AS 2023 comes to a close, we’re taking a month-by-month look at the sporting year that was in Warrington.

To kick off, we look at January – a month where the round-ball game took centre stage…

THERE was certainly a mouth-watering start to 2023 for the town’s football fans, with Warrington Rylands and Warrington Town facing off in the season’s second ‘derby’ at Gorsey Lane on January 14.

With the previous meeting ending in a riotous 3-3 draw at Cantilever Park the previous October and with the two neighbours side-by-side in the hunt for a play-off spot, the game was perfectly set up and almost 2,000 packed into the Orford ground to see it.

Despite Rylands bossing the first half and deserving to be ahead by more than Ajay Leitch-Smith’s early opener, it was Yellows who skipped back over the Mersey with the points and the bragging rights as Jordan Buckley’s second-half brace secured a 2-1 victory.

> Re-live all of the action here

Warrington Guardian: Ajay Leitch-Smith blasts Rylands ahead in the derby...Ajay Leitch-Smith blasts Rylands ahead in the derby... (Image: Mark Percy)

Warrington Guardian: ...but it would be Town who ended up celebrating thanks to Jordan Buckley's second-half double...but it would be Town who ended up celebrating thanks to Jordan Buckley's second-half double (Image: Jonathan Moore)

The game proved to be one of the highlights of a run that ultimately earned Town promotion to the National League North, while Rylands’ push for the play-offs would eventually fizzle out.

Indeed, the derby came between two key events in Blues’ season – a week earlier, they procured a club record transfer fee in selling leading goalscorer Callum Dolan to EFL side Fleetwood Town, while manager Jody Banim left his post in the weeks after the game to leave the club looking for their third boss of the season.

Meanwhile, the countdown continued to a new season for Warrington Wolves, with preparations coming to a head for Daryl Powell and his squad.

January saw them go on their first overseas training camp since before the Covid pandemic as they headed to Portugal to fine-tune their efforts to build up to the 2023 campaign.

> Check out some of our best content from when we joined the lads on the Algarve here

Warrington Guardian: Warrington Wolves headed to Portugal in January for a pre-season training campWarrington Wolves headed to Portugal in January for a pre-season training camp (Image: Joe Richardson)

Among January's other sporting highlights were a stunning return to winning form for ex-European under 20s champion Harriet Knowles-Jones after years of struggles with injury and illness as she crossed the line first at the Cheshire Cross Country Championships.

And what turned out to be a stellar year for the town's teenage darts sensation Luke Littler kicked off with retaining his JDC Super 16s title in Milton Keynes.