A year since Warrington Wolves played in front of home fans

IT is a milestone nobody hoped we would reach.

Today – March 6 – marks exactly one year since Warrington Wolves supporters watched a game from inside The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

9,228 people were inside the ground as The Wire edged a tense contest against Castleford Tigers, with Blake Austin's drop goal in the final minute securing a 9-8 victory.

> Take a look back at how we reported on the game here

Blake Austin, Gareth Widdop and the delighted Wire fans celebrate Austin's winning drop goal. Picture by SWPix.com

As supporters filtered out of the ground, there will not have been many that would have guessed it would be for the last time in 12 months.

Steve Price's side were aiming to bounce back from a 36-0 humbling at Leeds Rhinos the week before, with the pressure building on the Wire head coach.

After a week of intense scrutiny and much finger-pointing, a response was needed.

In terms of a result, they got it in dramatic style after an old-fashioned tug-of-war.

When Ben Currie and Toby King combined to send Tom Lineham flying over in the left corner, it set up a platform for The Wire to build from.

Tom Lineham dives over for Warrington's only try of a low-scoring contest. Picture by Mike Boden

After Calum Turner's converted try followed by a Stefan Ratchford penalty, however, the game was finely poised.

Both sides missed chances at drop goals, with Castleford's Danny Richardson wide of the mark twice, before Austin stepped up to be the hero and send thousands of Wires home happy.

Poetically, a game against Daryl Powell's men looks set to be the first chance for supporters to watch their team in person again.

Sports stadia will be allowed to admit a limited number of spectators again no earlier than May 17 if the government's roadmap to ease Covid restrictions remains on track, meaning the Super League Round Seven clash with the Tigers on May 20-23 is pencilled in for fans to be back on the terraces.

Here's more pictures from the evening courtesy of Mike Boden and SWPix.com