the 1972 World Cup in France. He was coach of the Lions on their 1974 tour as well. As Great Britain coach between 1972 and 1974 he oversaw 21 games, with 14 wins, one draw and five losses (a win percentage of 67%).

Jim Challinor has been inducted into the Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame.

Lawrence "Laurie" 'Gilly' Gilfedder (birth registered between April and June 1935 in Warrington) was a rugby league footballer between 1951 and 1967, playing at representative level for Great Britain, and Lancashire, and at club level for Warrington, Wigan, and Leigh, as a centre, second-row, or loose forward/lock during the era of contested scrums.

Laurie Gilfedder made his debut for Warrington on 1 December 1951 aged 16 years and 199 days. During his time at Warrington they won the 1953-54 and 1954-55 Rugby Football League Championship, the 1953-54 Challenge Cup (in which he did not play), the 1953-54, 1954-55 and 1955-56 Lancashire League, and the 1959-60 Lancashire Cup. He was transferred to Wigan in August 1963 for a then club record fee of £9,500. Following a rule change to allow for substitutions, along with Chris Hesketh he jointly became Wigan's first substitute on 14 November 1964. He stayed with Wigan until 1967, when he transferred to Leigh.

He played 283 games for Warrington, scoring 96 tries and kicking 426 goals for a points total of 1,140. His Wigan statistics were 145 games, with 17 tries and 388 goals for a total points tally of 827. He did not score any points when he played for Leigh.

Laurie Gilfedder played nine times for Lancashire between 1951 and 1963. He won caps for Great Britain whilst at Warrington in 1962 against Australia, New Zealand (2 matches), and France, and in 1963 against France. Internationally, he played five matches and kicked one goal for two points.

He played in Wigan's 20-16 victory over Hunslet in the 1964-65 Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium on 8 May 1965. In the match he played in the loose forward/lock position, and scored a try and three goals, including a penalty from the halfway line after one-minute ten-seconds.

Laurie Gilfedder played right-second-row in Wigan's 16-13 victory over Oldham in the 1966-67 Lancashire Cup final at Station Road, Swinton, on 29 October 1966, scoring a try and two goals.

Laurie Gilfedder has been inducted into the Warrington Wolves Hall of Fame.

Alex Murphy (born St Helens, Lancashire, 22 April 1939). He was a player and coach who enjoyed a prodigious career as a scrum-half, often as controversial as he was prolific. One scribe suggested “You either like him or loathe him but you certainly can’t ignore him!” 

Jonathan D. Davies, MBE, (born 24 October 1962 in Trimsaran, Carmarthenshire) is a Welsh retired rugby professional who represented his country in both rugby union and rugby league. A goal-kicking backline player in both codes, he played his club football in Wales, England and Australia.

Michael Keith "Mike" Gregory (20 May 1964 – 19 November 2007), was a rugby league player and later coach; the former head coach of Wigan and player for Warrington and Great Britain.

Wire Legend Mike Gregory dies, aged 43, 19 Nov 2007

Warrington chairman, Lord Hoyle, paid tribute to Mike, saying: "I was deeply saddened to hear the news of Mike's death and my thoughts go out to his family and friends. Mike served our club with distinction as a player for 12 years, including captaining Warrington in their last Challenge Cup Final appearance in 1990. His brave battle against illness and his efforts to raise awareness of Progressive Muscular Atrophy has been an inspiration to us all. He will be greatly missed."

During his final years he wrote a book and also took part in many fundraising activities for disabled people. It was heartbreaking to see his demise on ITV1 Granada Reports on the day he died. He will be sadly missed by the rugby league world. Mike's funeral took place in Wigan on 23 November 2007.

Alan 'Rambo' Rathbone (born sometime in the 1960s in Warrington) was a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, playing at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Rochdale Hornets (1981), Leigh , Bradford Northern (1981-1985), and Warrington, as a second-row or loose forward/lock.

Alan Rathbone won caps for Great Britain while at Bradford Northern in 1982 against France, and Australia, in 1983 against France (2 matches), and in 1985 against France (2 matches).

In addition to the above Test Matches, Alan Rathbone played loose forward/lock in Great Britain’s 7-8 defeat to France in the friendly at Stadio Pierluigi Penzo, Venice on 31 July 1982.

Martin Gleeson was born 28 May 1980, in Wigan. He is rated as one of the top centres in international rugby league.

Tyrone McCarthy (born 21 April 1988 in Warrington) is a professional rugby league footballer for the Warrington Wolves.

Mike Cooper (born 15 September 1988 in Warrington) plays as a second-row or as a prop. He initially began his career with the Warrington Wolves when he was a part of the famous Under-11s side who managed to go through a whole season undefeated, winning the championship along the way. This was the catalyst that saw him continue through the junior ranks and eventually become an integral part of the first team.

Mike has played for the Wolves since 2006 and had a successful loan period at Castleford Tigers in 2010. While at Castleford Tigers he got some regular first team action, due to Castleford Tigers' crippling injury situation. He grabbed his chance and managed to score two tries in six games.

The information and statistics on this page are presented in good faith.
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