2002 was the closest we came to being relegated, and the most depressing season most of us can remember because we just had too little flair in the team. Anderson had brought in wholesale changes in the off season, we had to cut our cloth financially so the type of player we brought in was very different, we got Domic, Rodwell, Marquet and Burns from the NRL, some NL players like Sturm and Crouthers, some unfulfilled talents Fozzard, Cardoza and Rivett. Craig Weston had initially joined but backtracked and went back to Widnes. Despite the low key signings a lot of us were looking forwards to a new start under Anderson who spoke well and made all the right noises about focusing on youth development. However he turned out to be a disastrous appointment, antagonising lots of the squad especially the younger players.

The most damaging problem was the pre season conditioning programme, we went into the season seriously underprepared and it hurt us all year. Anderson’s plan was to undercondition them in the pre season so as to leave “energy in the tank”, and instead of being in peak condition for round 1 we would be in peak condition for round 10. Problem was when round 10 came we were joint bottom of the league.

We started at Barrow in a mudbath in the Challenge Cup, then got Saints at home so it was a short lived Cup campaign. Then the league started, with us 16-0 down at half-time to Halifax, which set the tone for what was to come. We actually came back and won that game, with Cardoza and Kidwell getting late long range tries. We would only win one more game in the first half of the season.

As often happens at Wire it was Easter that things really went bad, we lost to Salford, Widnes and Wakefield, all teams we needed to be picking up points against. The main scapegoats, Anderson and Rodwell, left, but things were no better.

We got one really impressive win away at Hull with Briers kicking three drop-goals, but he tried the same strategy away at Halifax and kicked five only for us to lose in the last minute. It was a sign of how much we were struggling, we had no strike players in the team with Hunte and Kohe-Love leaving, all we could do was fire pot shots at goal from distance.

The board put some money into the team midway through the season to try and get us some spark and they made some decent signings, Nat Wood, Appo and Westwood. Wood was the one who made an immediate impact, Appo wasn’t fit and took till the last month of the season to get in shape, and nobody would have thought that year that Westwood would eventually go onto be one of our best ever SL signings. Danny Halliwell came in from Halifax on loan and scored a few tries, also coming in was an 18 year old Richie Mathers.

The new signings improved things a bit and crucially we beat our relegation rivals Wakefield and Salford, without those wins we would have been marooned because we didn’t beat anyone else apart from a great win away at Leeds with Briers kicking a drop goal at the end (not for the last time). It looked like it wouldn’t be pretty but we would struggle to survival.
Then Knowsley Road came and we got smashed 72-2, and we looked absolutely flat the next week at home to a generally unimpressive Castleford side. Plange got sacked and in came Paul Cullen. We had six games to go and won two, away at Halifax and home to Castleford, those were enough to keep us up so we didn’t need to beat Salford and Wakefield in our final two games (just as well because we got whacked).

Typical 2002 team: Penny; Smyth, Westwood, Burns; Rivett; Briers, N Wood; Hilton, Clarke, Laughton; Marquet, Guisset; Domic (Fozzard, P Wood, Noone, O’Reilly)

So let the memories begin...

oh dear.... what a year that was!

My debut season as a fan/supporter.

was gonna say 2002 was the worst year of my life but i did get married that year

It was my first full year as a warrington fan

Burns putting THAT ball dead at home to Cas. The closest i have ever been to tears watching the Wire, primarily because i knew the months of anguish were over, and we were safe. Hairs standing up on the back of my neck just thinking about it. Made Wembley this year all the more special.

Still sticks in my memory! HAVE IT!

The game at Leeds was a classic aswel, stood there in the pooring rain all game! Nearly caught the drop goal aswel, landed 2 steps infront (just a little bit far to dive for)

It's the ups & downs of being a (faithful) Wire fan

Having had so many false dawns it was great to shut the doubters up last year with our Wembley success; can't wait for next season to start

2002 - The only year I have been ashamed to be a Warrington fan

Not because of the awful rugby but because of the behaviour of a minority of our fans after some matches. The abuse given to some players ,who were with their families, was shocking.

Never understood why Rodwell got so much stick. If ever a season disintegrated the myth that Aussies didn't have an empathy for their SL clubs, Burns and Domic put it beyond any doubt.

The worst thing for me was, I went to every single league & cup game that year and got little reward.

The Hull game was memorable for me, not just the x amount of drop goals we scored, but the fact it was one of Shaun McRae's milestone games in charge of Hull, so I was expecting to be on the receiving end of a thrashing that day.

I'll never forget that Leeds game, on a Tuesday night IIRC in the pouring rain, it took forever for that drop goal to go over.

And finally, Castleford at home. I didn't ever hear the hooter go that day. I just remember everyone cheering at once and realised we'd stayed in Super League for another year.

IMO if it hadn't been for that dreadful season, we wouldn't be where we are now. When Paul Cullen came in he inserted some passion into the team, and later some optimistic ambition. Its a tale of rags to riches in just seven years.