On the 15th birthday of Warrington Wolves' home ground, sports editor Mike Parsons picks out his 13 favourite matches staged at The Halliwell Jones Stadium since 2004
13. Scandinavian invasion:
Solveig Gulbrandsen netted a 3-2 winner in extra time in front of 5,722 fans to seal for Norway an epic 2005 UEFA Women’s European Championship semi-final success.
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12. Points avalanche:
The Wire racked up a club record 112-0 victory over Swinton in the Challenge Cup, with Lee Briers racking up a club record 44 points from three tries and 16 goals.
A chairlift for Lee Briers from Adrian Morley, left, and Garreth Carvell after his record-breaking night against Swinton
11. Reds takeover:
Over 10,500 packed in as Xabi Alonso and Harry Kewell scored for Liverpool Reserves in a 2008 win against a Manchester United Reserves side featuring Gary Neville.
10. Almost there:
The Wire put themselves in pole position for their first League Leaders’ Shield success in 2011 with a 39-12 hammering of Wigan in which two-try Michael Monaghan led the way.
9. Against the odds:
Giant underdogs Catalans Dragons, backed by around 1,000 Wire fans, booked their first appearance at Wembley with a shock 37-24 semi-final success against Wigan in 2007.
Jerome Guisset is hauled down by Pat Richards in the 2007 semi final at The Halliwell Jones Stadium
8. Sweet revenge:
After a history of home losses to St Helens, The Wire booked their place in the 2016 Grand Final at Old Trafford with a gritty 18-10 play-offs semi-final triumph.
Ryan Atkins roars after his try against Saints
7. Hunger pains:
Cravings for a big win against Wigan in the first year of Wolves’ new den was answered with a 34-18 success that included a hat-trick from Nathan Wood, who celebrated by running under the East Stand to get himself a hot-dog.
6. Locked out:
Sold-out signs went up as a stadium and Wire home Super League record crowd of 15,008 watched The Wire win Good Friday’s battle of Super League’s top two in 2016, Widnes losing 28-10.
5. Long time coming:
Warrington ended an 82-year wait for a home Challenge Cup tie win against Wigan, doing so in style 23-0 a fortnight after a Magic Weekend hammering to book a place in the semi-finals.
4. World in motion:
A capacity crowd got behind a gutsy but ultimately deficient second-half fightback by Samoa against New Zealand in RL World Cup 2013 Group B.
3. Bye, bye Broncos:
Kevin Brown produced a stunning debut as The Wire stifled Wayne Bennett’s Brisbane Broncos in a World Club Series contest – a maiden competitive win for the club against NRL opposition.
2. New era:
Fans queued for hours and crammed in like sardines to see The Wire overcome Wakefield Trinity in the first game at the new home, with Paul Wood touching down twice.
1. Joey fever:
Never before and never since have the stadium’s foundations rocked like they did on the night Andrew Jones delivered a man-of-the-match display on debut to slay Leeds in 2005.
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