Warrington v Bradford superleague 6

Going to Wembley in 2009 with my eldest daughter and her saying to me 5 minutes into the game "Can we have these seats next year dad?"

Going to Wembley in 2010 with both my daughters and the wife.............. AND SITTING IN THE SAME SEATS.

away at Dewsbury in the 80's in the cup.

Some Drunken Crank in a Wires top (when Replica tops were a rare sight) lining up with the team for the Kick off, rang along with them for a while until he fell over....

then I think the pitchside wall Collapsed half way through the game.....mental times

Went to a few finals in 1974 including Wembley(I was 8 but still fresh in my mind).
Wembley again in 1990, 2009 and 2010.
Watched Wires beat the Aussie touring team in 1978 (awesome night)

I'll carry the image of Mike Greg leading the team out (v Bradford away) holding a ball aloft as a salute, to my grave.
HOW COLD WAS IT, THAT DAY?

Some bad memories...

The worst feeling I have had as a Wire fan, is not on days when we have been smashed by Saints or Bradford, its been when the 'bubble' of hope has been burst. When we've been smashed, a lot of the time I didn't really have much hope anyway.

1st occasion, and perhaps the worst...not so much a single game but I remember distinctly the sinking feeling I got one day when I picked up a newspaper and read the headline "Mackey to return home". Yes he was in his mid 30s by then but it meant our three best players from the era of optimism (1993-95), Davies, Bateman and Mackey, had gone within a few months of each other, and I had a sense of foreboding that day that we were about to enter a dark era, you could just sense that things weren't right and the house was going to collapse. About 6 weeks later came the 80-0 and it was official, the house had collapsed. We had a brief revival in the first season of SL under Dorahy but that was fired by Scully, Harris and an in form Henare, none of whom would be around for long.

2nd occasion - Bradford away, second game of 2000 season. I had believed the hype, when we signed Langer, Gee and Nikau, had Hunte and Kohe-Love who had scored loads of tries the season before, everyone was tipping us as dark horses for the title. I thought even if we didn't get to Old Trafford we were bang on for the top 4 and possibly top 2. Second game we went to Odsal and got shallacked by 50 points and we looked as far away from being a good side as ever, despite the big names in the team. That was the day I knew 2000 wasn't going to be the glorious new dawn we all hoped.

3rd occasion - Losing to Hull in the playoffs of 2005, the Andrew Johns era over after 3 games. Even before we signed Johns, the 2005 season had been our best since 1994, we played good rugby, had some good wins over good sides, had Gleeson, Grose and Lima in the best form of their careers, and when I heard we'd signed Johns I started to think hang on, we could win this. After I saw Johns debut and us beating Leeds, a team who earlier in the season I'd seen beat us and think this was the best team I'd seen since Wigan at their peak, I thought 2005 was the year it would happen. That playoff game was horrible, we were just 2nd best from start to finish, never in the game.

4th occasion - Hull KR away in 2006, the Challenge Cup quarter final. Hull KR were a National League side, we were 5th in Super League, and we were dire that day, we just rolled over and looked like rabbits in the headlights against Byron Ford and James Webster. That was the day when I knew that it was never going to happen for us under Cullen, and I'd been a big Cullen supporter up till then. I also had another sense of foreboding that things would collapse after that, and again they did, we were garbage for the rest of that season although we had that late rally beating Leeds in the playoffs.

The last 3 Cup semi defeats.

The one at Hudds being the worst, all Wire fans in that one stand surrounded by three stands of bullmania still don't know why Nikau's try early in 2nd half was ruled out.

The defeats to Saints via the boot of Long time after time still makes me sick to this day.

The big wins over Bradford bring alot of joy also the Cup win last year meant alot.

Tend to forget with Bradford being gash these days but they really should be the team I hate the most behind Saints.

Heavy defeats in the league, Play-off defeat plus the 2 semi finals.

*sticks on highlights of last game*

Horrible, went on the coach from outside KFC. That was the last time I've seen bog roll thrown down the terracing. I was only 11 at the time, I think the score was about 10-6 with bob jackson scoring.

Some others
Phil Blake's debut v Widnes (Lancs Cup semi '85) won us the game with, surprise, surprise, a chip'n'chase try
Beating Widnes again 4 years later in Lancs Cup Semi, a week after Wids won WCC
5th Rnd Regal Trophy (Stains away) 93, Shellford and Mackey ON FIRE
Baz Richards (on the field for about 20 secs and scores a try ) New Years Day, away Wigan 91 (even Dead Dog Duffy scored too (i think)
Pat Poasa's runs
Any Mark Roberts try
Any Des Drummond 'tackle' (legalised violence)
Rowland Phillips putting fingers to his lips and going "sssshhhhhhh" at the end of any winning game, and then milking the applause
Langer's signing announcement on my 30th birthday (that helped a HORRIBLE hangover)

That was the third round. Bob Jackson had an absolute blinder that day. It was unbelievably cold, and then it started pouring down at half-time. Come to think of it I've never ever been to Odsal and been warm.

Some more memories

hammering leeds at leeds in 86.

Jiffy at Halifax in the cup

Bob Jackson in the Lancs Cup Final 89/90

John Bevan's salute

and Mike Nick being Mike Nick