Ticket chaos angers
fans at opening game
By Gary Skentelbery
WARRINGTON’s opening game at their new multi-million pound Halliwell Jones stadium was marred by the fact many fans with tickets could not gain entry to the ground.
What the club described as “teething problems” from a capacity 14,206 crowd took the gloss off an otherwise memorable occasion as the Wolves notched an important victory over Wakefield Wildcats.
It was a particular triumph for club Captain Lee Briers following his seven month lay off from a broken wrist, as he scored a try and landed seven goals from seven attempts.
In fact Briers was head and shoulders above some of his team mates who were guilty of complacency after building up a 32-8 lead midway through the second-half.
Vice-captain Nat Wood, a former wakefield player, had the honour of scoring the first ever try at the stadium after just four minutes.
The try came from a breath taking build up, involving new signings Chris Leikvoll and Mike Forshaw.
Then young winger Dean Gaskell slid over in the corner as the Wolves lead 14-8 at the break.
When Briers went in from a rare “against the head” scrum and GB squad member Paul Wood scored a brace Warrington looked capable of running up a cricket score. But they fell away badly in the closing 20 minutes as the Wildcats staged a late rally, scoring three tries without reply.
Briers landed a last minute penalty to ensure a personal points tally of 18 points.
After the match the Wolves pledged to launch an inquiry into the ticket fiasco which left hundreds of fans unable to gain entry into the ground despite having legitimate tickets.
Many were eventually allowed in at half-time although by that time others had made their way to nearby pubs to watch the game.