Simon Gillies, brought in from Canterbury Bulldogs for one season as captain
FORTUNES were on the up for Wolves’ fourth season of Super League.
With new owners wiping out the club’s debts and investing in quality signings on and off the field, a seventh-placed finish was a marked improvement and attention on a new stadium was intensifying.
Peter Deakin arrived as the new board’s chief executive, with John Smith stepping aside and Lord Doug Hoyle becoming the new club chairman – all before a ball had hardly been passed.
Peter Deakin, chief executive
The sense of a seed change continued with The Wire winning six of their seven opening games, performances benefitting from the recruitment of Great Britain three-quarter Alan Hunte from Hull, tough-tackling former Canterbury Bulldogs second rower Simon Gillies along with Australian half back Scott Wilson and two Deans – Busby and Hanger – from St Helens and Huddersfield Giants respectively.
Alan Hunte flying against Salford
Dean Hanger
Scott Wilson
Before the year was out, with confirmation of the signings of overseas stars Allan Langer, Andrew Gee and Tawera Nikau for the year 2000, life at Wilderspool seemed almost revolutionary.
Intrigue was high, with Alfred McAlpine confirmed as Wolves’ preferred developer for a new stadium and a three-year £500,000 sponsorship tied in. No site was settled at that stage but Limekiln in Burtonwood and the former Carlsberg-Tetley brewery land on Winwick Road were known to be in the running.
And there was much talk of Wolves potentially sharing their new home with Sale Sharks RUFC.
On the field, New Zealander Toa Kohe-Love was at his blistering best after a period dogged by injuries.
Toa Kohe-Love in training
His glittering haul of 28 touchdowns saw him finish joint-top of the national try-scoring chart.
Wolves hit into play-offs form in the first half of the year.
A major turning point came when they slumped to a 39-6 trouncing at Castleford, with ex-Warrington half back Francis Maloney chief tormentor with a hat-trick of tries.
Although Wolves picked themselves up to beat Salford and draw 17-17 with Wigan in a run of one defeat in six, defeats by Gateshead and Bradford left a do-or-die clash with Leeds and they were pipped 34-30 in a televised classic.
Their campaign fizzled out with a run of five straight defeats.
Dean Busby on the attack
SEASON'S RESULTS:
Challenge Cup:
Feb 14: Wolves 50 Featherstone Rovers 6
Feb 28: Wolves 34 Halifax Blue Sox 4
Mar 14: Bradford Bulls 52 Wolves 16
Super League:
Mar 7: Halifax Blue Sox 14 Wolves 16
Mar 21: Wolves 19 Castleford Tigers 14
Apr 2: Salford City Reds 22 Wolves 26
Apr 5: Wolves 23 Gateshead Thunder 18
Apr 11: Wigan Warriors 24 Wolves 10
Apr 18: Wolves 14 Bradford Bulls 22
Apr 24: London Broncos 18 Wolves 30
May 3: Wolves 40 Sheffield Eagles 4
May 9: Hull Sharks 22 Wolves 33
May 16: Wolves 10 Leeds Rhinos 28
May 23: St Helens 57 Wolves 20
May 30: Wolves 22 Wakefield Trinity 36
Jun 4: Wolves 31 Halifax Blue Sox 18
Jun 9: Wolves 48 Huddersfield Giants 16
Jun 13: Castleford Tigers 39 Wolves 6
Jun 20: Wolves 28 Salford City Reds 14
Jun 25: Gateshead Thunder 26 Wolves 20
Jul 4: Wolves 17 Wigan Warriors 17
Jul 7: Wakefield Trinity 8 Wolves 15
Jul 11: Bradford Bulls 56 Wolves 6
Jul 18: Wolves 28 London Broncos 14
Jul 24: Sheffield Eagles 48 Wolves 16
Aug 1: Wolves 32 Hull Sharks 12
Aug 6: Leeds Rhinos 34 Wolves 30
Aug 11: Huddersfield Giants 12 Wolves 40
Aug 15: Wolves 12 St Helens 35
Aug 20: Halifax Blue Sox 23 Wolves 22
Aug 29: Wolves 6 Castleford Tigers 8
Sep 5: Salford City Reds 42 Wolves 26
Sep 12: Wolves 22 Gateshead Thunder 48
Loan signing Andy Leathem
INTERESTING NOTES:
Warringtonian Andy Leathem was a mid-season loan signing from St Helens
Chris Rudd featured in the squad but injury ruled him out of any more appearances for Wolves, the Cumbrian centre’s Wire career ending on 43 tries and 112 goals from 169 games since his debut in 1988
Gary Chambers takes Warrington Wolves forward
SUPER LEAGUE TABLE:
P W D L F A Pt
Bradford Bulls 30 25 1 4 897 445 51
St Helens 30 23 0 1 1034 561 46
Leeds Rhinos 30 22 1 7 910 558 45
Wigan Warriors 30 21 1 8 877 390 43
Castleford Tigers 30 19 3 8 712 451 41
Gateshead Thunder 30 19 1 10 775 576 39
Warrington Wolves 30 15 1 14 700 717 31
London Broncos 30 13 2 15 644 708 28
Halifax Blue Sox 30 11 0 19 573 792 22
Sheffield Eagles 30 10 1 19 518 818 21
Wakefield Trinity 30 10 0 20 608 795 20
Salford City Reds 30 6 1 23 526 916 13
Hull FC 30 5 0 25 422 921 10
Huddersfield Giants 30 5 0 25 463 1011 10
Ian Knott
SQUAD STATS 1999:
App T G Dg Pt
Lee Briers 32+1 6 83 6 196
Dean Busby 9+14 0 0 0 0
Chris Causey 0+6 1 0 0 4
Gary Chambers 20+10 2 0 0 8
Will Cowell 0+2 0 0 0 0
John Duffy 3+7 0 0 0 0
Danny Farrar 31 5 0 0 20
Phil Finney 0 0 0 0 0
Mark Forster 31+1 16 0 0 64
Simon Gillies 31 6 0 0 24
Dean Hanger 7+13 3 0 0 12
David Highton 3+5 1 0 0 4
Mark Hilton 15+1 0 0 0 0
Alan Hunte 32 21 0 0 84
Ian Knott 22+10 5 1 0 22
Toa Kohe-Love 33 28 0 0 112
Andy Leathem 2+8 0 0 0 0
Steve McCurrie 7+17 4 0 0 16
Danny Nutley 28 2 0 0 8
Lee Penny 30+1 12 0 0 48
Jason Roach 16+7 11 0 0 44
Jon Roper 24+4 8 29 0 90
Chris Rudd 0 0 0 0 0
Ian Sibbit 0+5 0 0 0 0
Warren Stevens 1+4 0 0 0 0
Mike Wainwright 26+5 3 0 0 12
Scott Wilson 26+1 8 0 0 32
End of season award winners, from left, Phil Finney, Toa Kohe-Love, ? , Danny Nutley, Ian Sibbit, Darryl Van de Velde, Ian Knott, Paul Wood
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